Leaving a holiday rental the way you found it
Done by everybody at once, this takes thirty minutes. Left to the two people who notice, it takes an hour and a half and they spend it resenting the other six. Read it out on the Saturday night and put a time on it.
30 items
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
The items
- Agree the time on the Saturday night, and the half-hour on the SundayEveryone at once. Two people cleaning while six load cars is how the resentment starts.
- The kitchen
- Dishwasher emptied, not just run
- Everything washed and back in the cupboard it came from
- Hob, oven and worktops wiped
- Fridge emptied, including the door
- Nothing left open in a cupboard for the next group
- The bins
- Every bin in the house, including the bathroom
- Taken to wherever the owner said, not left by the door
- Glass and recycling separated if that is the rule here
- A fresh bag in each bin
- The bedrooms
- Beds stripped if the linen was provided, made if it was not
- Linen and towels left where the owner asked
- Look under every bed
- Windows shut
- The rest of the house
- Furniture back where it was on arrival
- Floors swept where they need it
- Bathroom wiped and the shower drain cleared
- Fire or stove cold and cleared, if one was used
- Heating turned down, lights off
- The lost property roundOne person, every room, last. Chargers behind beds, a swimsuit on a radiator, a toothbrush in the second bathroom.
- Report anything broken, yourself, in a message
- Photograph each room as you leave
- Check the garden, the terrace and the car park too
- Leave the keys where you were told, and confirm you have
- Thank the owner, and leave the review while you still remember it
- Count the people before the last car leaves
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
Questions people ask
- What does a holiday rental usually require at check-out?
- Bins emptied, dishes done and put away, fridge cleared, beds stripped if linen was provided, furniture back where it was. Anything beyond that is what the cleaning fee pays for, and you can ask before you arrive.
- How do you make sure the deposit comes back?
- Photograph the house when you leave, in the same rooms you photographed on arrival, and report any breakage yourself before the owner finds it. Owners return deposits to groups that tell them the truth.