We’ve all heard how important it is to communicate in a relationship but what about when it comes to our work relationships? One thing I’ve learned from cleaning vacation rentals and managing a team is that good communication can take you farther than most any tool in your cleaning bag! Here are a few important tips I’ve discovered along the way.
Understand the language of your property manager. Even if you don’t work for a management company you’ll still need to know what the owner of your rental expects from you or your team. Upon hiring, discuss their preferred method of communication. If you have any uncertain questions or concerns you can contact them. Some people prefer text messaging. You can relay the information on a separate group text to anyone involved (my team finds this tool extremely useful). Perhaps a more formal approach, email or a good old-fashioned phone call. Report any maintenance issues immediately upon discovery, not as you’re walking out the door. This allows your crew to have more time to remedy the situation before the next check in. Little things like this go a long way with a property manager. It shows that you are considerate and take pride in your work. Our team members know to report any issues to us and we work to either resolve them or pass them up to management. This makes our line of communication more efficient.
If you have a team or a partner, make sure you all know your shifts. Schedule yourselves a week in advance (adding any new bookings along the way) and make sure everyone is aware of their schedules via text, email or preferably a scheduling app. Many are free and extremely easy to use. We would be lost without our app! You can even add availability, request time off and trade shifts. You can also set alerts in settings to remind you of an upcoming shift.
If anything changes make people aware! This sounds simple but so many people forget how important it is to communicate. Situations like: needing a shift covered, a guest requesting early check in or late check out, cancellations or last minute additions to the schedule can disturb your flow. Time management is important to everyone across the board. So being considerate to other people in your professional circle is a key element to keeping everyone happy. If we are cleaning multiple units in the same day and we know that someone wants an early check in we will go out of our way to do that one first. That way everyone is happy. If someone wants to check out late we would do that unit last. If these requests are unknown it is inconvenient for everyone.
Check in with your people! It is important that no matter how large or small your team that you are in touch with their level of satisfaction. Are you consistently missing something in the cleaning process that is especially important to your manager? Are your team members receiving the amount of shifts that they would like? Does anyone on any level have an idea to share that they believe would be beneficial to the overall process? When the lines of communication are open people are happier, more productive, and more willing to contribute.
These are just a few things I have found especially helpful when cleaning Airbnb rentals but we are always working towards making things better!
About the Author: Ashley is a professional Airbnb Cleaner located in Seminole, Florida. To view Ashley’s profile or to book her for your next short term rental cleaning, visit her profile or find an Airbnb cleaner in your area.
