Airbnb cleaning checklist: a room-by-room turnover list

What Airbnb's rules say about cleaning

Airbnb's Help Center article on ground rules for home hosts (read 30 Oct 2026) has a section on listing cleanliness with three parts:

• Health and safety. The listing should be free of health hazards such as mold and pests.
• Cleanliness. A high standard of cleanliness, free of extensive dust, pet dander and dirty dishes.
• Guest turnover. Clean between every stay: laundry, trash, vacuuming or sweeping, and wiping down surfaces.

Repeated or severe violations can lead to warnings, refunds to guests from the host's payout, loss of Superhost status, or a suspended listing. The same article says the photos and description should accurately represent the space, which is why the last step of this checklist compares the room with the listing.

Two more rules matter on turnover day. Airbnb's guest ground rules say cleaning fees only cover standard cleaning between reservations, such as laundry and vacuuming, and that hosts may not charge guests fees for skipping checkout tasks (they can still rate and review cleanliness). And Airbnb's safety requirements say hosts should change lockbox and entry codes between each reservation, and keep any smoke and carbon monoxide detectors working. House rules, check-in, reviews and the rest of the hosting basics are in our Airbnb host tips.

You may still see Airbnb's 5-step enhanced cleaning process from 2020 quoted on other sites. Its old Help Center address now redirects to the safety requirements page (checked 30 Oct 2026), so treat it as history rather than a current rule.

The Airbnb turnover checklist, room by room

Print this table or copy it into your cleaner's notes. Airbnb's "Clean like a pro" article (Aug 20, 2024) quotes Diana Cruz, who cleans a dozen Airbnb listings in southwestern Florida: work from a routine and a checklist so nothing gets forgotten, and start by stripping the beds so the laundry is running while you clean.

The spots Diana Cruz says guests notice and cleaners miss: under the beds, inside drawers, cabinet doors, small appliances, blinds and house plants, and the entryway. She also inspects every piece of laundry and every dish as it comes out of the machine.

Restock list

Airbnb's Help Center lists the essential amenities it strongly encourages in every listing. If your listing shows the Essentials amenity and the items are missing, Airbnb says the listing may be penalized or removed. Check these on every turnover:

• Toilet paper, with a spare roll
• Soap for hands and body
• One towel per guest
• One pillow per guest
• Linens for each guest bed

Diana Cruz's extras from the same Airbnb article: refill dish soap, hand soap, body wash, shampoo and conditioner, and leave anything disposable, like a dish sponge, new in its wrapper. Then add whatever your own listing promises in its amenities, such as coffee, cooking oil, salt and pepper, trash bags or laundry detergent. Anything you list has to be there.

Timing between guests

A turnover has to fit between checkout and the next check-in. Three settings help:

• Preparation time. In Airbnb's availability settings you can block none, 1 or 2 nights before and after each reservation (Airbnb Resource Center, updated Jul 14, 2025). Use it if one cleaning slot is not enough, for example for a large home or a deep clean.
• Cut-off for bookings that start tonight. If guests can book for tonight, you choose the latest hour they can book, between 6:00 AM and 12:00 AM, so a booking can't land after your cleaner has gone home.
• Spare linen. Diana Cruz keeps spare sets of sheets and towels for quick turnarounds, because big towels take a long time to dry.

Guests are expected to check out, and return keys, by the checkout time on the reservation, so plan the cleaner's arrival for right after that. Schedule a deep clean every two or three months for the jobs that don't fit into a normal turnover, as the same Airbnb article suggests.

Final walk-through: does it look like the listing?

Finish standing in the doorway of each room with your listing open on your phone. The bed should be made the same way, the furniture where the photos show it, the lamps working, and nothing in the room that the photos don't explain. For odors, Airbnb's cleaning article suggests fresh air and an air purifier for two or three hours rather than strong air fresheners.

Airbnb's ground rules say photos should accurately represent the space, and its listing advice says updating photos often helps them reflect what you offer now. If the room has changed since the photos were taken (new sofa, new bedding, a repainted wall), retake them. Our guide to Airbnb photos vs reality covers where the line is, and Airbnb photos with an iPhone shows how to reshoot a room yourself.

A freshly turned-over room is also the best moment to photograph it: beds made, surfaces clear, towels folded. If you clean on a set day, add a reshoot to the checklist whenever something in the room changes.

Keeping your listing photos current

The October app is one way to reshoot after a turnover: it guides you through each room on an iPhone 12 or newer, showing where to stand and keeping the phone level, and an image model then makes finished photos from your capture, usually within a few hours. A place is up to 6 rooms. Photos cost $49 a place, $99 with a walkthrough video, and the first place is free. Check each photo against the room before you upload it. See pricing and October for Airbnb hosts.

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