Vacation Rental Cleaning & Maintenance

[Jay S.]

I want to purchase vacation rental property in Florida.  I have an understanding of how to manage the marketing of the property myself.  What I struggle with is how to manage the cleaning, laundry, and maintenance of the property.  I live in Chicago, so I will need to have local people/service companies that I can depend on.

I'm interested in learn from others about how they have solved this issue.  I know that there are local property management companies, is that who I should go to?  Or do I just find local cleaning companies? Can cleaning companies also do laundry of the towels and sheets? Will they change light bulbs, batteries, etc?   Who do I call if there is a problem with the HVAC or something like that while a guest is staying?  

I would really appreciate any advice on how to manage these things!  I realize that this is really the biggest part of managing a vacation rental and probably what sets the best apart from the rest.