Posts Tagged ‘cleaning’
Washers and dryers at vacation rental homes sure take a beating! It’s not uncommon for the use of these two appliances in a vacation rental home to be 2-3 times that of a washer and dryer in a regular residential dwelling, especially if guests have access to the laundry room. The increased usage of the vacation homes washer and dryer should be met with more frequent maintenance and cleaning to keep them performing their best – and avoid pricey repairs and replacements.
With the cost of a professional appliance repair person ranging from $45-$100 an hour and parts marked up at least 100%, it’s in your best interest as a vacation rental homeowner to regularly clean and maintains these appliances – and even be able to do a little troubleshooting on your own!
Check Your Connections
When performing maintenance on your washer and dryer, be sure to check all the connections for water and power. Cords, hoses, connections should all be in good repair – no kinks, frays, tears, or holes. If you do notice anything amiss here – and you’re not confident in your repair knowledge or skills in this area – it may be best to call in a pro, just due to safety concerns.
Best Practices
Abusive practices, such as overloading the washer and not cleaning out the dryer lint trap after each use, will cause problems sooner or later. Especially if your vacation rental home guests have access, be sure to post instructions for proper use!
Hard Water Blues
The need for a stepped-up maintenance and cleaning schedule for your washer and dryer is even more important if your vacation rental property has “hard” water – that is, water with high mineral content. While it’s safe to drink, the dissolved calcium and magnesium in hard water can leave behind a film in your washer, and this film can attract and hold dirt from the laundry. Ewww.
Washing Your Washer
Cleaning your washer is really pretty easy, and doesn’t require any fancy supplies. In fact, baking soda and vinegar are the only two things you’ll need besides a spray bottle and a cleaning cloth! We found a great set of instructions for both front loading and top loading washers that walks you through the cleaning process, step-by-step. Check it out here!
Your Dryer Needs to Vent!
Seriously. A clogged dryer vent causes inefficiency and undue stress on your dryer leading to higher utility costs and machine breakdown – but a clogged vent could also cause a fire! In a typical residence, dryer vents should be cleaned annually, but since the dryer in a vacation rental home is generally used more frequently (think of all those towels!) you may want to check your dryer vent 2-3 times a year.
In the Phoenix area, you can find a professional to clean your dryer vent starting around $69. If you’re into the DIY lifestyle, we found this very informative video that not only shows you how you can tell if your dryer vent needs cleaning, but leads you through the actual process!
What’s Wrong?
Even with regular maintenance and cleaning, there’s always a chance that one day, they just won’t work. Rather than rushing to call in the repair person, there are some basic troubleshooting tasks you should do first, if possible, such as checking the power to the laundry area. You certainly don’t want to pay an appliance repair person to tell you your electrical outlet is bad, or you’ve thrown a breaker. Checking all connections to the appliance itself should be at the top of your list.
If your problem does truly seem to be the appliance itself, your owners manual should include a troubleshooting guide – and many manuals can now be found online for your convenience. Even if your appliance is under warranty, the warranty company will want to walk you through these steps before a repair is scheduled.
Appearance Counts
Don’t forget the outer surfaces of your washer and dryer – these appliances should look as fantastic as the rest of your vacation rental home. Wipe them down regularly (Moxie Girl recommends Truce All-Purpose!) for a clean shine and fresh scent!
Moxie Girl is Here to Help!
Moxie Girl brings years of experience to caring for your vacation rental home and we are here to help. Whether you’re looking for professional between-guest turns, or just need some helpful tips, Moxie Girl has what you need. Contact us for a FREE CONSULTATION, and check out our blogs, past, and future!
As being a homeowner, and having carpet floors, you will at some point say “ should I just get hardwood floors. As beautiful as hardwood floors are, they don’t come cheap. Hardwood floors are often the most expensive to install, but they will have a long-lasting power and will be the best for your investment in the long run. However, having real hardwood floors can be a lot to maintain. The following is a guide for everything you need to know about maintaining your hardwood floors.
It can be super easy to forget about your floors, due to loads of laundry you have piled up, or your busy work schedule. Managing your hardwood floors should only take about 20-30 minutes per day depending on how much you have throughout your home. Wood floors are more sensitive than you think. To properly manage your wood floors, they need to be swept, mopped, and dusted on a regular basis. This is required to help maintain their shine. When mopping, be careful not to use any harsh chemicals or too much water. Chemicals and too much water will end up causing damage to your floors. Vacuuming is also a good way to manage your floors but you have to vacuum with caution. When vacuuming, don’t use your old vacuum cleaner, set your vacuum on to the bare floor setting to minimize your chances of ruining your floors.
Your next step is to clean your floors monthly with wood cleaner. A wood cleaner is meant to keep your floors healthy and shiny. Using certain wood cleaners will help maintain their strength and help them look absolutely stunning year-round. When cleaning your floors with wood cleaning, make sure you are wiping the same way that the wood grains run. This will increase the results by making sure you are getting all the dirt and oil out of the cracks and crevices in the flooring. The wood cleaner also helps prevent discoloration. You can also check for discoloration by lifting up rugs that you have laid out on your floors. You will be able to see a color difference, if you notice a color difference, then your floors have probably been damaged by the sun. To protect your floors from the UV rays of the sun, you can pull your drapes or blinds during the peak sunlight hours.
No matter how much you take care of your hardwood floors, you will always need to get some professional help sometime down the line. The reason you may need some help with your floors is due to your floors needing deep cleaning, a sanding, and even some refinishing treatments. Deep cleaning is used to attack dirt, oil, or grime that builds up over time. Sanding and refinishing treatments finish the job to make your floors look good as new. Some good habits to get into include when moving furniture, make sure you lift everything so you aren’t scratching your hardwood floors.
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The best way to make sure that you are getting the most out of your hardwood floors is to take good care of them every day. Use the wood floor cleaner guide above to help you create and stick to a good schedule to ensure that your wood floors are getting the right maintenance they need.
First Impression of Your Vacation Rental
We have heard it time and time again that first impressions matter and people are always saying “try to make the best first impression that you can”. This is something that should be considered when managing a vacation rental because first impressions can greatly impact the cash flow of your property. The first impression starts long before a guest has even stepped foot into your vacation rental. Their very first impression comes from the pictures that are placed online. Potential guests will evaluate the appearance and if it looks cleaned and well kept, what the staging and décor is like, and the overall vibes that the place gives off. Have you thought about what impression your vacation rental gives?
Vacation Rental Ratings and Reviews
Along with first impressions, ratings and reviews are especially important for cash flow when managing a vacation rental. Vacation rental management is part of the Hospitality Industry. Success in the hospitality industry is driven by the rating and reviews of others. It is said that people trust reviews as much as getting a recommendation from someone and 72% of people said they would not book a place without reviews. Potential guests are going through and reading the reviews left from your previous guests before determining if they are going to book your place.
How a professional clean can improve your ratings
The upkeep for a vacation rental can be a lot of work, even more so if you are managing more than one property. Hiring a professional cleaning company can eliminate a large portion of stress and free up more time in your schedule. Your guests want to have the feeling that the place is brand new and has never been used before. A great cleaning company can not only deliver that experience to your guests, but they can also improve the ratings and reviews that your guests are providing after they check out. With the increase of positive reviews, it is likely that the demand to stay in your vacation rental will increase as well.
Why choose Moxie Girl Vacation Rental Cleaning Company
With all the different cleaning companies that are available, it can be difficult choosing between them. So, what makes a cleaning company great? There needs to be trust, professionalism, and they should be experienced. Moxie Girls’ team of professional cleaners are also organized, fairly priced, and practice secure confidentiality.
If you are looking for a team of professionals to help you increase the number of positive reviews that your vacation rental receives and are ready to relieve stress and have more free time. Click here for more information.
As we’ve noted in previous blogs, most recently “Vacation Rental Homes Only!” vacation rental home guests tend to get super-comfy after about day 3 of their stay – and this usually results in the need for a much deeper between-guest cleaning than a 2-3 day booking would require.
What We Know
With our vast experience caring for vacation rental homes throughout the Phoenix area, Moxie Girl also sees more damage done to rental properties by longer-term guests than shorter-term vacation rental guests.
These are two of the big reasons many vacation rental homeowners are reluctant to allow long-term stays on their properties. However, summer does tend to be the season where guests are seeking more lengthy stays. Especially here in Phoenix, a multi-week or even longer occupancy is tempting to the vacation rental owner, since summer tends to be brutal and rental activity takes a hit.
The Benefits of Mid-Stay Vacation Rental Cleaning
One thing vacation rental homeowners allowing longer-term bookings this summer are doing to alleviate their concerns is scheduling “mid-stay” cleanings. Long-term guests really settle in and begin treating the vacation rental home as they would their own home…and since you probably don’t know what THEIR home looks like, it’s best just to expect that they may not clean the vacation rental at all during their stay.
A mid-stay cleaning will not only make the cleaning after the guests departure (hopefully) much easier and quicker, but it also allows the vacation rental homeowner to become aware of any suspicious activity, theft of or damage to the vacation rental or its contents while the guests are still there.
Many long-term vacation rental guests see mid-stay cleanings as a perk! Just because a guest is messy doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate a clean space. Also knowing that professional cleaning is scheduled during their stay may prompt guests to live a little neater than they normally might.
Need a Moxie (or Want to BE One)?
If you’re a vacation rental homeowner in the Phoenix area CLICK HERE to find out how Moxie Girl’s team of vacation rental specialists can make your life easier. Moxie Girl currently cares for over 100 vacation rental homes throughout the Valley and we pride ourselves on our reputation for client satisfaction!
Moxie Girl’s vacation rental assistants enjoy flexible schedules, a supportive team environment and plenty of opportunities to grow! Interested in becoming a Moxie? CLICK HERE to tell us about yourself – we’ll be in touch soon!
Even if you’ve never considered operating a vacation rental home, if you plan on selling your existing home this year, it may interest you now – at least temporarily. Phoenix is currently enjoying a robust housing market, but even “robust” can have its highs and lows. Historically, more homes in the Phoenix area are sold in the spring and summer months than in the fall or winter. Moxie Girl believes that if your home has been on the market for a while, but hasn’t sold by October, temporarily converting it to a vacation rental home while it remains on the market may make a lot of sense.
The idea of temporarily operating the home as a vacation rental makes even more sense if the home you have on the market is considered “luxury.” Instead of sitting vacant while still requiring regular maintenance to keep the home tour-ready, your home could be bringing you income instead of just expense allowing you a bump in cash flow!
Fall and winter months here in Phoenix are booming in terms of vacation rental home bookings, but sales of luxury homes are less during those months than and after the rest of the year, so it may be much more profitable to put off your sales listing for a few months and let the income from temporarily operating the home as a vacation rental cover the expenses you’d be incurring anyway, even if the home sat empty. Bonus: Having regular guest activity on your property can also help deter break-ins, as well as help you keep an eye on home systems that could malfunction and go unnoticed on a vacant property.
Moxie Girl has previously explained the benefits of continuing to operate your vacation rental home through our brutal summer months, vs. “shutting it down.” You can easily apply some of this information to the subject of temporarily operating your for-sale home as a vacation rental vs. leaving it vacant while it sits on a slower market.
We’ve also got some useful information about setting up a vacation rental home in the best and most efficient way! Check out these blogs:
“Laundry 101 for Vacation Rental Homes”
“How to Set Up a Vacation Rental Home Kitchen”
IMPORTANT!
In an attempt to crack down on short term rental properties acting as “party houses” Governor Doug Ducey recently signed HB2672 into law which affects the licensing and reporting requirements necessary to operate a vacation rental anywhere in the State of Arizona. Get the details HERE!
Need Help?
From vacation rental home conversions to regular, between-guest care of established vacation rental, Moxie Girl has vast experience in the Phoenix area vacation rental home industry! CLICK HERE to see how Moxie Girl can become your vacation rental, Airbnb, and Vrbo specialist!
As we hope you read in our blog “Match Made in Heaven – Part II” our Moxie team includes members from a wide range of backgrounds and points in their individual life journeys. From career changers to former stay-at-home moms, all of our Moxies have varying degrees of experience in life.
Yes, we are all here to learn and grow, but a fair number of Moxies are also college students with their own long-term goals. Our in-school Moxies get the work schedule flexibility they need to stay on top of their formal studies while earning money, staying in shape and learning real-world skills that will help them reach their goals.
By “real-world” skills, we’re not just referring to cleaning and household tasks – that’s a given. Even our Moxies with previous professional cleaning experience are schooled in the “Moxie Way” when they come aboard. We’re talking about learning effective time and home project management skills, multi-tasking and making good judgments, too!
We found one of our college student Moxies, Breona, at our on-campus job-fair booth at Arizona State University where she is enrolled full-time. She was looking to earn some money with a flexible schedule, but she found a lot more. Breona says she loves “the whole dynamic of this company, and its morals and values” and quickly advanced to a Team Lead position after joining us in the latter half of 2018!
Breona’s dream is to own and operate an in-home care-giving business to serve the needs of those who might otherwise be relegated to nursing facilities and she credits Moxie Girl with helping her gain important communication skills. “I would envy the Moxie team if I wasn’t able to be part of it.The name itself is so empowering to me, but more than that, this team feels like one giant family that continuously encourages and supports one another.”
Another of our college student Moxies is Rachel, who was also discovered at an ASU job fair. Rachel is majoring in Justice Studies and has her sights set on becoming a crime scene investigator. Flexibility in schedule was of great importance to Rachel, too, but she was also looking for a supportive team to work with while honing her time-management skills.
Working with Moxie Girl is “having a group of people to boost your positivity and help you in situations you’re not sure how to handle. Having this group to look up to is something I cherish every day.”
Many of our Moxies say one of the most important things they’ve learned is determining what’s “good enough,” because Moxie Girls all tend to want things to be perfect , and in doing so, we know we need to be reasonable. After all, we’ve got schedules to keep!
Does Moxie Girl sound like your kind of tribe? We are always looking for more of “us”, so introduce yourself, please!
As Mother’s Day rapidly approaches, have you ever wondered how Mother’s Day came about in the first place? It all started with a woman named Anna Jarvis (who actually never became a mother herself.) Anna was born in West Virginia in 1864, and was the ninth of eleven children born to Granville E. and Ann Maria (nee Reeves) Jarvis.
In 1908, Anna completed a movement that her mother had started. It had been a dream of Ann Maria’s to create a special day to recognize other women for all of their hard work in and out of the home, in the course of raising their families. Anna’s mother had passed before everything was approved to officially create the holiday. Anna’s drive to finish what her mother started was strong and with the help of President Woodrow Wilson, Mother’s Day became a nationally recognized holiday.
In it’s early days, Mother’s Day was recognized with flowers and giving mom “the day off.” Traditionally, the carnation is the signature flower of the holiday with red and pink carnations recognizing mothers still living and white carnations memorializing those who had passed. Today, Mother’s Day is celebrated in many different ways. Children and husbands give flowers, cards and perhaps treat mom to a special meal or a gift certificate for a day of pampering at her favorite spa.
(Moxie Tip: If you ARE planning to take mom out for dinner in celebration of her special day – you might be wise to choose a day right before or right after Mother’s Day Sunday. Mother’s Day is usually the #1 busiest day of the year for most restaurants (followed closely by Valentine’s Day) and although staffing can be at a maximum, everything else is too. Wait times to be seated can be long and service may suffer under the strain of a continuous and heavy stream of patrons, so you might not be treating mom to the very best experience she deserves.)
Moxie Girl would like to give a big shout out to all of the mothers around the world who work hard and raise families. Many of us Moxies are also moms, so we know it is one of the toughest jobs on the planet. Happy Mother’s Day from all of us at Moxie Girl!
Moxie Girl is the Valley’s vacation rental specialist! Vacation rental home owners – get a FREE CONSULTATION and see how much easier it is to be a successful vacation rental home operator with Moxie Girl taking care of the turns! Moxie Girl is always looking for just the right fit to add to our reliable and motivated team – APPLY HERE. We’d love to hear from you!
Review Killers – Vacation Rental Home, Airbnb, and Vrbo Cleaning “Misses”
When guests book your vacation rental, Airbnb, or Vrbo home, they’ve seen photos of it online looking it’s very best, so you’ve already given them a great (virtual) first impression. And now that their expectations have been set, it’s up to you to make sure your guests aren’t disappointed during their stay! As fantastic and fresh as it may look at first glance, a guest discovering a cleaning “miss” – or worse, multiple “misses” – during their visit can really diminish their overall perception of your vacation rental home.
We all hope that a great experience will translate to a great guest review, but we know a negative experience, even if it’s due to one or more seemingly minor issues such as cleaning “misses” will nearly ALWAYS translate to a less than positive guest review. Moxie Girl, your vacation rental, Airbnb, and Vrbo specialist, is here to alert you to some common cleaning misses to avoid – all of which can be huge turn-offs to guests.
It’s Okay to be “Hairanoid” – Especially in the Bathroom
You know, like paranoid…about HAIR. Nothing will ruin the appearance of an otherwise spotless bathroom than a hair – even one – missed during cleaning. If Moxie Girl happens upon an extra-hairy bathroom, we often use our vacuum attachment tool to get the bulk of it out of the way before we even start cleaning! Vacuuming any DRY sink, tub or shower, in addition to the floors, will make quick work of hair disposal and keep it out of your cleaning cloths, so you won’t be spreading it around. (Caution – Never vacuum a wet surface!)
Check those bathroom drains! Hairy drains are completely unappealing and if left unchecked, will leave you with slow-running or completely clogged drains.
Fabric surfaces throughout your vacation rental home – seat cushions, throw pillows, duvet covers – can all collect hair, dust and other debris. Moxie Girl recommends rolling all these surfaces with an adhesive lint roller, which can be purchased at your nearest dollar store.
And finally, double check bathrooms after you complete the rest of the home. Hair can float around for a while, landing in the most inconvenient spots. Double check that no “strays” made it back on to your clean surfaces.
The Kitchen – So Many Places to Hide!
The kitchen, with all its appliances, drawers and cupboards is a potential landmine of cleaning misses! For example, if you’ve followed the guidelines in Moxie Girl’s How to Set Up a Vacation Rental Home Kitchen, you furnished your kitchen with some type of coffee maker and a toaster or toaster oven. Guests will definitely expect those things to be clean and ready-to-use. This means clean, inside AND out! No soggy, spent coffee filter and grounds or used K-cups left in the Keurig, and certainly no toast crumbs littering the counter the second the toaster is touched.
Bigger appliances should be thoroughly checked out during the cleaning process, too. The majority of your vacation rental home guests may never use the oven or even the microwave, but still, take a peek! Moxie Girl has found food left in ovens (and microwaves) – even gooey evidence of an indoor marshmallow roast – more than once after guests have departed. And if we hadn’t checked, it could have been the next guest finding that mess – yikes!
Dishwashers and refrigerators should be empty, clean and fresh-smelling. Double check that all dishes, utensils and cookware are sparkling clean and dry – and neatly put away in clean drawers and cupboards! Don’t forget to check the inside of the trash bin to make sure there aren’t any messes lurking in there, either.
Handle(s) with Care!
Ensure your guests’ hands will come in contact with “nothing but clean” by thoroughly wiping down any and all handles in your vacation rental home, Airbnb, and Vrbo – door knobs, drawer pulls, appliance handles and faucets. Sticky and/or greasy messes find it easy to hide here – especially on the back sides – only to be discovered the next time the knob is turned or the handle is pulled.
Moxie Girl recommends using your own clean, bare hands after cleaning your vacation rental, Airbnb, or Vrbo home, to make sure all of these items throughout the home are clean and smooth. Don’t forget door knobs and handles on exterior doors – that front door handle is likely the very first thing your guests will touch upon their arrival!
Behind the Curtains – Insect Graveyards and Cobweb Farms
Pull open the curtains, blinds and shutters on all windows within reach. Not only will this give you some natural additional light while cleaning the room, but you’ll also be aware of anything hiding on window sills. This area seems to attract dead bugs and cobwebs more than most places in the home! Your vacuum attachment tool is useful for hands-free pick-up of any unpleasantness you may find here.
Shut the Front Door!
Actually, open and shut ALL the doors of your vacation rental home during cleaning. Dust and debris tend to gather in the corners behind the doors, so you’ll want to get in there with your vacuum attachment tool as well. Ignore it, and chances are the dust bunnies will scamper out of hiding the minute your guests get comfortable.
Monsters Under the Bed
With so much to do in preparation of your next vacation rental home guests, it’s all too easy to forget to check for “monsters” – trash, forgotten socks, dust bunnies and, well…just trust us when we tell you that you MUST check -under the beds! And in the drawers and closets – after every guest departure. Whatever you may find, you don’t want your next guests making that discovery!
Guests in a hurry to check out on time will often overlook personal items when they are packing, and sometimes jewelry and clothing items can get lost in bedding, or dropped on the floor and go unnoticed until cleaning. Your guests will appreciate being contacted immediately if you find something they mistakenly left behind!
Yes, we know that’s a lot to remember – but we also know that exceptional maintenance and cleaning of your vacation rental home, Airbnb, and Vrbo is essential for success! If you’d rather not DIY, Moxie Girl can handle all those details for you. Visit www.moxie-girl.com and click on the big pink “FREE CONSULTATION” button. You are 2 minutes away from a stress-free vacation rental home!
If you own a vacation rental, Airbnb, and Vrbo home in the Phoenix area, you may be thinking “the season” is over…but summer vacation rentals are actually a lot more popular than most people know. While summer bookings are undoubtedly fewer than the rest of the year, you can still make this season a success! Here are a few tips that will help you have a “no sweat” summer vacation rental season.
Know Your Summer Bookings!
Summer guests fall largely into three categories:
- Last-Minute Bookings – Often work-related or emergency travel, but summer is also the time for spontaneous road trips!
- Stay-cations – These will usually be weekend visits. A requirement for many stay-cationers is a swimming pool, so ALWAYS make your sparkling pool a highlight in your summer listings!
- Longer-term Renters – With the kids out of school, summer is a popular time to move and some find it necessary to secure a temporary home while their new one is being made ready, or while waiting for escrow to close. Especially if your rental doesn’t have a pool, consider monthly pricing to attract the longer-term bookings.
The Price is Right! Or is it?
If your vacation rental is empty in the summer, you’re doing it wrong! Check out hotel pricing in the area. What was a $300/night room in March is easily $99/night during the summer months. Even local resorts offer $99 rooms in the summer.
We often see vacation rental homeowners catch on to “summer pricing” in their second year. So if this is your first year, don’t waste these months! Remember, the more activity on your listing, the more attractive your vacation rental home becomes – both to prospective guests and site algorithms.
Protect Your Vacation Rental Home!
No one wants a sky-high electric bill, or worse, to have to replace a $10k A/C system prematurely. A lockable thermostat is a worthwhile investment. Just lock it at 72 degrees and you can relax knowing your system is safely operating at maximum efficiency.
If you have long breaks between guests, consider having Moxie Girl check on your vacation rental home just to make sure everything is safe and in order. That’s considerable peace of mind for only $75!
Communication is Key!
Summer is notorious for last-minute bookings and changes. You may notice more guests extending their
stays because summer in Phoenix is actually pretty nice when you have time to relax by a pool! Always communicate with Moxie Girl regarding any scheduling changes within 24 hours.
No one likes unpleasant surprises – especially guests. Be sure your guests are aware of any fees for extending their stay, late check-outs, damages, etc. Also, it never hurts to prepare guests – especially those not familiar with the desert – for things such the occasional scorpion and our crazy monsoon storms.
Don’t ignore it for the summer when you can keep your vacation rental home working for you, year-round! Moxie Girl is always here to help – from setting up your vacation rental home, Airbnb, and Vrbo to ensuring on-time, quality cleaning between guests! Check our other Moxie blogs for more information to make the most of your summer vacation rental bookings.
