Airbnb supply madness, what is it and how does it affect your cleaning services? Every house cleaner around the globe is getting hit by a shortage of cleaning products. 

So, what do you do for remote Airbnb hosts when your cleaning supplies runs out? If vacation rentals are your thing, we’ll show you how you can transform your cleaning business.

Listen: Airbnb Supplies Madness

Watch: Airbnb Supplies Madness

Hey there, I’m Angela Brown, and this is Ask a House Cleaner. This is a show where you get to ask a house cleaning question, and I get to help you find an answer. You can find this and 400 other answered questions in this series on our YouTube channel.

Airbnb Supplies Madness

Airbnb supplies madness. What is that? And how do we overcome it? We have a house cleaner who works for several Airbnb properties who wrote this email.

She says, “I’m a cleaner for multiple remote Airbnb hosts. How do I emphasize how important it is to have appropriate cleaning supplies on hand? The ones I prefer, not the ones they prefer. I’ve told them repeatedly what I need, but they stock it with whatever they prefer. And those are not the ones that I use to clean ever. And it’s only ever me cleaning.

I’m a solo cleaner on the small island of Puget Sound and there’s only one small store on it. There are no laundry services or big stores to get what I need. One of the houses I clean sleeps up to 20 guests with same day turnovers. Even though I do get paid well, I feel like I’m being taken advantage of, because of all the hassles that I have to deal with when it comes to  maintenance of the home. And I have limited resources.”

Being A Remote Host is Hard

Well, you’re in Puget Sound on a remote island and it’s a remote property far away from everything else. So that in itself is a problem. If your Airbnb host were to run to the local store, you mentioned already, they probably don’t have what you need.

So, this is an inventory issue that needs to be ordered from afar, where they’re shipped in on a regular basis. Now, we also are dealing with COVID and so every house cleaner everywhere across the globe right now is running into a shortage of supplies.

I know that personally, we are on a five-month back order for some of the popular supplies that we order. And these are reliable distributors that deliver next day delivery. Always. Except for the last five months. And our manufacturers deliver next day delivery. And they have not delivered the right products and the products are out of stock.

The Whole World is Struggling to Supply

The entire world has gone into a topsy turvy of what needs to be created. And there are manufacturing plants that are producing one or two disinfectants around the clock. That is all they’re producing right now.

So yes, we are in an era where it is very hard to get the supplies that you need. That said, we are also in an era where it is time to reinvent yourself. And so instead of being frustrated that you are the sole cleaner of these properties, this is a perfect opportunity for you to reinvent your business.

And so, with all hope and encouragement, sit down and figure out what type of supplies you need for each of the individual properties that you use.

Amazon is Still Delivering Supplies Fast

Now, thank goodness for places like Amazon, we are able to order supplies and have them delivered usually within a couple of days. Amazon has upped their game as far as working with manufacturers to get us some products, if not the exact product we’re looking for, a close second, a substitute. They’re doing their very best.

So right now this would be a perfect opportunity to go back to each of your hosts and say for $30 or $50 more per cleaning.  Or whatever it’s going to break out to be, as far as the supplies you need and the laundry expenses.  You can say “Here’s what I’m prepared to do. I’m prepared to reinvent the business so I will remove this hassle from you, where you no longer have to worry about the inventory and the restocking and these things.”

Figure out exactly what it is you would like to offer them, add it at an attachment price to that so that you get paid and reimbursed for the extra stuff that you’re buying. And also, the fact that you are bringing it with you.

You Can Charge More for Supplies

So, it might be storage fees, rental fees, purchasing fees or inventory fees. You can tell them that you will take care of this for them. Now, the business owner would love nothing more than for somebody that’s competent to come in and say, “Hey, listen, I’m going to take care of these extra duties for you so that you have none of this work to do.

You focus on the listing. I’ll do all the rest.”  There’s a price that comes with that. Many homeowners and many Airbnb hosts would gladly pay that price and just say, “That’s awesome. Thank you. Take care of it.”

And if you’re the kind of person they know, like and trust, and they know you’ve got this, then that’s one of the things they are going to want to know.

This Way You Know You Have the Right Supplies

But then this also removes a lot of pressure from you because instead of you showing up and then wondering if you’re going to have the right supplies, you know you’ve got it. So, the only person this comes down to right now is you.

So, if you are responsible, this gives you the chance to rise and shine and take some responsibility away from them for extra money. And then in exchange for that, you never run out of supplies, you do your own inventory, you make sure that you always have the cleaning supplies that you prefer and that they’re always on hand and in stock.

So, this opportunity is great because right now, during this time there’s already an issue. And as much as you are feeling it, the host is probably also feeling it. They’re probably embarrassed that they are left scrambling, trying to run to this little local market. And there aren’t the right supplies that you need.

You Want to Remove the Pressure From the Host

And because they didn’t know that you needed these in advance, they didn’t order them and they’re not there. And it gets weird and awkward. That raises the pressure and noise in their lives. And so, if you can lower that and remove that from them, say, “Hey, I got this.”

That is huge. As a business owner to say, wow, I have somebody that I can count on. That removes so much pressure. So, now’s the time to reinvent yourself. Now’s the time to repackage the deals that you have.

So if you like doing the Airbnb, and if you like being the business owner, and if you liked being the person that’s in charge that does the inventory and chooses the supplies that you want, this is a perfect opportunity to resell your services so you never look back. And from here moving forward, it becomes a smooth, seamless transition for them, for which they write a check, boom and it’s done.

Reinvent Your Offer to Them

So that is a great solution. Reinvent your offer to them because right now what you’re doing is not working for you. And it’s not working for the host either.

So, if there is stress and pressure from you, they’re probably feeling it, and maybe even the guests are probably feeling it. So, when you remove all of that, it becomes a more enjoyable stay for the guests, for your host, and for you. 

Resources

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How to Price Your Cleaning Services – http://amzn.to/2FSGQd2

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