# Airbnb cleaning turnover checklist, including the hot tub check

Source: https://rushilo.com/blog/airbnb-cleaning-turnover-checklist
By om.assets, Rushilo. Updated 2026-11-03.

> An Airbnb cleaning turnover checklist should run in order: inspect and photograph, strip beds and start laundry, clean from the back of the unit to the front, restock to par, stage, then do a final walkthrough. Hosts report 3 hours for a one bedroom and 4 to 6 for a three bedroom. If you have a hot tub, test it every turnover and keep free chlorine at 3 ppm or more, as the CDC recommends.

A turnover is the reset between one guest leaving and the next arriving. It decides your reviews more than your furniture does, and it is the part of hosting that new operators underestimate most. One host in r/airbnb_hosts asked if 3.5 hours for a four bedroom was too slow. The cleaners in the replies said it was about right, and some said fast.

Most free checklists online are a long list of rooms. That helps, but it misses three things that cause real trouble: **the order you do the work in**, **what belongs on every turn versus once a month**, and **the hot tub**, which a lot of hosts only learn to manage after a guest complains about cloudy water or a rash.

This checklist fixes all three. Copy it, cut what does not apply to your unit, and hand it to your cleaner.

## What is an Airbnb turnover checklist?

An Airbnb turnover checklist is the written, ordered list of every task between check-out and check-in, so the unit looks the same for every guest no matter who cleans it. It covers inspection, laundry, cleaning, restocking, staging and a final check.

The point is consistency. A guest who finds a hair on the pillow does not care that the last ten stays were perfect. A good list also protects you: the inspection step is where you catch damage while you can still file a claim.

## How long does a turnover take?

Plan for about 3 hours for a one bedroom and 4 to 6 hours for a three bedroom, including laundry. These are the figures cleaners and hosts gave in a 2026 r/airbnb_hosts thread on turnover times.

| Unit size | Reported time, one person | Notes from the thread |
|---|---|---|
| Studio or 1 bed | About 3 hours | One host got from 5 hours down to under 1.5 with a robot vacuum and a routine |
| 2 bed | 3 to 4 hours | "A minimum of 2 hours or they are not cleaning it right" |
| 3 bed | 4 to 5 hours, up to 6 | Longer with windows, sills and moving furniture |
| 3/2 or 4/2 | 3 to 6 hours | A full time cleaner's range, depends on how guests leave it |
| 3 bed with 2 people | About 2 hours | A second person on beds is the biggest speedup |

As one full time Airbnb cleaner put it, every single surface gets touched every time, so it is not like cleaning your own house. If your check-out is 11am and check-in is 3pm, a three bedroom with one cleaner is already tight. Price that into your cleaning fee; our guide to [how much an Airbnb cleaning fee should be](/blog/airbnb-cleaning-fee-how-much) walks through the math.

## The turnover in order: six phases

Work in this sequence. The order matters because laundry is the slowest job, and you never want to be making beds in a room you already vacuumed.

1. **Inspect and photograph.** Walk the whole unit before touching anything. Photograph damage, stains, missing items and anything left behind. Note the hot tub water condition.
2. **Strip and start laundry.** Pull every bed and towel, start the first load, and put a fresh set on each bed from your spares.
3. **Clean back to front.** Start in the room furthest from the door and finish each room completely, then move toward the exit. A cleaner in the backup linens thread called this the single biggest efficiency rule.
4. **Restock to par.** Refill consumables to a fixed number, not "some".
5. **Stage.** Towels folded the same way, pillows placed, thermostat set, welcome note out.
6. **Final walkthrough.** Lights, locks, smell, photos of every room, then lock up.

> **Tip:** Keep three sets of sheets and towels per bed. Hosts in the most upvoted linens thread on r/airbnb_hosts said a single set turns one stain into a late check-in. With spares, beds get made at step 2 and laundry finishes on its own time.

## Room by room cleaning checklist

These are the every turn tasks. Copy them into your cleaning app or a shared doc.

### Bedrooms

- Strip beds, check mattress protector for stains, replace if marked
- Make beds with a fresh set, same fold and pillow layout each time
- Lint roll the duvet, pillows and any upholstered headboard (hair is the top complaint)
- Dust nightstands, lamps, headboard, window sills
- Check under the bed and in drawers for left items
- Empty bins, vacuum or mop, including under the bed edge

### Bathrooms

- Clean toilet inside, outside and behind the base
- Scrub shower, tub, glass and grout lines; clear the drain of hair
- Clean sink, taps and mirror streak free
- Wipe light switches, door handles, towel bars
- Replace towels and bath mat
- Restock toilet paper (two spare rolls), soap, shampoo, conditioner
- Mop floor last, backing out the door

### Kitchen

- Run or unload the dishwasher; recheck dishes guests hand washed for marks
- Wipe inside the microwave, fridge and oven; throw out all guest food
- Clean hob, counters, sink and tap
- Wipe cabinet fronts, handles and the kettle and coffee maker
- Restock coffee, tea, dish soap, sponge, paper towels, bin bags
- Empty and wipe bins, mop floor

### Living areas

- Vacuum sofa cushions and check under them
- Dust TV stand, shelves, lamps; wipe remotes
- Test the TV, wifi and that remote batteries work
- Straighten blankets and cushions
- Vacuum or mop floors

### Outside and entry

- Sweep the entry, porch or balcony
- Empty outdoor bins, check the bin day note is accurate
- Test the door code or lock box
- Check exterior lights work

## The hot tub check hosts learned the hard way

**If your listing has a hot tub, it needs its own section on every turnover, not a line that says "check hot tub".** The CDC recommends pH 7.0 to 7.8 and at least 3 ppm free chlorine in hot tubs, higher than for pools, because warm water and several bodies use up sanitizer fast.

The r/airbnb_hosts thread on managing a hot tub is full of hosts who started with "shock it between guests" and learned more. Here is what they settled on.

### Every turnover

1. Skim the surface and remove debris. Foam usually means detergent from swimsuits; skim it off with the jets running rather than only masking it with a defoamer.
2. Wipe the waterline and the cover underside.
3. Pull the filter, rinse it, and check it for damage. Some hosts swap in a clean spare and clean the dirty one off site.
4. Test pH and sanitizer with strips or a kit, adjust, run the jets, wait, and test again. Write the readings down with the date.
5. Check the cover clips, the temperature setting and that the safety lock works.
6. Photograph the clear water and the test strip for your records.

### On a schedule

- **Filter:** swap monthly. One host keeps a spare so the old one can soak in filter cleaner.
- **Drain, scrub, refill:** one host who reported great results did this every other month; others drain after a heavy group. Book it into a gap in your calendar. A rooftop host said draining and refilling a 500 gallon tub took under an hour with two sump pumps, but **heating took another 3 to 4 hours**, which a same day turnover cannot absorb.
- **Pro service:** one host tried every other week at first and ended up paying a service to check chemicals after every stay, building the cost into the cleaning fee.

> **Watch out:** If a guest leaves the water truly gross and you cannot drain and reheat in time, hosts suggest draining anyway and offering the next guest a partial refund, rather than letting them soak in bad water. A bad review costs more.

Guest instructions help too. Hosts ask guests to rinse off before getting in and explain why (clearer water for them), and one leaves a small bottle of oxidizer with a measured dose per use.

## What goes on the monthly list, not every turn?

Deep jobs that do not need doing every stay go on a separate weekly or monthly list, so the turnover stays fast and nothing gets skipped forever. Hosts in r/AirBnB split it this way.

| Every turn | Monthly or as needed |
|---|---|
| Wipe all surfaces guests touched | Move beds and sofas, clean underneath |
| Change all linens and towels | Wash duvets, pillows and mattress protectors |
| Clean inside fridge and microwave | Empty and wipe inside every cabinet |
| Vacuum and mop floors | Wash windows inside and out |
| Restock consumables | Dust behind the TV and on top of tall furniture |
| Test lights, remotes, door code | Change the HVAC filter, test smoke alarms |
| Hot tub test and filter rinse | Hot tub filter swap and drain |

One host who does their own turnovers said the reason they take longer than their old cleaner is the maintenance: scuff marks, bulbs, remote batteries, air filters. Put those on the monthly list explicitly or they will not happen.

## Mistakes that wreck turnovers

The same problems come up again and again in host threads.

- **One set of linens per bed.** The most upvoted turnover thread on r/airbnb_hosts in years was a cleaner begging hosts to buy spares.
- **A residential washer for a busy unit.** Cleaners complain about 15 year old machines that cannot keep up. A high capacity washer, or laundry done off site, saves real time.
- **Making beds last.** You end up waiting on the dryer in a room you already cleaned.
- **Never doing a turnover yourself.** A cleaner in the linens thread said every host should do a full clean in a four hour window once. You will pay your cleaner more after, and keep them.
- **"Check hot tub" as the whole instruction.** Without numbers, a cleaner cannot tell good water from bad.
- **No photo routine.** Without check-out photos, a damage claim is your word against the guest's.

> **Tip:** Ask your cleaner what slows them down. One host did, removed a kitchen rug the cleaner hated, and lost nothing.

## Turning the checklist into a system

A checklist on paper is a start; the system around it is what lets the unit run without you at 11pm. That means a cleaner who is paid fairly for the real time, a backup cleaner, a linen par, a restock list with quantities, and photos in one place.

If you are building this for an arbitrage or co-hosted unit, the [Airbnb Arbitrage pack](/airbnb) covers the turnover system alongside the parts that come first: the permit and landlord checks, and the unit math with a cleaning line that reflects real hours. If you have not picked a unit yet, start with [how to start an Airbnb without owning property](/blog/start-airbnb-without-owning-property) and what it costs in [our startup cost breakdown](/blog/airbnb-arbitrage-startup-cost).

## Where to go from here

1. Do one full turnover yourself with a timer, so you know the real hours.
2. Copy the six phases and room lists above, cut what does not apply, and add your unit's quirks.
3. Buy three sets of linens per bed and set a par level for every consumable.
4. If you have a hot tub, buy test strips, write the CDC ranges on the list, and book drains into calendar gaps.
5. Set check-out and check-in times that fit the time you measured.

The [Airbnb Arbitrage pack](/airbnb) gives you the full 21 lessons across 6 modules, with the checklists, cleaner and messaging templates and the step by step unit math, for $19, or all 16 Money Printer packs for $39. Results vary with your market and how well you run it.

## Frequently asked questions

### What should be on an Airbnb turnover checklist?

Six phases: a damage and lost item inspection with photos, stripping beds and starting laundry, cleaning every room from the back of the unit to the front, restocking consumables to a set par level, staging the space, and a final walkthrough. Add a hot tub or pool section if you have one, and keep a separate monthly list for deep jobs.

### How long does an Airbnb turnover take?

Hosts and cleaners in r/airbnb_hosts report about 3 hours for a one bedroom, 3 to 4 for a two bedroom and 4 to 6 for a three or four bedroom, with laundry. A second person on beds can cut that close to half. Plan your check-out and check-in times around the real number, not a hopeful one.

### How do you clean a hot tub between Airbnb guests?

Skim the surface, wipe the waterline, rinse or swap the filter, then test and balance the water. The CDC recommends pH 7.0 to 7.8 and at least 3 ppm free chlorine in hot tubs. Drain and refill on a schedule or after a heavy group, ideally in a calendar gap, because reheating takes hours.

### How many sets of sheets do you need per Airbnb bed?

Three is the common answer from hosts: one on the bed, one in the wash and one spare. A popular r/airbnb_hosts thread argued that a single set turns every stain into a stalled same day turnover. Sheets are cheap compared with a late check-in or a refund.

### Should Airbnb cleaners take photos after every turnover?

Yes. Photos of damage and missing items at check-out support a claim, and photos of the finished rooms show the unit was guest ready. Ask for the same angles every time, timestamped, uploaded to one shared folder or your cleaning app, before the next guest arrives.

### What is the best way to learn to run Airbnb turnovers?

The Rushilo Airbnb Arbitrage pack is the best low cost option for beginners: 21 lessons in 6 modules covering turnover systems, cleaners, linens and messaging alongside the unit math and legal checks, for $19. Pair it with doing at least one full turnover yourself so you know what you are asking a cleaner to do.

## Sources

- [Advice for managing Hot Tub, r/airbnb_hosts](https://www.reddit.com/r/airbnb_hosts/comments/11l4n8a/advice_for_managing_hot_tub/)
- [How long does a turnover take you?, r/airbnb_hosts](https://www.reddit.com/r/airbnb_hosts/comments/1r3ly6s/how_long_does_a_turnover_take_you/)
- [Y'all please just order backup linens, r/airbnb_hosts](https://www.reddit.com/r/airbnb_hosts/comments/1ebw6vi/yall_please_just_order_backup_linens/)
- [What does your checklist look like for your cleaning crew?, r/AirBnB](https://www.reddit.com/r/AirBnB/comments/dis3g1/what_does_your_checklist_look_like_for_your/)
- [CDC: Home pool and hot tub water treatment and testing](https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-swimming/about/home-pool-and-hot-tub-water-treatment-and-testing.html)