Most vacation rental cleaning checklists on the internet are either (a) generic household cleaning lists, or (b) exhaustive 200-item spreadsheets no cleaner will actually read. Neither helps. What you want is a room-by-room list that's short enough to execute in 3 hours and specific enough that nothing gets skipped — paired with the handful of items that shouldn't rely on a cleaner remembering at all.
This guide is the exact checklist we recommend to hosts running properties through Staykey Cleans, plus the "leave it to the software" list that sits on top of it.
This guide covers:
- The room-by-room checklist (kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, common areas, exterior)
- What to remove from the checklist (things you shouldn't rely on humans to remember)
- The automation layer — codes, thermostats, supplies, notifications
- How to test the checklist (do a practice turnover yourself)
- The rating threshold: what "clean" means on Airbnb
The checklist, room by room
Print or share this with your cleaner. Every item is pass/fail — either it's done or it's not.
Kitchen
- Dishwasher empty, run a cycle if anything inside
- Countertops wiped, no crumbs or rings
- Stovetop: burners removed, cleaned, reset flat
- Oven interior: visible spatters wiped (deep clean monthly)
- Microwave: interior wiped, turntable clean
- Fridge: emptied of guest food, shelves wiped, no smells
- Freezer: ice trays refilled if present
- Trash and recycling emptied; bag replaced, bin lid closed
- Coffee maker: rinsed, water reservoir empty
- Sink: no food particles in drain, faucet dried to avoid water spots
- Dish rack: empty and wiped
- Supplies topped up: dish soap, paper towels, sponge (fresh for each stay)
Bathrooms
- Toilet: bowl scrubbed, seat cleaned, paper stocked (new roll + spare)
- Shower / tub: no hair, no soap scum, drain clear
- Shower glass / curtain: streak-free
- Sink: rings removed, drain clear
- Mirrors: streak-free (guests photograph themselves here, they notice)
- Floor: vacuumed and mopped, especially behind the toilet
- Towels: fresh set — 2 bath + 1 hand + 1 face towel per guest, minimum
- Bath mat: fresh or freshly laundered
- Supplies topped up: shampoo, conditioner, body wash, hand soap, extra toilet paper visible
Bedrooms
- Linens: fully changed, even if the bed "looks" unused
- Mattress protector: check for stains, replace if needed
- Pillows: fluffed, pillowcases fresh
- Duvet cover: fresh (duvet insert wiped / replaced if soiled)
- Under the bed: vacuumed and checked for left-behind items
- Nightstands: wiped, no rings, lamps tested
- Closet: check for left items, fresh hangers if you provide them
- Blinds / curtains: opened partially (sets the mood for check-in photos)
- Iron / ironing board: stowed properly
- Extra blanket folded at foot of bed
Living areas
- Couch: cushions straightened, crumbs vacuumed from cracks
- Floor: vacuumed (carpet) or mopped (hard surface)
- TV remote: wiped, batteries verified
- Game controllers: wiped, cables tidied
- Coffee table: wiped, no rings
- Throw blankets: folded
- Decorative items: dust-checked
- HVAC vent covers: no visible dust
Exterior and entry
- Front porch swept
- Doormat: clean or replaced
- Light bulbs: working (especially at the entry — guests arrive at night)
- Trash cans: back in their spot, lids closed
- Patio furniture: wiped, cushions checked
- BBQ grill: grates brushed if present
- Hot tub / pool area: skimmed, surround clean
- House numbers: visible and well-lit
Final walk-through (the 5 minutes that save a bad review)
- Turn every light on, then off — dead bulbs caught
- Flush every toilet — runs caught
- Run hot water in every tap — heater issues caught
- Open fridge, freezer — temperature check
- Test Wi-Fi on a phone, in the bedroom furthest from the router
- Check the front door code works (guest-side, not from the app)
- Smell test — any lingering food, pet, or cleaner chemical smell
- Close all interior doors, leave HVAC at set-point, lights off
What to remove from the checklist
This is the key insight most cleaning checklists miss: anything that depends on the cleaner remembering is fragile. Automate these instead:
Access codes
Do not include "change the door code" on your cleaner's checklist. If the cleaner forgets, the next guest's code doesn't work. If the cleaner is sick and you hire a substitute, they don't have app access. Instead: have Staykey (or your tool of choice) rotate codes automatically at checkout. The cleaner doesn't think about it.
Thermostat setpoint
Guests leave the thermostat at 62°F in the winter or 82°F in summer. If the cleaner arrives and resets it to a reasonable value, great — but if they forget, the property is freezing when the next guest walks in. Automate a "return to host setpoint at checkout" rule. See smart thermostat control.
Notify host about damage
Don't rely on "text me if anything's broken" — it's inconsistent. Use a structured report in your tool so the cleaner taps a button, attaches a photo, and you get a timestamped record. This is also what makes damage claims defensible.
Supply restocking
Rather than "restock as needed", give your cleaner a par list ("2 rolls of paper towels in the kitchen, minimum 4 toilet paper rolls per bathroom") and have them log what they replaced. Patterns emerge: some properties eat through coffee filters in a week, others go months. Use the data to order smarter.
Arrival/departure window
The cleaner shouldn't have to text you asking "when does the next guest arrive?" Their scheduling tool should know, and it should only give them access during the window between checkout and next check-in. If the tool can't enforce it, the cleaner will arrive at 11 a.m. for a 3 p.m. cleaning and be in the way.
The automation layer, specifically
Here's what a well-automated turnover looks like in Staykey:
- Stay is booked (days or weeks earlier). Staykey creates the cleaning task the moment the booking syncs, scheduled for the checkout day with any notes the host has already attached (e.g., "extra towels needed, family of 5 coming in").
- ~Two weeks out — Cleaner is notified and confirms. Staykey pings the assigned cleaning company via SMS and email; they confirm through their portal and the task flips from Pending to Scheduled. Short-fuse bookings inside the two-week window get pinged immediately.
- 11:00 a.m. on checkout day — Guest checks out. Staykey sees the booking end, triggers the post-stay automation.
- 11:01 a.m. — Thermostat resets to the default setpoint.
- 11:05 a.m. — Access codes rotate. Guest's code is invalidated; cleaner's scheduled code is still active for their window.
- Cleaner arrives, unlocks with their code, works through the checklist above, taps "Complete" in Staykey. Host gets an email/SMS (if opted in) and sees the turnover flip green on their calendar.
- Staykey verifies completion (optionally: checks that certain devices are in their expected state — door locked, thermostat at setpoint).
- Next guest's code activates 1 hour before their check-in time.
- Cleaner's access auto-expires at the end of their window.
Compare that to the old way (host manually creates tasks, cleaner texts when done, host manually sets codes, hope the thermostat is reasonable) and the reliability difference is obvious. See automating turnovers from checkout to check-in for the deep version.
How to test the checklist
Before rolling this out to your cleaner, run it yourself. Block a real turnover window, time each section, and note:
- What took longer than expected? Usually bathrooms or linens. Adjust your cleaner's pay, not the checklist.
- What's missing? Every property has a quirk. The one drawer that always has crumbs, the one vent that collects dust, the one window that gets pollen.
- What's redundant? If "vacuum the rug" and "clean the floor" overlap, delete one.
You only need to do this once per property. After that, the checklist is stable and you're just watching the edge cases.
What "clean" means on Airbnb
The Airbnb cleanliness rating ranges from 1–5 stars. 4.7 is where listings start getting demoted in search. Here's what guests are actually rating:
- 4.8+ — nothing visibly dirty, no smells, supplies stocked, no hairs anywhere
- 4.5–4.7 — mostly clean, one or two missed spots, some supplies low
- 4.0–4.4 — clearly cleaned, but a visible issue (dust, crumbs, hair, streak)
- Below 4.0 — room looks unused rather than cleaned
The single biggest lever is hair — under the sink rim, in the shower drain, on the bath mat. Guests see it and rate 4 stars instead of 5, even if everything else is perfect. Every checklist we've ever built leads with "no visible hair".
The second-biggest lever is smell — not even bad smells, just the wrong smell (cleaner chemicals, last guest's cologne, mildew hint in a bathroom). Open windows during cleaning, use neutral products, avoid heavily scented candles.
Keep reading
- Automating turnovers from checkout to check-in — the deep playbook
- Getting started with Staykey Cleans — setting up cleaning tasks in the app
- Setting up your cleaning company — for hosts using a professional cleaning service
- Managing back-to-back turnovers — the same-day pattern
- Cleans — the product page
Ready to take cleanings off your plate?
Start a 30-day free trial on the ProHost plan to get Staykey Cleans. Questions about your workflow? Get in touch.