Back-to-back Airbnb bookings: the same-day playbook

Back to back Airbnb bookings are the best kind of problem. The calendar is full, but the turnover between guests has no slack for anything to go wrong. With a 10am checkout and a 3pm check-in you have five hours, and on a bigger property most of them are spoken for.

This is the playbook our crews work to on same-day turnovers across Brisbane and the Gold Coast. It works whether you clean yourself, use a local cleaner or hand it to a team like ours.

1. Get the linen out of the window

If you only change one thing, change this. Washing and drying sheets and towels at the property adds two to three hours to a turnover. On a same-day changeover that is the difference between a relaxed afternoon and a guest waiting at the door.

There are two ways to take the wash out of the day:

• Hire linen. Laundered sets arrive with the cleaner and the used sets leave in the same visit. Nothing waits on a dryer. This is how our linen hire works.
• Own it and send it out. Keep about three sets per bed so one is on the bed, one is at the laundry and one is spare. The cleaner swaps clean for used and the dirty set goes off site.

Either way, the turnover is limited by how fast the property can be cleaned, which is the only thing it should be limited by. Our linen hire vs buying guide compares the options in detail.

2. Set consumables par levels

A par level is the amount that should be at the property after every clean. On a same-day turnover there is no time to run to the shops, so the supply cupboard has to hold enough to bring the property back to par every time.

These are the par levels our crews work to on every turnover:

Then keep a back-up stock at the property or with your cleaner big enough to cover several turnovers. When the back-up drops, reorder. The cleaner should never be the person who discovers you are out. If you would rather not run this yourself, our consumables restocking tracks usage per property.

3. Clean in the same order, every time

A fixed order is faster than a smart one. Nothing gets missed, and the slow jobs start early so they finish on time. This is the order our crews follow.

1. Confirm the guest has left. Before anyone travels, not at the door.
2. Spray the bathrooms first. Shower and toilet sprayed and left to dwell while the rest of the work starts. The product does the scrubbing for you.
3. Bedrooms. Check under the bed and inside bedside drawers and cupboards for anything left behind. Wipe surfaces. Strip and make the bed with fresh linen. Photograph the room with cupboards closed.
4. Kitchen. Inside the dishwasher with the filter checked, the oven, microwave, fridge and freezer. Cupboards, utensils and cookware counted. Stovetop, rangehood filter, bench and sink. Under-sink supplies back to par. Bin lined.
5. Living. Under the couch cushions, TV unit and shelves wiped, modem on, TV remote tested, AC remote present.
6. Bathrooms. Back to the dwelling surfaces. Mirror, vanity, shower screen and drain, toilet under the rim. Bin relined, amenities to par, hairdryer checked. Seat down and lid closed last.
7. Laundry. Dryer lint filter cleaned, washer drum and seal wiped, iron present.
8. Balcony. Furniture wiped before the floor is swept and mopped.
9. Top to bottom. Ceiling dust and cornices, fan blades, blinds. Water the plants. Vacuum all floors, then mop the hard floors last, working towards the door.
10. Lock up. Windows locked, balcony door locked, lights tested and off, AC off, front door locked, keys in the lockbox, lockbox code scrambled. Photograph each.

Want this as a printable list for your own property? Our free Airbnb cleaning checklist generator builds it for your bed and bath count.

4. Finish with a photo report

On a same-day turnover you will often not see the property between guests. The photo report is how you know it is ready, and how you prove what condition it was left in.

A useful report has a photo of every room, plus the lock-up photos: balcony door locked, AC off, front door locked and keys in the lockbox. Then notes on anything that needs your call: damage, breakages, missing items, low stock and maintenance faults. Send it before check-in, not at the end of the week. A broken glass flagged at noon can be replaced by three. Flagged on Friday, it becomes a review.

5. Handle late checkouts with a rule, not a feeling

A guest asking for a late checkout on a same-day turnover is asking for part of your next guest's buffer. Have a rule ready so you can answer fast.

Start with time on site. From our own turnover records, a 1 bed, 1 bath takes about 2 hours, a 2 bed, 2 bath about 2.5 hours, a 3 bed, 2 bath about 3.5 hours and a 4 bed, 2 bath about 4 hours. Add travel and access. If the late checkout plus that total still lands before 3pm with some margin, say yes. If it does not, say no, or offer the late checkout on a day with no arrival.

When you say yes, tell your cleaner straight away. A heads up first thing lets the day be reordered. Finding out at the door costs everyone. Our guide on how long an Airbnb turnover takes has the late checkout times worked out by property size.

The same rule works the other way for early check-in requests. An early check-in is a shorter window, and the property size decides whether it fits.

6. Plan peak season before it arrives

In South East Queensland the pressure points are well known: the Christmas and January holidays, Easter, the school holidays and long weekends. On the Gold Coast, add the big event weekends. In those weeks most properties turn over on the same days, and cleaners, laundries and lift time are all in demand at once.

What to sort out before peak season:

• Lock in your cleaning slots early. Send your calendar as soon as bookings land. A clean booked against a confirmed checkout time is a clean that happens.
• Check your linen stock. If you own linen, count your sets. Three per bed is the minimum for a steady rotation, and peak weeks are when a stained set leaves you short.
• Stock consumables deeper. Longer family stays get through more of everything. Stock to the longest booking on the calendar.
• Do the deep clean first. Book a deep clean before the busy run starts, not during it. There will not be a gap long enough once it begins.
• Review your check-in time. On a big house with heavy turnover weeks, a later check-in buys buffer that no amount of planning can.
• Have a back-up plan. Know who covers if your cleaner is sick on a changeover day. Find out now, not at 9am on Boxing Day.

The short version

Same-day turnovers fail for predictable reasons: a washing machine, an empty supply cupboard, a late checkout nobody passed on, or a cleaner who is working out the order as they go. Fix those four and back to back bookings become routine. If you would rather hand the whole thing over, see what our Airbnb turnover cleaning includes.