Topic 5 of 8

Cleaning, maintenance and damage

Guests judge a stay on the state of the place when they walk in. These guides cover the turnover system behind that, and how damage claims and insurance work.

4 guides Sourced and dated

In short

What this topic covers

Every stay ends with a turnover: the clean, restock and check between one guest’s checkout and the next guest’s check-in. On a busy day that window can be a few hours, and several units may turn over at once. What keeps it reliable is a system rather than effort: a written checklist per room, enough complete linen sets that a clean never waits for laundry, a clear handover of keys or codes, photos of the finished unit, and a way for cleaners to report anything broken or missing before the next guest finds it.

Damage is the other side of operations. Most stays pass without problems, but when something is broken you need evidence and you need to act quickly, because the platforms set deadlines for claims after checkout and expect you to ask the guest for payment first. Airbnb’s host damage protection and Booking.com’s damage process work differently, neither covers ordinary wear and tear, and Airbnb states that its damage protection is not an insurance policy. That makes the owner’s own insurance, and what your agreement says about responsibility, just as important.

The guides in this topic set out a turnover system with a room-by-room checklist, and explain what the platforms cover, what insurance should cover and how to file a claim.

Guides

Start with the first guide

Terms and tools

Terms you’ll meet in this topic

About HostPro Academy

The team behind this guide

These guides are written by the team behind HostPro Academy, a training programme for building a short-term rental management business. The cleaning, maintenance and damage part of that programme is covered in levels 9 and 11 and lessons 4.4 and 5.4.