What is the real cost of no-shows or delays by cleaning staff?

Question

I am a software developer (not a host), and I am looking to understand how short-term rental operators manage cleaning coordination, with the goal of potentially building a solution. To be clear, I am not selling or promoting anything. I am simply researching to see if there is a genuine problem in this sector (I don’t think it’s anything bad).

If you manage cleaning between stays, whether for one property or fifty, I would greatly appreciate hearing about your experience.

How many hours per week do you spend coordinating cleaning staff?

The last time a cleaning service arrived late, didn’t show up, or performed the job inefficiently, what did it cost you? Any figure, even an estimate, is helpful (e.g., costs for refunds, having to redo the cleaning, receiving a bad review, losing a booking, etc.).

How do you currently handle this process, and what aspects do you still find frustrating or problematic?

If there are any other issues, or anything else you find annoying or repetitive, I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks.

Jon Martin · Answer

If a cleaner no-shows and a guest shows up, it's pretty disastrous and embarrassing. This was with Turno as well with a job that was marked marked complete. The cleaner was watching the calendar and waiting to clean until a booking came and they took their eye off the ball. Ended up refunding the cleaning fee, although there is no fixed rule or guideline. At that point it's whatever it takes to placate the guest and keep them from leaving.

I now vet cleaners that have a team instead of sole owner operators. Not to say that there aren't great solo cleaners out there because there certainly are, but people have family emergencies, cars break down, get sick, accidents etc. Which is why I don't think there is a potential software solution for this because ultimately you cannot force someone to show up. Also explains why there are very (if any) nationwide cleaning or landscaping companies- quality control at scale is basically impossible and you are 100% dependent on humans.

If you really want to develop something that would help and make a bundle of money, work on training cleaner robots.

JD Martin · Answer

Why do you want to build this (other than to make money), and what makes you think you can possibly understand how any of this stuff really works if you're not an actual real estate investor yourself? That would be like me saying I'm a RE investor, not a software designer, but I have a goal of potentially writing a new language for coders to use in the future.

John Racine · Answer

Noah, here's the smaller-operator side.

I use Turno, and it makes cleaning coordination easy. Turnovers get scheduled off the booking calendar, so I'm not spending much time chasing cleaners. My main gripe is the fees. If you're looking for a gap, I'd start there: what operators like me are paying for coordination, and whether a small operator could get the same thing for less.

Lee Futcher · Answer

Hi @Noah Pérez Schmahl,

I like that you're asking what the last late clean actually cost, rather than just how many hours it takes to coordinate. I think that's where the real answers are.

I'm not a host myself, but my wife and I have spent the past four years living mostly in short-term and monthly rentals, so I've seen a late clean from the guest's side more than once. In our experience it rarely showed up as a refund. It showed up in the first hour of the stay, like waiting outside with our bags because the place wasn't ready, or walking in to find the last guest's towels still on the bathroom floor. That first impression tends to color the whole stay, and I imagine it finds its way into the review even when the host handles everything well.

It might also be worth separating a late cleaner from a rushed one in your research. They cost a host in pretty different ways, and the rushed clean is often harder to spot until a guest points it out.

I'm curious, have any of the hosts you've talked to been able to trace a lower review back to a turnover that ran behind?

Hope the research goes well,Lee

Andrew Steffens · Answer

I see you are doing market research, which is great - but most of us multi unit operators have robust tools already in this space. Whether it is embedded in the PMS or done via external software like EZcare of Breezeway, there are ample tools in my opinion. Good luck!

What is the real cost of no-shows or delays by cleaning staff?

What is the real cost of no-shows or delays by cleaning staff?

Most Popular Reply

5 Replies