Airbnb Turnover Cleaning Checklist (Room by Room, Free)

Your cleaner is the most important person in your guest experience. Most bad reviews about "cleanliness" aren't about dirt at all — they're about one missed detail: a hair in the shower, an empty toilet roll, yesterday's coffee in the machine.

A written checklist fixes that. Here's a practical, room-by-room turnover checklist you can hand to any cleaner today.

Before cleaning: the 5-minute walkthrough

• Take photos of every room before touching anything. If something is damaged, this is your evidence.
• Check for left-behind items. Photograph them, bag them and label them with the date.
• Look for signs of extra guests, a party, smoking or pets, and report them right away.
• Open windows, start the first load of laundry (towels take longest), strip the beds and run the dishwasher.

Report damage within an hour. Booking platforms have strict deadlines for damage claims, and a claim without timely photos is usually a lost claim.

Kitchen

• Counters, backsplash, cabinet fronts and handles
• Stovetop, oven door, microwave inside and out
• Empty the fridge of guest food and wipe the shelves
• Empty and wipe the coffee maker; replace the filter
• Check every dish is actually clean before putting it away
• Restock coffee, dish soap, sponge, dishwasher pods, paper towels and trash bags

Bathrooms

• Toilet inside, outside, base and behind
• Shower and tub, glass and grout — and remove every hair
• Sink, faucet and a streak-free mirror
• Fresh towels folded the house way, bath mat down
• Two spare rolls of toilet paper, plus shampoo, conditioner, body wash and hand soap

Bedrooms

• Fresh sheets on every bed, even if it looks unused
• Check under beds and in drawers and closets
• Dust nightstands, lamps and headboards
• Hangers in the closet and an extra blanket available

Living areas and outdoors

• Dust surfaces; wipe the TV screen with a dry microfiber cloth; disinfect remotes
• Wipe light switches, door handles and railings — the most-touched surfaces
• Vacuum floors and upholstery, then mop hard floors last
• Patio furniture set, grill clean, hot tub checked, no trash outside

Before leaving

• Laundry finished and stored
• Note any supplies below their par level
• Thermostat set, lights off, every window and door locked
• Upload the photo set and mark the property "ready"

The photo set (15–20 photos)

Ask for the same photos after every turnover: one wide shot of each bedroom and bathroom, the toilet and shower, the kitchen plus the inside of the fridge and microwave, the living room from the entry, the patio, and the supply closet. Consistent photos make quality easy to check remotely — and they're your proof if a guest disputes the condition of the home.

Put it in writing

A checklist works best when it's part of a simple written agreement with your cleaner: the turnover window, photo proof, damage reporting and a re-clean policy. Our Cleaning Services Agreement template covers exactly that.

Want the full version of this checklist, plus 20 copy-and-paste guest messages, review replies and an emergency plan? It's all in the Co-Host Operations Playbook.