How long should an Airbnb turnover take?

A one-bedroom, one-bath turnover takes a trained cleaner 90–120 minutes; a 3BR/2BA runs 3–4 hours solo, or roughly half that with a two-person team. Fixed room-by-room time targets keep the whole team predictable.

How much should I charge for an Airbnb turnover?

In most US markets, one-bedroom turnovers run $80–150 and larger homes $150–300+, priced flat per turnover rather than hourly. Many cleaners add $10–15 to cover consumables, or bill supplies at cost monthly.

Who pays for supplies like toilet paper and coffee?

It's negotiable, but put it in writing before the first clean. The two standard models are billing consumables at cost each month, or adding a flat $10–15 per turnover. Expect $8–15 in consumables per one-bedroom turnover.

What photos should a turnover cleaner take?

Arrival photos of any damage or mess before touching anything, then staged 'after' shots of every made bed, each bathroom, the kitchen counters, the thermostat and the locked door. Timestamped photos settle damage disputes and prove when the unit was guest-ready.

The Complete Airbnb Turnover Cleaning Checklist (2026)

Q: Can CleanOS require photos on every turnover?

Yes. CleanOS attaches your checklist to each turnover job and makes before/after photos mandatory before the job can be closed — every photo timestamped and stored on the job record automatically.

An Airbnb turnover is a fast, standardized reset between guests, done inside a fixed window — usually the four to five hours between a 10 or 11 a.m. check-out and a 3 or 4 p.m. check-in. For a trained cleaner, a typical one-bedroom takes 90 to 120 minutes. This checklist breaks the job down room by room with target times, lists the supplies you should restock and what they cost, shows exactly which photos to take and why, and covers the mistakes that quietly lose cleaning businesses their best contracts. Standardize it once and every property you clean looks identical, guest after guest — which is exactly what hosts pay for.

A turnover is not a deep clean

The first thing to align with any host: a turnover is a reset, not a restoration. You are returning the property to the exact state shown in the listing photos — clean, restocked, staged — inside a tight window. Baseboards, oven interiors, grout, windows and under-appliance areas belong to a deep clean, which most hosts schedule quarterly as a separate line item at two to three times the turnover rate. Trying to squeeze deep-clean tasks into a turnover window is how cleaners run late, and running late on a same-day booking is the fastest way to lose an account.

The check-out/check-in window is your real deadline

Most US listings check out at 10 or 11 a.m. and check in at 3 or 4 p.m. That sounds like plenty of time — until a guest leaves 40 minutes late, the washer takes 55 minutes per load, and you have two other units on the same calendar. Plan the window, not just the clean:

Confirm the check-out actually happened before you drive over — a smart-lock log or a quick message from the host saves a wasted trip.
Start laundry the moment you walk in. Wash time is your longest fixed cost; everything else happens while the machine runs.
Schedule same-day turnovers with at least a 30-minute buffer between units for travel and surprises.
If the guest left late or the unit is unusually dirty, message the host immediately with photos — before you start, not after you finish late.
Update the job status the moment you lock up, so the host can approve early check-ins with confidence.

How long each room should take

Time targets keep a team consistent and make your pricing defensible. For a standard one-bedroom, one-bath unit, budget roughly:

Kitchen: 25–35 minutes.
Each bathroom: 20–30 minutes.
Each bedroom: 15–20 minutes, including remaking the bed.
Living areas: 15–20 minutes.
Final walkthrough, staging and photos: 10–15 minutes.
Add roughly 30–45 minutes per additional bedroom/bathroom pair; a 3BR/2BA typically runs 3 to 4 hours solo, or about half that with a two-person team.

Kitchen (25–35 minutes)

Wash, dry and put away all dishes; run and empty the dishwasher — never leave a cycle running when you lock up.
Wipe counters, stovetop, backsplash and the outside of every appliance.
Clean inside the microwave; spot-check the oven and empty the toaster crumb tray.
Empty the fridge and freezer of guest leftovers; wipe shelves and door handles.
Empty the coffee maker basket and rinse the carafe.
Restock starter supplies: dish soap, a fresh sponge, paper towels, trash bags, coffee.
Take out all trash and recycling and reset liners. Learn the property's trash-day rules — an overflowing bin at the curb shows up in reviews.
Sweep and mop the floor last, working toward the exit.

Bathrooms (20–30 minutes each)

Bathrooms drive the cleanliness score more than any other room, and hair is the number-one complaint in guest reviews. Slow down here.

Scrub the toilet — including the base and behind it — plus sink, shower/tub and mirrors.
Check the drain and shower walls for hair, then check again with a flashlight.
Replace all towels with fresh, folded sets; standard staging is two bath towels, one hand towel and one washcloth per guest.
Restock toilet paper (two rolls per bathroom, one on the holder), soap and amenities.
Empty the trash and disinfect high-touch points: faucet, flush handle, light switch, door knob.
Dry every surface — a wet counter reads as 'wiped in a hurry' to an arriving guest.

Bedrooms and living areas (15–20 minutes each)

Strip beds completely — pillow protectors included — and remake with fresh linens; inspect the mattress protector for stains.
Check under beds and sofa cushions for guest items; a phone charger found a week later means an awkward host conversation.
Dust surfaces, lamps, headboards and electronics; fluff and stage cushions.
Test the TV remote, replace batteries if needed, and leave the TV on the home screen.
Vacuum carpets and rugs; mop hard floors.
Stage every room to match the listing photos exactly — hosts notice a moved chair faster than a dusty shelf.

Restocking: what to leave and what it costs

Consumables are small per item but real money across a month of turnovers, so agree with the host up front on who pays. Most cleaning businesses either bill supplies at cost monthly or bake $10–15 per turnover into their price. A typical restock for a one-bedroom:

Toilet paper, two rolls per bathroom: about $1.50–2.50.
Paper towels, one roll: $1–2.
Trash bags for every bin: about $1.
Coffee, tea and sweetener: $2–3.
Travel-size shampoo, conditioner and body wash, or pump-bottle refills: $1.50–3.
Dish soap, sponge and dishwasher pods: $1–2.
Laundry detergent for in-unit washers: about $1 per turnover.

Keep a par-level list in the owner's closet — for example 12 rolls of toilet paper, 6 rolls of paper towels and 3 full linen sets per bed — and flag the host whenever stock drops below par. Running out mid-turnover means a store run inside your window, and three linen sets per bed is what makes back-to-back same-day turnovers physically possible.

Photo proof: exactly what to shoot and why

Hosts pay for peace of mind, and dated, organized before-and-after photos settle damage disputes instantly — resolution processes favor whoever has timestamped evidence. Photograph on arrival before touching anything, then again once the unit is staged. The must-shoot list:

Any damage, stains or excessive mess on arrival — one wide shot for context, one close-up for detail. This is what keeps you from paying for a guest's damage.
Every made bed, straight-on: bedding disputes are the most common claim.
Each bathroom: toilet, shower and the stocked amenities.
Kitchen counters plus the inside of the fridge and microwave — the two spots hosts hear complaints about most.
The thermostat set to the agreed temperature, and the locked door or lockbox as your final shot: proof of when you left and that the unit was secure.
Anything the guest left behind, before you move it.

Common turnover mistakes that cost you the contract

Marking dishes clean without opening the dishwasher — one dirty fork will make it into the review.
Missing hair in the bathroom or on bedding; it is the single most cited cleanliness complaint on Airbnb.
Skipping under beds and sofa cushions, where the last guest's socks live.
Letting staging drift from the listing photos, so the property slowly stops looking like its own ad.
Cleaning up damage before reporting it — once it's gone, the host can no longer claim it inside the guest's liability window.
Forgetting outdoor areas: sweep the entry, wipe patio furniture, check for cigarette butts.
Working at a property that owns one linen set per bed; push hosts to stock three so laundry never blocks a same-day turnover.

Standardize it with your team

A checklist only works if every cleaner runs the same one, in the same order, with the same photo requirements. Print it and laminate it — or better, put it in software. With CleanOS you attach the room-by-room checklist to each turnover job, make before/after photos mandatory before the job can be closed, and every photo is timestamped and saved to the job record automatically — so any cleaner on your team produces the same result, and you always have standardized proof without chasing anyone for pictures. For new hires: one shadowed turnover, one supervised solo, then spot-check their photos for two weeks.

Final walkthrough (10–15 minutes)

Check lights, set AC or heat to the agreed temperature, confirm the Wi-Fi card is in place.
Confirm welcome items and the house manual are where the listing promises.
Smell test at the door: neutral beats perfumed — heavy fragrance reads as covering something up.
Take the staged 'after' photos, lock up, and update the job status so the host knows the unit is guest-ready.

Turnovers reward systems, not heroics. Fix the checklist, fix the times, fix the photo list — and every property you clean becomes faster, more consistent and easier to prove, which is exactly how one Airbnb contract turns into a referral pipeline.