Cleaning in short-term rentals: who does what?

Between two stays, a property has to be spotless. But “clean” doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone, and not every task is done by the same person or at the same pace. To avoid misunderstandings, we distinguish three levels: what the guest does, the routine cleaning, and what the owner needs to plan for once a year. Outdoor areas (garden, pool) are covered by a separate service.

The three levels at a glance

Who	What	When
The guest	Dishes and bins	At the end of every stay
The guest, the owner on a stay, or our team	Routine cleaning	Between every stay: our team in July and August, the guest’s choice the rest of the year
The owner	The deep clean (a full reset)	Once a year

The guest: dishes and bins

During their stay, guests behave as they would at home. Before leaving, we ask two simple things in every case:

do the dishes and put them away, or at the very least run the dishwasher;
take out the rubbish and put it in the bins provided.

These are quick gestures, but they make all the difference: a cluttered kitchen or bags left lying around slow down the next clean and, in peak summer, it shows (and smells) very quickly.

Routine cleaning: our team or the guest

Routine cleaning is the thorough clean of the property (kitchen, bathrooms, floors, surfaces) that makes it ready for the next guests. It works differently depending on the time of year:

In July and August: our cleaning team takes care of it at every changeover. Turnarounds are quick and every property has to be ready on time.
The rest of the year: the guest is free to choose. They can clean the property themselves by following our cleaning checklist, which sets out point by point what is expected, or book a cleaning service from us and leave without giving it a thought.

At every clean carried out by our team, in July and August as well as on request the rest of the year, we also descale the kettle and the taps. And in every case, we inspect each property at the end of the stay, change the mattress protectors and replenish the consumables.

If a guest chooses to clean the property themselves and the checklist is not followed, a deduction may be made from the deposit, and we then take care of the cleaning for the next booking. That is what lets us guarantee a clean property at every arrival, with no argument.

Outdoor areas: terrace, table and chairs yes, garden and pool no

Routine cleaning includes the outdoor furniture (the table and chairs on the terrace or in the garden) and a quick sweep of the terrace. Garden and pool upkeep, however, are absolutely not included in our cleaning services. This applies in particular to:

raking up grass cuttings and leaves;
pruning trees;
pool maintenance.

These jobs call for an additional service, carried out either by our teams or by a contractor sent by the owner (gardener, pool specialist). It’s worth planning for: a neglected garden or poorly kept pool can trigger an urgent call-out request from the guest during their stay. And when it comes to the pool, hygiene must be impeccable.

When the owner stays in their own property

An owner who stays in their own property is treated like a guest: at the end of their stay, the same routine cleaning is due, as described above (kitchen, bathrooms, floors, surfaces, outdoor areas). They are free to do it themselves or to order a cleaning service from us, which then includes the same tasks as for a guest.

Please note: if they choose to do it themselves, the clean must be as thorough as if our team had been in: the property must be ready to re-let immediately, with no intervention from us, so that the next guests’ arrival is not delayed. This everyday clean does not replace the annual deep clean described below, which still needs to be planned on top.

The owner: the annual deep clean

Routine cleaning does not replace a deep clean: some areas go unnoticed day to day but build up grime little by little. That is the role of the deep clean, a thorough, top-to-bottom clean that resets the property to “zero”. It is the owner’s responsibility and should be done every year. It covers everything routine cleaning does not:

Washing the walls: fingerprints, dust, cooking fumes and light marks, especially around light switches and in hallways.
Bathroom sealant: shower, bath, basin. This is where mould and limescale settle first.
Descaling the appliances: washing machine, dishwasher and other appliances. The kettle and taps are already descaled at every clean, but a full descale of the appliances once a year extends their lifespan.
Cleaning all the bedding: pillows, duvets, blankets and the rest. They are rarely washed, yet every guest of the season uses them.
Air-conditioning filters: a clogged filter works less well, uses more energy and blows dust into the room.
Skirting boards, sockets and light switches: the spots we forget about but touch every day.
and every other nook and cranny that day-to-day cleaning doesn’t reach.

Why not skip it?

This clean is not a luxury. A few good reasons to do it every year:

Reviews: a property that “smells clean” and where the details are looked after (walls, sealant, bedding) gets better ratings. A single review that mentions dirt or a smell is costly.
Hygiene: bedding used by dozens of guests, or blackened sealant, can’t be fixed with a quick mop.
Equipment lasts longer: descaled appliances, clean air conditioning, well-kept walls: you put off replacements and breakdowns in peak season.
A property that stays at its best: guests take more care in a well-kept property, which wears out more slowly.

When to schedule it

The best time is the low season, when the property is not booked. The clean can then be done without disrupting arrivals, products have time to work, and walls and bedding dry in peace. It’s best to schedule it before bookings pick up again, so you start the season with a property reset to zero.

At RIBOLEYS

For the properties we manage in Vias, the split is clear from the start: guests take care of the dishes and the bins, routine cleaning is done by our team in July and August (and is the guest’s choice the rest of the year), and we remind owners to plan the annual deep clean. The garden and pool remain a separate service. Everyone knows what they have to do, and the property is always ready to let.

Our FAQ also covers cleaning and linen. And if you’d like to know how it would work for your property, get in touch.

In brief

The guest does the dishes and takes out the rubbish.
Routine cleaning is done by our team in July and August. The rest of the year, the guest does it themselves with our cleaning checklist or books a service from us; if the instructions are not followed, a deduction from the deposit may apply.
Outdoor areas: the table, chairs and a quick sweep of the terrace are included in the cleaning. The garden (grass, leaves, tree pruning) and the pool, whose hygiene must be impeccable, are an additional service, carried out by our teams or by a contractor sent by the owner.
An owner staying in their own property is free to clean it themselves or to order a service from us; if they do it themselves, the property must be ready to re-let immediately, with no intervention from us.
The owner plans an annual deep clean: walls, bathroom sealant, descaling of appliances, bedding, air-conditioning filters, skirting boards, sockets and light switches.
The right time: the low season, before bookings resume.

Thinking about renting out a property in Vias? Get in touch with RIBOLEYS.