How long does turnover cleaning of a holiday rental take?

For an apartment of up to about 60 square metres, experienced teams plan one and a half to three hours, considerably more for a holiday house with several bathrooms. Furnishing, the condition after departure and whether laundry is washed on site are decisive. A room-by-room checklist prevents time being lost searching for forgotten items.

What is the difference between turnover cleaning and deep cleaning?

Turnover cleaning takes place after every departure and returns the apartment to a ready-to-let condition. Deep cleaning is rarer, for example before and after the season, and covers work such as exterior windows, mattresses, upholstery, cupboard interiors and descaling appliances.

Does the guest have to clean if they pay a cleaning fee?

What the guest takes care of before departure is set by the operator in the house rules. A broom-clean state is common: take out the rubbish, wash the dishes, strip the beds. The actual cleaning is done by the cleaning team. The clearer the rule, the fewer discussions at departure.

How do I prove turnover cleaning to the owner?

With a ticked-off checklist per room that automatically carries timestamp and recording person, plus photos of defects and at previously defined mandatory points. This produces a report per apartment that the owner views in the customer access themselves.

How many photos does the proof need?

As few as possible. One photo per defect and one to three mandatory photos per apartment, such as the made bed and the finished bathroom, are enough. Nobody looks at a hundred photos per changeover, and they hide the one defect that matters.

Turnover cleaning holiday rental: process, checklist, proof

Turnover cleaning of a holiday rental happens between check-out at ten and check-in at three: afterwards the apartment has to look the way it did for the first guest. This article covers the process, a room-by-room checklist, how to prove the cleaning to the owner and the most common mistakes.

What turnover cleaning of a holiday rental means

Turnover cleaning is the cleaning after one guest departs and before the next arrives. Changeover cleaning means the same. The standard is always the same: ready to let, as for the first guest.

Type of cleaning	When	What
Turnover cleaning	after every departure	all rooms, linen change, inventory, consumables
Interim cleaning	during longer stays, usually weekly	bathroom, kitchen, linen change
Deep cleaning	before and after the season	exterior windows, mattresses, upholstery, cupboard interiors, descaling

The guest usually pays for turnover cleaning as a flat fee. It is carried out by the operator, a cleaning company or a caretaker service.

Process: from check-out to check-in

The job is created
The check-out in the booking calendar becomes a cleaning task with a time window.
Visual check
Walk through all rooms before cleaning, photograph damage, secure lost property.
Airing and laundry
Open the windows, strip the beds, collect towels and rubbish.
Clean room by room
Bedroom, living area, kitchen, bathroom. Dry before wet, top before bottom, floor last.
Restock
Count the crockery, restock consumables, put the remote and the Wi-Fi note back in place.
Acceptance
Complete the checklist, report defects with a photo, take the mandatory photos.
Reset access
Keys into the box, change the code, close the windows, heating back to default.

Turnover cleaning checklist per room

The checklist covers an apartment with bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living area. If the apartment has two bathrooms, the block repeats.

Before you start

Walk through all rooms, photograph damage
Secure lost property
Open windows, heating to default
Collect and separate rubbish

Bedroom

Strip beds, check mattress protector, make up fresh
Wardrobes empty, hangers complete
Dust bedside tables, lamps, window sills
Vacuum and mop, including under the bed

Bathroom

Toilet inside and out, seat, brush
Shower, taps, drain free of hair
Basin, mirror, tiles
Replace towels and bath mat
Two toilet rolls, soap, bin liners

Kitchen

Empty and wipe out the fridge
Hob, oven, microwave, coffee machine
Count crockery and cutlery against the inventory
Restock washing-up liquid, sponge, coffee, tea
Empty the bin, new liner

Living area

Sofa: shake out cushions, check under the seats
Check remote controls, replace batteries
Wi-Fi note and house rules in place
Vacuum and mop

Finally

Sweep the balcony, check entrance and key box
Windows closed, lights off
Take mandatory photos, report defects with a photo
Complete the task in the app

Proof: photo only for defects

The owner never sees the cleaning, only the next guest's review. A hundred photos per changeover do not help, they hide the one defect that matters. Three rules are enough:

Checklist instead of photo album: every ticked item carries timestamp and person.
Photo only for defects: a scratch in the parquet, a missing cup, a stain on the mattress.
One to three mandatory photos per apartment, such as the made bed and the finished bathroom.

Cleaning proof for holiday rentals: damaged washbasin in the bathroom reported as a defect with a photo during turnover cleaning One photo is enough: the damaged washbasin is reported as a defect and becomes a task for the caretaker

For longer stays and in furnished apartments the handover protocol is added: condition per room at check-in and check-out, with a comparison of new defects.

Common mistakes in turnover cleaning

No visual check before cleaning: damage can no longer be attributed to a guest afterwards.
Inventory not counted: only the next guest notices the missing cup.
Consumables forgotten: small things that become big in reviews.
Photos on a private phone: without apartment and time they are worthless as proof.
Defects only reported verbally: the dripping tap gets lost.

Organising holiday rental cleaning

With one apartment a calendar is enough. From ten apartments on several platforms, cleaning planning becomes a job of its own. The film shows in two minutes how this works with LiteLog.