What a turnover covers
A short-term rental turnover is a reset to a known standard, done the same way every time so the next guest walks into the same unit the last one should have found. A guest reviews a unit against the pictures and against the last place they stayed, so our job is to leave every surface where the host said to leave it.
1. Beds stripped and remade
Every bed gets stripped to the mattress. Sheets, pillowcases and duvet covers go to the linen bin or the laundry, whichever the host set up on the call. We check the mattress protector, the pillow protectors and the pillows themselves for stains that need a swap. Beds are remade with fresh linen from the host's stock, the way the host wants them (envelope folds, decorative pillows, throw at the foot). If the host wants a specific photo on turndown, we work from the photo.
2. Bathrooms reset
We take the towels and floor mats off, pull the trash, and clean the shower or tub, toilet, vanity and mirror top down. The drain comes clear of hair, the fresh towels are folded the way the host set, toilet paper gets restocked and the next roll is tipped the way the pictures show. Amenity bottles are topped off from the supply closet when they run low, and the hair dryer goes back in its drawer or hook.
3. The kitchen
We wash the dishes, clear and wipe the counters, scrub the sink, and clean the appliance fronts, cabinet pulls and handles. The outside of the stove, the stove top, the oven window, the drip pans and the inside of the microwave all get wiped. We check the fridge for anything the last guest left; the host says on the call whether to pull everything or to leave what is clearly in-date. The inside gets a light wipe, with floor shelves pulled out when there is a spill. Trash and recycling go out.
4. Floors
We vacuum and then mop the floors where mops belong, including the rug by the door, the kitchen floor, the bathroom floor and the entry runner. Pet hair gets its own pass, since reviews often turn on it. Area rugs are reset so the corners line up with the pictures. In a condo building, trash goes to the hall room on the floor the host told us to use, and nowhere else.
5. The host's checklist and supplies
Every host has a checklist, and some are long enough to live in a binder on the kitchen counter. We follow the one the host sends us, in the order the host wants it done. The supply closet or under-sink cabinet is where every turnover starts, so each one goes from the same box of coffee pods, the same set of towels and the same bottle of dish soap. If a supply is low, we flag it to the host before the next arrival.
6. Things left behind, and anything damaged
Guests leave things, from a charger in the outlet behind the bed to a book on the nightstand or a pair of sunglasses on the sill. We bag what is left behind, label it with the checkout date and set it where the host wants left items held. How damage and left items get reported is agreed with the host on the call.
| Area | Every turnover | Every few turnovers |
|---|---|---|
| Beds | Strip, remake, check pillows and protectors; linen handling as the host sets it | Wash pillow protectors |
| Bathrooms | Full reset, towels, amenities, mirrors, floor | Behind the toilet, inside the vanity, shower door tracks |
| Kitchen | Dishes, counters, sink, appliance fronts, inside microwave | Inside the oven, inside the cabinets |
| Floors | Vacuum and spot-mop | Full mop with baseboards wiped |
| Soft surfaces | Rugs reset, visible pet hair pulled | Upholstery wipe-down on hard-surface furniture |
| Living areas | Surfaces wiped, remotes reset, cushions straightened | Under cushions that lift off; lamp shades dusted from the floor |
| Windows | Smudges on glass at hand height | Full inside pass with sills and tracks |
| Outside the door | Floor runner reset, welcome card placed | A fuller reset of what is directly outside the unit's door |
Reviews on short-term rentals get specific, which is why the every-few-turnovers list matters. The reset catches the day-to-day; the deeper pass catches what starts to show in photos.
When a Chicago turnover fits, and when another service fits better
Turnover cleaning is the repeatable visit between guests on a short-term rental or vacation rental. Other visits do what a turnover cannot.
When turnover cleaning fits
- The unit is a short-term rental or a vacation rental
- A guest just left and a new guest is coming
- The checklist, the supplies and the linens are the host's
- The reset follows a known standard every time
When another service fits better
- The unit has not had a deep pass in months. A deep clean every so often covers what a turnover skips by design: inside the oven, inside the cabinets, the grout and the shower door tracks.
- The host has a one-off date between bookings, a cleaning before a renovation photo shoot, or a visit after a holiday party. A one-time cleaning handles that without touching the regular turnover schedule.
- The unit is in a larger building with its own rules on trash, elevators and quiet hours. A unit in a larger building has more on how the building side of the work gets handled.
- A long-term tenant is leaving and the unit is going back onto the regular rental market. That is a long-term tenant moving out, not a turnover.
Every turnover resets the room for the next guest; a few turnovers in, the spots a turnover skips have waited long enough.
What every turnover covers, and what every few turnovers add
The reset between guests, with a deeper pass set apart for the spots that only need it every few times.
Every turnover
- Beds stripped and remade with the host's linens.
- Kitchen reset: dishes, appliance fronts, inside of the microwave.
- Bathroom reset: tub, toilet, vanity and mirror.
- Floors last.
- A look for anything a guest left behind.
Every few turnovers
- Grout in the shower and on the bathroom floor.
- Inside the oven and the fridge, gaskets included.
- Baseboards, cabinet fronts and switch plates.
- Window sills and tracks.
What the visit covers for a turnover
Every item on your checklist, in the order you want it done, with your linens and your supplies. Beds, bathrooms, kitchen, floors, soft surfaces and the area outside the door, with a short walkthrough at the end so the pictures match what the next guest will see.
Products are a conversation set up on the first call. We go over what you want used, what you want avoided (a sensitive guest, a stone counter, a wood floor finish), and what to flag when stock gets low. For what a standard cleaning includes, the base covers the same room-by-room work; a turnover is that work plus the reset to the listing's standard.
What a turnover does not include: deep cleaning beyond the checklist, duct cleaning, carpet shampooing, outside windows above the ground floor, mold work beyond small surface spots on tile and grout, hauling, or any work on the building side of a unit (common hallways, shared laundry, lobby). If the unit needs any of those, we talk about which trade handles it.