Holiday home rental-ready: how to earn five-star reviews

On the West Coast, your guests decide whether your holiday home earns five stars or three. The difference is rarely the big things. It is the small details an owner walks past every time. Here is how we get a house rental-ready so it holds up all season.

The first five minutes decide the review

Walk in like a guest, not like the owner. Look at eye level and check the zones that set the first impression: the entrance, the view from the sofa, the bed, and the bathroom sink. This is where the phone comes out, and it is the first picture the guest forms.

Smell is the very first thing a guest notices through the door. Air the house thoroughly, empty every bin, and check the drains and the coffee machine before you do anything else. A musty coffee machine or a smelly drain ruins an otherwise perfect house.

The white-glove spots owners miss

Guests find exactly the places owners skip. Spend extra time on:

• The top of the fridge and the extractor hood filter
• Behind and beside the toilet, plus the underside of the toilet seat
• Inside the microwave and crumbs in the cutlery tray
• Light switches and the TV and aircon remote controls

They are small surfaces, but they are exactly the ones a critical guest checks with a fingertip.

Reset to a defined standard every time

Professional cleaning means the house looks identical for every guest. Reset to a defined standard: the same number of clean towels, glasses lined up, a neutral and inviting staged look. A written reset standard is what we deliver and what owners forget.

Stock the consumables guests hate to run out of: toilet paper, dishwasher tablets, bin bags, salt, and hand soap. Running out triggers a bad review faster than a bit of dust. While you are at it, check the boring safety details guests silently judge: a working smoke alarm, no expired food in cupboards or fridge, and a clean barbecue.

Outdoors matters more at the coast. Wipe the terrace furniture, clear spider webs at the entrance, coastal houses get many, shake the entrance mat, and clean the windows so the sea view is actually visible. Finally, photograph the finished house after each clean. It is both your proof and your checklist, and it shows instantly if something was missed.

Want a hand. We deliver this same standard for your summer house cleaning and Airbnb cleaning, every single turnover.