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[00:00:00] Sarah: Hello, welcome back for another great episode. My name is Sarah Karakaian.
[00:00:03] Annette: I am Annette Grant. And together we are–
[00:00:05] Both Annette & Sarah: Thanks for Visiting.
[00:00:06] Sarah: And this is the–
[00:00:07] Both Annette & Sarah: Hosting Hotline.
[00:00:08] Sarah: Great question today about cleaning supplies.
[00:00:11] Questions: We are just starting our short-term rental business, and we’ve built out a studio apartment in part of our house. I was wondering if you guys provide cleaning supplies like a small vacuum, or if that’s something that you’d recommend.
[00:00:27] Sarah: Great question. I also love this question because I started out with building out a studio in my home, and it’s such a great way to not only offset your mortgage, but sometimes make money.
[00:00:36] Annette: And I love that she said business.
[00:00:37] Sarah: Yeah, she did.
[00:00:38] Annette: Instead of just like, I’m going to Airbnb. I’m going to put something up on Airbnb. She’s starting her short-term rental business. Get it. The answer here is yes. Put yourself in the shoes of the guest. You spill coffee in the morning. You drop something on the floor. Maybe you just want to wipe down the countertops because it makes you feel at home. Or maybe you just always want to do an extra wipe down. Let your guests help you. I don’t know why you wouldn’t leave.
[00:01:03] Obviously, let’s be safe with them. You want to make sure they’re up. If they have any small children, pets, anything, you want to make sure that you’re storing them properly, but yes, let the guests help you and help themselves. Because if they’re needing a cleaning supply, and not any maliciousness, but they probably made a small mess and want to clean it up. And so that is the difference. It is like their home. They want to be able to help themselves. And it doesn’t have to be a full closet full, but definitely leaving them a couple of things that they can help themselves. So yes, depending on your floors, maybe it’s a vacuum, maybe it’s a broom.
[00:01:40] Sarah: I would say not even maybe. Over here, Thanks for Visiting, we like to control the narrative. Well, vacuums are great because number one, will get into crevices. Number two, I like to have vacuums. I noticed that she said a small vacuum. I would say get a vacuum. You don’t want to spend a million dollars on it, but just a substantial vacuum. Because I also don’t like our cleaning team to bring in a vacuum from the outside. And I would say, also, no matter what, and I’ve learned this over years of hosting, to also include a broom and dustpan in addition to your vacuum, because there are things where you don’t want to get the vacuum out and plug it in and do all that. You just want to sweep up a little something, something. They drop a glass. So that’s a non-negotiable for us, our vacuums, and whether it’s a full broom and a dustpan or a handheld.
[00:02:20] And then here’s what’s in our cleaning supplies that we offer our guests. We always keep a multi-purpose cleaner, something that’s not harsh in our cabinets. We always keep it full because in our rentals, we like to make our guests feel like they’re the first ones to ever come in there. So our property coordinators, our inspectors make sure they’re full. We also offer an extra roll of paper towels for guests to use in addition to what we have at the sink.
[00:02:42] You can also use reusable ones. So just know that sustainability is always top of mind, everyone listening out there. We also offer ways for them to wash their dishes. So dish soap Dawn is a great multipurpose cleaning tool as well. We offer our guests a new sponge with every stay so that they can, again, clean up after themselves. What else do we offer, Annette?
[00:03:06] Annette: I mean, the basics. Trash bags. Make sure you’re leaving people trash bags. If you have laundry, leave them, um, detergent. But we also like to leave a microfiber cloth. But yeah, just equipping them with some basics. And again, you said you have a studio. Do a pressure test. If you were there, what’s something that can happen? Can a glass break? Can you spill something? How are they going to use their space? What can you equip them with?
[00:03:27] And this is a minimal, minimal, for anybody. I don’t care the size of your home, but that is like– if you’re leaving them nothing, then if something– I actually follow, um, an Airbnb cleaner on Instagram, and she was staying somewhere, and she was like, it’s pet-friendly, and they didn’t leave anything for her. Pet had an accident. So if you’re going to be pet-friendly, help them out. Pets do their thing. And so that’s the other thing too, is help your guests to help you out if something were to happen.
[00:03:54] Sarah: Yes, that’s a great tip, that the way that you can spray the solution, it’ll help the pet not feel like it can do what they do on that spot again. I also want to share this, Annette, since TFV Con is around the corner. I can’t stop talking about it because it’s all we talk about, and we’re very excited about it. But we will have a short-term-focused cleaning solution vendor there who helps us keep our cleaning supplies easy to transport, which means less money out of our pocket, and they’re environmentally friendly as well.
[00:04:24] Annette: Hosts, I know out there, this has happened because I’ve had some friends that go to Airbnbs, and they talk to me about it. You don’t want your guests getting Blackfoot syndrome. And you know what I’m talking about. It’s where either you or your cleaning team are just putting solution on top of solution on top of solution. And guess what? That ain’t the solution because it just gives you Blackfoot syndrome, and you’re just putting dirt on top of dirt on top of dirt.
[00:04:46] Sarah: When you walk in your socks and your socks are still dirty, and like, wait, I just mopped this. So ETI Solutions is going to be a vendor at our event. They’re also doing a giveaway at the event. So you’ve got to be there to win it, but they’re chemicals that are environmentally friendly, but they’re also going to get the job done for you as well.
[00:05:06] Annette: Cleaning is science.
[00:05:07] Sarah: It is science.
[00:05:08] Annette: This is a great question. And so even today, if it’s just a multi-purposed cleaner, start small. Get something for your guests. Let them help you and help themselves.
[00:05:17] Sarah: Yes. With that, I am Sarah Karakaian.
[00:05:19] Annette: I’m Annette Grant. And together we are–
[00:05:21] Both Annette & Sarah: Thanks for Visiting.
[00:05:21] Sarah: Talk to you next time.
