Cleaner costs North Cornwall

If you are planning to buy a rental home, or you're thinking about what to do with one you have just acquired, this is the place for any questions about starting out in the rentals business.
Annieb
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu May 11, 2017 7:20 am
Location: North Cornwall

Cleaner costs North Cornwall

Post by Annieb »

Hi All,
I tried to post earlier so apologies if my query gets posted twice. I am just getting the hang of what to do.
I have just bought and renovated a seaside holiday rental and am hoping to register with a letting agent next week. I have a cleaner lined up who lives close to the property but have not yet discussed money. I would be grateful if anyone would should what a fair and reasonable payment for the cleaner. It is a 2 bedroom ensuite bungalow which I want cleaned to a high standard. I was thinking it may take her 3 to 4 hours to prepare?. Do you all pay an hourly rate up to a maximum of a certain amount of hours. Also what do you normally pay someone if they are available to help out if there are problems. The holiday company will do some of this. Do you pay the cleaner even if the holiday makers do not want a mid stay clean so they have some guaranteed income in the Summer months. Any help in this area would be appreciated. I want to be generous so we have a good working relationship and to encourage her to stay in the post. looking forward to hearing any replies and many thanks for all the posts on this site which have been invaluable to me setting up.
ianh100
Posts: 598
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 4:37 pm
Location: Sherborne Dorset

Post by ianh100 »

HI Annieb

We are in Dorset, we have a very reliable local cleaner, she does a great job and charges us £12 an hour. Our 2 bed one bathroom property is generally 2 hours, or 3 bed 3 hours. On top of that she does laundry off site and has a menu price per item so it varies a little depending on the number of guests. Typically its £30.

We have always asked her to take the lead and make sure that that property is cleaned to the highest standards. She does a great job but it is never the same as the critical eye of an observant owner.

We try and stay/clean ourselves about once per month. That gives us time to move furniture, scrub or touch up any paintwork and generally keep on top of things.

How are you going to cover times when she is on holiday? How do you make sure she understands exactly how you want the property presented?

We only pay her for the work done but try and give as much notice as possible. Not sure how you could pay her when there are no bookings, there could be weeks when you have short breaks and several cleans are required in a week. We don't pay our cleaner any "retainer" fee but she has always been happy to respond to any request, even guests that have locked themselves out. Perhaps we are just very lucky.
loveka
Posts: 88
Joined: Fri Aug 19, 2016 10:32 am

Post by loveka »

Yes we pay a similar amount, ours is 3 bed. We pay £11.50 an hour. We end up paying £75 per changeover.

We pay £10 if she has to visit or sort something out. But she lives a minutes walk away.

I hope we are being fair.
Giraffe
Posts: 410
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2016 10:10 am
Location: Cornwall, England

Post by Giraffe »

I am in South Cornwall. I have 2 friends who run a small holiday let cleaning business. She does the housekeeping side, he does the maintenance. I only pay per changeover. I have a very large house which sleeps 7 and takes 2 cleaners 4 to 5 hours to clean (total 8 to 10 hours depending on how visitors leave it). Total changeover cost is £185, including cleaning bed linen, bath mats and towels. Call outs are charged at £30.

If the house has been empty since the previous visitors then I pay for a freshen up before the next arrivals, usually £30. I have a annual spring clean costing around £250. Make sure you have enough bed linen, bath mats, towels etc. I find that a weekly turnaround for washing/ironing is often not achieved

All this is necessary as I live 230 miles away. You will need backup arrangements if you have a single cleaner - suggest you ask your cleaner what her arrangements would be for her holidays or if she cannot do a changeover at the last minute. You also need to think about arrangements for last minute bookings and short breaks. If you are local then things will be much easier for you.

You will need the highest standards of cleaning. I often visit when there is a gap in bookings and I check the cleaning and housekeeping. You will need to make it very clear up front what you expect - other people's standards and ideas of how to do things are often different from yours. And the task is not just cleaning - it also includes preparing the house for visitors. Also, are you going to include items in the garden such as furniture, BBQ?

I trust you have checked reliability of your cleaner. I have had a couple of horror stories in the past when I had an agent running the lets for me. Fortunately I now have great service. If you have a gem, suggest you pay her well - your cleaner is the key to a successful business.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your venture.
Giraffe xx
The best things in life are free
Annieb
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu May 11, 2017 7:20 am
Location: North Cornwall

Cleaning costs

Post by Annieb »

Thank you so much for the responses I have received re cleaning costs. You have really helped.
The lady I have lives opposite my rental and we will hopefully be available from the 21st july for any bookings. A holiday company local to our rental in North Cornwall will be doing some management of the property.
Our cosmopolitan mattresses from Mattisons arrived last week and look super. I ordered these as a direct result of looking at this website.
Thank you again!
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