How To Find Hire And Manage An Airbnb Cleaning Crew: Team Tips
Sean Rakidzich Scales To Over Forty Properties
Sean Rakidzich owns a large group of rental homes. He has more than forty properties in his portfolio right now. He does not manage the daily tasks anymore. Katherine handles the property management work for him every day. She also manages all the cleaning staff for the team. Sean focuses on growing the business instead of cleaning. He wants to add more units quickly to the list. Growth is the main goal for Sean at this time. Someone must run the daily operations while he travels. Katherine runs the cleaning team for him with care.
Sean is adding twelve new properties to the list this week. He plans to travel to Italy for a few weeks. He will bring seven to ten more units back. He might add another dozen properties after that trip. He also plans to go to Isolate for work. Growth is where Sean meets his business goals. He needs someone to run the day-to-day operations. Katherine manages the cleaners so Sean can focus. Sean shares her secrets to help other hosts. He gives advice on finding and paying staff.
Katherine is overworked because of the high volume of units. She manages cleaners in three separate cities for Sean. There are tons of properties to clean each week. Sean wants to show how she does it all. He explains how to organize the cleaning staff. He also shows how to pay them correctly. This helps hosts who want to scale their business. You can learn from Sean's experience with large teams. Managing staff is key to running many homes. Sean proves that growth requires a strong team.
Sean does not manage the functions of the homes. Katherine does the property management and managing the cleaners. Sean is focused on business development for the company. He adds new properties while Katherine handles the rest. This division of labor allows the business to grow. Sean tells all of Katherine's secrets in this guide. He wants to help hosts find reliable staff. He also wants to help hosts organize their teams. You can use these tips to scale your business. Sean shows that hiring help is essential for growth.
Find Cleaning Staff Using Facebook Marketplace
You can find cleaners on Facebook Marketplace for your business. First, make a business page for your Airbnb company. Add photos of your properties to the page. Ask guests to leave testimonials for you on the page. This makes the page look real and professional. You need content to attract good applicants. Photos and reviews build trust with potential staff. Sean uses this method to find his team. It works well for corporate housing too. A real business page helps you stand out.
Then use the page to post a job listing. Go to Facebook Jobs and create a new job. You will get many applicants this way quickly. Facebook works better than Craigslist for finding jobs. It also beats Zip Recruiter and Indeed for this task. Those sites are not good for entry-level positions. Facebook gives you a better pool of people. You can reach local cleaners who want work. Sean suggests using Facebook to fill your roles. It is a simple and effective way to hire.
Sean uses Facebook Marketplace to find his cleaning staff. He makes a Facebook like business page for his Airbnb business. He gets some content and photos of his stuff. He tries to get people to leave testimonials. People who stayed at his RV and Bees help. This creates a real business page for hiring. Then he uses that page to go to Facebook Jobs. He creates a job post to find applicants. This method brings in a bunch of applicants. Sean finds that Facebook is the best tool.
You should be surprised by how many people apply. Facebook Jobs will give you a bunch of applicants. You can choose the best people from the list. Sean finds this method saves time and money. It is better than using other job sites. Craigslist does not work as well for this. Zip Recruiter and Indeed are not ideal either. Facebook is the top choice for Sean. He recommends it to all hosts who need staff. You can find reliable cleaners using this simple strategy.
Hire With Honesty And Clear Expectations
You must be honest when you hire new people. Tell them the truth about the work upfront. They might work every single day of the week. The hours are mostly between eleven and three. Sometimes the shift lasts a little longer than that. You need to be honest about the schedule. Sean says honesty is the key to hiring. You must tell cleaners what to expect. This prevents problems later when they start working. Honesty builds trust between you and your staff.
You need people who are very reliable for the job. They must get to work on time every day. They also need to handle a random schedule well. Schedules can change without much notice from you. You have to be willing for randomness in shifts. Sean warns that schedules are subject to change. Cleaners must understand this before they accept. You also need staff who can transport themselves. They must get to and from work easily. Reliability is a must for a good team.
Hire a couple of cleaners if you have six properties. You can have like two cleaners for that size. You can choose which ones get days on or off. This helps balance the workload for the team. As you scale, you add cleaners as needed. Sean suggests starting with two cleaners for small groups. You can rotate days off to keep them happy. This keeps the team fresh and motivated. Adding staff gradually helps you manage costs. You should hire more than you think you need.
The key here is to be super honest about the work. Yes, you might work every single day of the week. Yes, the work is between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. mostly. Sometimes the work lasts a little longer than that. These are things Sean is honest about with staff. You have to be able to be reliable too. You must get to and from work on time. You have to be willing for schedule randomness. Schedules are subject to change in this business. Honesty helps you keep good cleaners for longer.
Use Clock In Software And GPS
You need a system for clocking in and out. Sean wrote his own software for this task. You can use an app called When I Work. This app costs twenty to fifty dollars a month. It lets staff clock in and clock out. You can add a GPS feature to the app. The GPS tethers the clock-in to a location. Staff must be on site to clock in. This stops people from stealing time from you. An honor system does not work well here.
Sean avoided paying monthly fees by writing code. He could write his own version of the tool. He did not want to pay for the thing. When I Work is a good alternative for others. It has the features you need for tracking. You can make it so people clock in and out. The GPS feature ensures cleaners are at the unit. You put all your home addresses into the GPS. They have to be on site to clock in. This prevents something called time theft for your business.
You do not want to rely on trust alone. Have some sort of clock in clock out thing. You don't have to go off of people's word of mouth. Their honor system is not enough for management. Sean uses technology to track attendance and location. This protects his business from time theft issues. You need a clock in and clock out system. Capiche, you need this tool to run smoothly. Good management requires tracking staff hours accurately. Sean shows that software is essential for scale.
Sean created a software where people clock in and out. He wrote it himself to save money. There are software's for it if you cannot code. One is called When I Work for tracking. You can make it so people clock in and out. Have a GPS like tethered feature for safety. I think they charge twenty or fifty dollars a month. That's why I wrote my own version of it. I don't want to pay for the thing. You should use a tool to prevent time theft.
Schedule With Google Calendar And iCal
Use Google Calendar to manage your cleaning schedule. Create one Google account for each city you own. Put all listings into that calendar for the team. Export your iCal links to the calendar system. Ask cleaners to download the Google Calendar app. They can import the calendars to see their week. This helps them plan their time ahead of time. Do not give cleaners co-host status on listings. You do not want them messing with data. The calendar is enough for planning their work.
Sean takes all of our listings and puts them into a Google Calendar. Then he has a Google account for every single City. Every cleaning team has their Google account and calendar. We export all of our iCal links to that calendar. All of our cleaners download Google calendars app and import. They just import all those calendars to view. That's not good enough to be perfect for updates. But that's good enough for them to plan their week. You want them to see what their week's gonna be like. This helps cleaners prepare for their shifts.
Last-minute bookings might not show up right away. The iCal system has an update delay sometimes. If anybody books last-minute, it might not appear. Same day bookings can cause issues with the feed. Catherine still every morning goes through all of our checkouts. She checks for missed bookings that did not sync. This manual check ensures no unit is missed. The iCal system does an updating time delay. You need to verify the schedule each morning. Katherine handles this task to keep things running.
You want cleaners to see the schedule but not edit. That's why we don't give them co-host status. We don't want them missing with the listings data. The calendar is good enough for viewing only. Cleaners can plan their week without changing anything. This protects your listings from accidental changes. Sean uses this method to keep control. It allows cleaners to see their tasks clearly. They can prepare for the day without risk. Google Calendar is a simple and safe tool.
Dispatch Cleaners Using Group Me App
Use an app called Group Me for dispatching tasks. Create one group chat for all cleaners. Katherine sends messages to assign units each day. She groups units that are close together. This saves time and reduces driving for staff. Do not make a cleaner drive across town. Give each person a territory for the day. This lowers your total cleaning time quickly. It also lowers your payroll costs for labor. Sean says this actually does matter for profits.
She uses a app called Group Me for messaging. It's like a group messaging app for teams. She creates a one group for all the cleaners. The cleaners then get dispatched through this group. Catherine will say okay Ana is cleaning these four units. Then Kristina is cleaning these units for the day. Sandra's cleaning these units as assigned by Catherine. She tries to group units that are close. Logistical e tight close to each other helps. This method makes dispatching fast and efficient.
Sean groups the units that are getting cleaned together. He tries to keep them logistical e tight close. If you could have your cleaner only clean in one or two buildings, that's best. Don't have her drive across town to clean one other unit. If you have two cleaners, try to give them territories. She dispatches people based on location for efficiency. She creates the route to lower your total cleaning time. Lower your payroll for your cleaners by saving time. This matters guys, this actually does matter for costs. Consider that when you plan your routes.
Cleaners can upload photos in the group chat too. They can report dirty guests or issues quickly. They can also ask for new supplies there. It's all done on this Group Me thing. Communication stays fast and organized this way. Sean uses three softwares to run his team. You need When I Work for clocking in. You should use Google Calendars for scheduling. Then put everybody on Group Me for dispatching. This trio of tools helps you manage staff.
Stagger Times And Prioritize Quality Work
Cleaners should show up around ten thirty in the morning. Their goal is to finish by three or four. You can stagger check-out and check-in times. This makes the schedule easier to manage. If you have twenty listings, split the times. Some units can check out at eleven. Others can check out at twelve for balance. Big properties might run from noon to four. Studios can work from eleven to three. This creates a cascading schedule for cleaners.
Sean has everybody show up around 10:30 in the morning. They start from there and work through the list. Their goal is to be done by 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. This is based on our check-in times for guests. Yes, you can stagger checkout times and check-in times. This makes the work easier for the team. If you have 20 listings, have some checkouts at 11:00. Have check-ins at 3:00 for those units. Have other ones where checkouts at 12:00 and check-ins at 4:00. Stagger them so the cleaner can have a cascading schedule.
We only do that for our larger properties though. Our big ones like our three bedrooms are noon to four. Our studios are like one two three for time. I mean 11:00 to 3:00 for the small units. You get it, stagger the times for flow. This'll make your life easier as a host. You also don't want to give any one person too many listings. They have to be done in time for guests. Quality matters more than speed in this business. Sean emphasizes that slow work is better.
It's better to have people do a good job and be slow. Than to be fast and do a bad job. It costs you more money and labor if work is bad. But you save money on refunds with good work. Sean says quality saves you money in the end. Hire more cleaners than you think you're gonna need. Things go wrong and you can't help yourself. You need backup staff for emergencies. Sean advises hiring extra help to stay safe. This protects your business from unexpected problems.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the best place to find Airbnb cleaners?
Sean Rakidzich uses Facebook Marketplace to find his cleaning staff. He creates a business page and posts a job there. Facebook Jobs will give you a bunch of applicants. This works better than Craigslist or Indeed for entry-level roles.
How much does clock in software cost?
Sean mentions an app called When I Work for tracking staff. He thinks they charge twenty or fifty dollars a month for the thing. Sean wrote his own software to avoid paying these fees. You can use existing apps if you cannot code.
How do cleaners see their schedule?
Sean exports iCal links to a Google Calendar for each city. All of our cleaners download Google calendars app and just import all those calendars. This lets them plan their week without editing listings. They can view the schedule but not make changes.
How should I dispatch cleaners to units?
Sean groups units that are getting cleaned to logistical e tight close to each other. This saves driving time and lowers payroll costs. You should give cleaners territories for the day. Do not make them drive across town for one unit.
How many cleaners do I need for six properties?
Sean suggests hiring a couple of cleaners if you have like at least six or seven properties. You can have like two cleaners for that size. You can rotate days off to keep the team balanced. Add more cleaners as you scale your business.