Looking for a cleaning service for a Short-Term Rental in Ohio

[Nicholas Dill]

We are looking for a cleaning service/housekeeping in Columbus Ohio who has experience with Short-Term Rentals: Has a flexible schedule to be available as frequent as daily; able to manage linen service; willingness to grow and scale up business.

[Luke Carl]

This is a small community of jaded (maybe thats just me) VR hosts. No one on here is going to have a cleaner for you unless they happen to be in business in your area which isn't likely....

Here's what I did in my market and it worked for me!  

When I was first starting out I went on Airbnb and found properties that are near mine (or where I thought mine would end up being because I didn't have one yet) that appear they might be self managed (self managed is difficult to find in my market so look closely). Find as many self managers as possible and cut and paste them all the same message. 

"Hello I'm new to this market and looking to dive in to my first vacation rental (in my case cabins in the smoky mountains near Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge) I'd love to pick your brain about this and get some insider information from a pro such as yourself. Feel free to write me back here or555 ring55 me55 any55 time. (You have to get sneaky when sending a phone number because it's not allowed. In this case you're not trying to make deals one the side and take money away from the platform so I wouldn't worry bout it)"

I probably wouldn't ask them about a housekeeper right out of the gate because you're less likely to get a reply. "Oh this dude just want to steal my systems why should I waste my time" 

Send this message to 50 hosts and hope you can get 2 on the phone. Then ask them 100 questions and earn their respect as a local guru. You'll need their knowledge to make you business better. 

If you're lucky you'll walk away with a couple of phone numbers. Maybe a handyman. Maybe a cleaning person. It will likely be a cleaning person that the host didn't see fit to use themselves but why not give them to you, you're new after all. 

Over time, through networking, you'll build your crew. Your first cleaner probably won't last long and that's fine. Just keep an eye on your business and listen to your guests. "Hello! We've just hired a new housekeeper please don't hesitate to tell us if you see one speck of dust or dirt" . I send this message to guests in cabins that I've had the same cleaner for a long time. I take the guests response with a grain of salt but when you're managing from afar you have to get creative. 

This method also works when it comes to review side of things. If an OCD guest was thinking about dinging me because they saw some dust in a corner, the new housekeeper bit gets it out of their system before they even get to the review. Instead of no communication for the duration of their stay and a review that says "4 Stars. There was dust in the corner" the person will write me back on the app and say "We did notice some dust in the corner but it doesn't bother us". Then I can say "Oh my goodness which corner?! I'll make sure housekeeping is promptly aware of this situation!" I would then Screen shot the app message to my housekeeper at which point she would be mortified because she's good at her job and I've solved several problems in a matter of minutes. All this being said I wouldn't drop this message on every guest. Most guests just want to be left alone. If you get one that's chatty I'd try this on them and see what you think. 

Turn 4 star reviews in to 5 star reviews before they even happen. That's how you make it in this business.  Psychology. Keeping in mind that dust in the corner is not acceptable and you shouldn't get 5 stars if this is the case... I'm simply saying that you have to keep on top of everyone including your housekeeper and your guests. 

I got off on a tangent as I usually do but to continue with my original story...... my exterminator has a person for everything. If I need someone to do a job for me and I don't already have someone that does that job, I can call him and he'll have someone out to my property in an hour. I no longer use this method because his guys/gals tend to over charge big time and I've got my own guys/gals at this point. But he's still a great bug guy and I have him on a monthly rotation. 

Again..... all of this is specific to my market and specific to someone managing from a distance. In your market perhaps you can just go on craigslist or next door. If you do that in my market you're going to get burned big time. My market doesn't even have a next door yet. 

Of course if you're getting in to my market.... you just call me. Because I have everything you need and I love sharing it with other people and I'll talk your ear off for hours. That's one of the many reasons Avery Carl's phone never stops ringing with new clients. Of course you could just ask her about this stuff in my market she's easier to talk to than me. 

So.... Find yourself a local guru and you'll be well on your way!