If you live in an area where the primary focus is tourism, one of the most lucrative types of businesses to start is a cleaning business specializing in vacation rentals.
While the hours that you work will be defined by the "turnover time" of the properties that you clean, the amount that you will be paid for cleaning can be significantly higher than what you would make strictly doing residential cleans.
And, once you have established yourself as an excellent cleaner, you can easily move into cleaning the larger properties, most of which carry a per clean rate of several hundred dollars.
Of course, there are some major differences between residential cleans and hospitality cleans, perhaps the most important of which is the time factor.
Typical hospitality cleans must be performed between the time that the previous guest checks out (usually 10:00am) and the next guest checks in (usually 4:00pm).
You will need to be fast, and your cleans will need to be good the first time.
Also, hospitality cleans have different requirements, such as:
There is always a shortage of qualified cleaners in areas that cater to tourists, so you will have no trouble at all getting started, and, even better, most established vacation rental companies will actually "train" you on your first few cleans.
Best of all, cleaning vacation rental properties can be one of the most lucrative cleaning businesses to start, and you will quickly find that you can easily expand your business to include as little or as many cleans as you want to perform.
This obviously translates into you decide that your income can be as much or as little as you choose!
While the hours that you work will be defined by the "turnover time" of the properties that you clean, the amount that you will be paid for cleaning can be significantly higher than what you would make strictly doing residential cleans.
And, once you have established yourself as an excellent cleaner, you can easily move into cleaning the larger properties, most of which carry a per clean rate of several hundred dollars.
Of course, there are some major differences between residential cleans and hospitality cleans, perhaps the most important of which is the time factor.
Typical hospitality cleans must be performed between the time that the previous guest checks out (usually 10:00am) and the next guest checks in (usually 4:00pm).
You will need to be fast, and your cleans will need to be good the first time.
Also, hospitality cleans have different requirements, such as:
- You will need to completely empty the refrigerator, the cabinets, and remove any personal items left behind by the previous guests.
- You will have multiple beds to change, and typically, vacation rental homes have sofa beds and bunk beds, which require a bit more effort to strip and remake.
- You will be asked to restock certain amenities, such as starter bottles of shampoo, conditioner, guest soaps, etc.
- You may be asked to report any maintenance issue that you observe, and you may be asked to perform some very minor maintenance tasks, such as replacing light bulbs, etc.
- Vacation rental properties are sometimes left in a far different condition than a residential home.
Many tenants will leave full garbage cans, unmade beds, and leftover consumable items all over the house.
There will even be times when a property is "trashed," meaning that guests will have left an unreasonable mess, may have damaged the property, or worse.
At such times, you can request extra time and extra money for the clean, and the extra is often charged to the departing guest. - You will most likely be required to carry certain types of insurance on your "cleaning company," although typically this insurance is only a couple of hundred dollars every six months, and you will easily make that money back in a few cleans.
- If you are associated with a large rental company, their laundry facility will normally have the linens (sheets, towels, etc.
) ready and packed for you to use on the turnover days. - While you may be extremely busy on the weekends and during peak tourism months, if you are a really good cleaning contractor, you can make enough money during these times to take extra time off during the slower periods.
- Vacation rental properties normally do what is called a "deep clean" at least once or twice per year.
This deep cleaning process is much like a spring clean in your own home, however, the pay is normally several hundred dollars for even the smallest property and can run into the thousands for a larger property.
These deep cleans are done during the non-peak seasons of the year and you will have a lot of flexibility on the days and times that you work on "your" deep cleans.
There is always a shortage of qualified cleaners in areas that cater to tourists, so you will have no trouble at all getting started, and, even better, most established vacation rental companies will actually "train" you on your first few cleans.
Best of all, cleaning vacation rental properties can be one of the most lucrative cleaning businesses to start, and you will quickly find that you can easily expand your business to include as little or as many cleans as you want to perform.
This obviously translates into you decide that your income can be as much or as little as you choose!