Airbnb linen hire vs buying your own

Every short-stay host makes a linen decision, even the ones who never sat down to make it. Usually it goes like this: buy a couple of sets from a homewares store, wash them in the property's machine, and deal with problems as they come. It works until the first same-day turnover, or the first set of fake-tan-orange pillowcases.

There are three realistic models. Here is how each one works, what it really costs and where it fits.

Option 1: own your linen and wash it at the property

You buy the sheets and towels, and the cleaner washes and dries them in the property's own machines during the turnover.

What it costs. About three sets per bed up front, so there is always one on the bed, one in the wash and one spare. Then replacements as sets wear and stain, plus power, water and detergent for every load.

What it does to the turnover. This is the problem. A domestic wash cycle is roughly an hour. Drying takes longer, and longer again in a humid Brisbane or Gold Coast summer. Three beds and a full set of towels will not fit in one load, so you are running two or three cycles. That adds two to three hours to the clean.

On a 1 bed unit with a gap day between guests, that is manageable. On a 3 bed house with a 10am checkout and a 3pm check-in, it does not fit. A 3 bed, 2 bath already takes about 3.5 hours on site from our own records. Add the laundry and the next guest is waiting.

What it does to presentation. Linen washed at the property drifts. One set greys, another picks up a stain, a third shrinks. Guests photograph the worst one.

Option 2: own your linen and send it out

You still buy the stock, but the dirty sets go to a laundry and come back clean. The cleaner swaps clean for used during the turnover.

What it costs. The same three sets per bed up front, the same replacement cost, plus the laundry charge.

What it does to the turnover. No wash in the window, so the clean takes as long as the clean. That is the big win. Back-to-back bookings work.

What it asks of you. Someone has to manage the rotation: count sets in and out, chase anything missing, and notice when a set is too worn to go back on a bed. You still pay for every stain. Presentation stays consistent while your stock lasts, then drifts as sets age at different rates.

Option 3: hire your linen

A linen supplier owns the stock, launders it and rotates it through your property. With our linen hire, laundered sets arrive with the cleaner on every turnover and the used sets leave in the same visit.

What it costs. No up-front spend on sheets and towels, and no replacement cost. You pay for the service instead of the stock.

What it does to the turnover. No wash cycle in the day, and no separate delivery to be home for. Beds are stripped and remade immediately with the delivered linen.

What it does to presentation. Commercially laundered linen looks the same on the fortieth turnover as on the first. Every item is inspected on the way back into rotation, and anything marked or thinning is retired rather than put back on a guest bed.

Stains. Fake tan, makeup, sunscreen and red wine are a predictable cost of hosting. With our hire, damaged items are pulled and replaced from our stock and you are never invoiced for them.

Airbnb linen hire compared

What a hired linen set includes

A set is built from the property's bed configuration and the number of guests the listing sleeps. This is how ours is made up:

• For each bed: a fitted sheet, a flat sheet and two pillowcases per pillow in the configuration.
• For each guest the property sleeps: a bath towel and a hand towel.
• For each bathroom: a bath mat.
• For the property: two tea towels.
• On request: beach or pool towels where the listing offers them, and cot and single linen where the property sleeps children.

Worked through for a 2 bed, 2 bath property sleeping four, that is:

Quilts, pillows, mattress protectors and blankets stay with the property. They are checked every turnover, and you are told when one needs replacing.

When buying your own linen makes sense

Hire is not the right answer for every property. Owning your linen can make sense when:

• The property turns over rarely. A holiday home booked a handful of times a month, with gap days between guests, can live with an on-site wash.
• You want a specific look. Some listings sell on a particular style of bedding. If that is part of your pitch, owning it may be worth the effort. We will launder and rotate owner-supplied stock, but you carry the replacement cost and need enough sets to cover the rotation.
• You live nearby and enjoy running it. Some hosts like managing every detail. If you do, send it out rather than washing on site, so the turnover is not waiting on a dryer.

For most properties running more than a handful of turnovers a month, hire works out simpler and the presentation stays more consistent.

How to decide

Three questions settle it for most hosts:

1. Do you have same-day turnovers? If yes, the wash has to come out of the window. That rules out option 1. Our guide to back-to-back Airbnb bookings covers the rest of the same-day playbook.
2. How many turnovers a month? The more turnovers, the faster owned linen wears out and the more time the rotation takes.
3. Who carries the stains? If a ruined set coming out of your pocket and your evening bothers you, hire moves that cost off your books.

Whichever model you choose, cost it into your stay properly. Our guide on working out your Airbnb cleaning fee shows where linen fits. We supply linen with our turnovers across Brisbane and the Gold Coast.