Do you own a cleaning business and unsure on how to communicate with your cleaners or cleaning team? Or maybe you have Airbnb rentals in different cities and want the most effective way to manage your primary and/or secondary cleaning staff.
Why is communication key in the vacation rental industry?
Can you imagine running a business without communication? Well, your vacation rental will not survive without it. Effective communication is key to your overall success and will definitely boost your listing from the get-go. Here are some of the industry secrets that you should follow to give you peace of mind and ensure that everything is running smoothly. The last thing you want to worry about is lost bookings or getting less than par reviews.
- Set up good communication practices
- Set your cleaning staff up for success by providing them with a plan for each vacation rental. Provide resources like a video on how to properly make up a bed or fold towels (hotel style). Consider doing walk throughs of each property so they are familiar with what needs to be done. Effective training ensures that your staff has what they need to get the job done!
- Provide constructive feedback
- Have you heard of a feedback sandwich? It consists of highlighting the positive things someone is doing, followed by areas they need to improve at, then finishing off with more positive feedback. Be honest and direct with your staff as this will improve the quality of their work!
- Rely on specialized software and automation
- If you have several properties, it’s definitely a headache and inconvenience to manage them manually. Take advantage and utilize the technology that is out there to automate when your cleaning staff started and completed a job. That way, you won’t have to constantly message back and forth to see whether they’ve arrived at the property.
- Give them both detailed instructions and the freedom to improvise
- Provide checklists for them to follow to ensure an organized and sanitized property. You can download free cleaning templates online and/or customize your own.
- Take pics of house/rooms upon completion
- Be easily available
- You should respond to your cleaners in a timely manner. Your staff may have an emergency or question and needs to reach you ASAP. Be available to answer their questions through chat via technology or by SMS text.