How do I find, pay and manage cleaners for a short-term rental?

Your cleaner decides what the next guest sees when they open the door. A good setup has four parts: a fair rate based on local wages, a written scope the cleaner can follow without asking, a photo report at the end of each clean and a second cleaner you can call when the first one can't make it. The tax side is short for most hosts: collect a Form W-9 up front and check the 1099-NEC threshold each January.

What cleaners earn in your area

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wages for maids and housekeeping cleaners (occupation code 37-2012) in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. The latest national figures, for May 2025, are in the OEWS news release published May 15, 2026 (opens in a new tab):

Two things to know before you use these numbers. The OEWS FAQ (opens in a new tab) says the survey does not cover the self-employed, so these are wages paid to employees on a payroll, not rates that independent cleaners quote. Its wages also leave out benefits and overtime premiums. An independent cleaner pays their own self-employment costs, supplies and travel, so expect their rate to sit above the employee wage, not at it.

How to look up your metro

1. Open the BLS metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area estimates (opens in a new tab) page (May 2025 data, read on Nov 4, 2026).
2. Find your state, then click your metro area. Each area name links to its wage estimates.
3. Find "Maids and housekeeping cleaners" (37-2012) in the list.
4. Not sure which metro you're in? The same page links to a list of areas by county.

The page also offers a spreadsheet download with the 10th, 25th, 75th and 90th percentile wages, which shows the range in your area, not just the middle.

Flat fee per turnover or hourly

A flat fee per turnover is simple to budget and simple to match with your cleaning fee. Hourly pay suits a home where the work varies a lot from stay to stay. Either way, start from the hours.

1. Time two or three real turnovers. Ask the cleaner to note start and finish times, including laundry.
2. Multiply by a local rate. Use your metro's figure as a floor, then agree on a rate with the cleaner.
3. Set the flat fee from that. Hypothetical example: a turnover that takes 3 hours at the national median of $17.07 comes to $51.21 at an employee wage. An independent cleaner who covers their own costs will quote more.
4. Agree on extras in writing. A deep clean, a same-day turnover, a pet stay or an extra load of laundry each get their own price, so nobody argues about it later.

Recheck the fee once a year, and whenever the work changes, such as a new hot tub or an extra bedroom. If the cleaner's fee goes up, check that your guest cleaning fee still covers it.

Finding a cleaner and a backup

• Ask for a test clean. Pay for one turnover while you're there and walk the home together at the end.
• Hire two from the start. One main cleaner and one backup who has done at least one paid clean in the home. A backup who has never seen the place isn't really a backup.
• Give both the same materials. The same checklist, the same entry method and the same supply location.
• Plan for the busy days. Holidays and peak-season weekends are when your cleaner is most likely to be booked elsewhere. Book those dates with both cleaners as soon as the bookings come in.
• Keep a key or code for each. If you use a smart lock, give each cleaner their own code so you can see who came in and remove one without changing the other. The keypad lock guide covers locks that hold separate codes.

A written scope

A cleaner can only meet a standard they can see. Put the whole turnover in writing, room by room, and send it once.

• Build the list. The turnover checklist gives you a room-by-room list with a link and QR code to send your cleaner. For the tasks to include, see the Airbnb cleaning checklist.
• Send dates and details per stay. The cleaner turnover message covers checkout time, next check-in, guest count, beds to make up and what to restock.
• Say what's not in scope. Repairs, deep cleans and moving furniture, unless you agree on them and the price first.
• Add monthly jobs. Press the test button on every smoke and CO alarm once a month, as the alarms answer explains.

Photo check-out reports

Ask for a short set of photos at the end of every clean, sent before the cleaner leaves. It takes a few minutes and settles most questions.

• Every bedroom with the bed made, from the doorway.
• Every bathroom, including the shower and the towels laid out.
• Kitchen counters and the inside of the fridge.
• The supply closet, so you can see stock at a glance.
• Anything wrong, with a close-up and a wide shot that shows where it is.

Damage and low supplies

Agree on a simple rule: damage, missing items and low supplies get a photo and a one-line note the same day. Speed matters. Airbnb's host damage protection article (opens in a new tab) says to file a reimbursement request in the Resolution Center within 14 days of the responsible guest's checkout, with photos or videos plus repair estimates or receipts (read on Nov 4, 2026). Your cleaner's dated photos are often the best evidence you have. The damage claim message has the wording for the guest.

For supplies, give the cleaner a par level, such as "restock when fewer than two rolls of paper towels are left," so "running low" means the same thing to both of you.

Paying cleaners and Form 1099-NEC

Contractor or employee

Calling a cleaner a contractor doesn't make them one. The IRS says a worker is an employee if the business has the right to control how the work is done (opens in a new tab), and it looks at behavioral control, financial control and the type of relationship. If it's unclear, either side can file Form SS-8 for an IRS ruling, which the IRS says can take at least six months.

What the IRS says about 1099-NEC (read Nov 4, 2026)

• Threshold. The Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (opens in a new tab) say that for tax years beginning after 2025, the reporting threshold rose to $2,000 and may be adjusted for inflation starting in calendar year 2027. Nonemployee compensation of $2,000 or more is reported.
• Deadline. File with the IRS and give the cleaner their copy by January 31.
• Trade or business only. The instructions say only payments made in the course of your trade or business are reported, and personal payments are not.
• Corporations. Payments to corporations, including LLCs taxed as C or S corporations, are generally exempt.
• Card and app payments. Payments by credit card, payment card and certain third-party network transactions are reported on Form 1099-K by the payment company, not by you on 1099-NEC.

Before the first clean, ask each cleaner for a Form W-9 (opens in a new tab), which gives you their correct taxpayer ID. The instructions say payees who don't give you a TIN are subject to backup withholding. Whether your rental counts as a trade or business, and whether you need to file, is a question for a CPA or enrolled agent. For the platform side of your taxes, see the 1099-K threshold answer and short-term rental taxes.

Scheduling

With one home and one cleaner, a text with each checkout date plus the shared checklist is enough. An app starts to pay off with two or more homes, back-to-back checkouts or several cleaners. The cleaning scheduling app answer compares the options and their prices.