It is always said, “First Appearance is the Last”, which means when guests visit vacation rentals, the wow factor is very important to set the mood for the rest of their stay.
For this, you should use a Standard Property Appearance (SPA) document to ensure any housekeepers or cleaners who prep your rental property for the upcoming guests know exactly how to set those special finishing touches that make all the difference between an ordinary and a five-star guest experience.
To understand this, imagine yourself at the place of your guests and think of the little details you want when you arrive at a vacation rental property, like, a vase of fresh and soothing flowers in the entrance hall, clean and shiny floors, and kitchen counters, best quality toiletries in the bathrooms, cutlery and crockery kept in an orderly way, fresh firewood neatly stacked in the fireplace.
What is a SPA (Standard Property Appearance) Checklist?
A standard Property Appearance checklist means ensuring the housekeeping team knows exactly what to do in every room to meet the guest appearance standards. It is a written or printed document or folder that exhibited the same standards of appearance you want from housekeepers, cleaners, or a cleaning company that prepare the vacation rental property for the next set of guests. The more detailed, the better.
You should also include photographs for each room of the house to show exactly how you expect the linen to be folded or the kitchen appliances to be displayed.
Why do you need a Standard Property Appearance Guide?
Generally, you don’t strictly need a SPA for vacation rentals, as we are not talking about a legal document. However, SPAs are commonly used in hotels and are also catching on in the vacation rental industry as an efficient way to better organize and set standards for the cleaning of your property.
This type of document helps as a reference in the long run when briefing a new cleaner or housekeeping team for the first time. It does not only ensure firmness in standards of appearance but also signals professionalism and minimizes the chances of misunderstandings.
What Should Your SPA Contain?
In SPA, appearance guidelines exhibit your style and preferences and the type of rental you own. For example, if you own a luxury vacation rental, the SPA will most likely have additional details not displayed in the housekeeping guidelines for an average property. Your SPA will never be exact to that of another vacation rental property.
Although one SPA does not fit well for all, some very important elements are described in our post below.
Entrance Hall Guidelines
Entrance Hall is the area where you welcome your guests and first glimpse of what they can expect for the rest of their stay. So, ensure that this area should be well-arranged and beautified, and tell your housekeepers to pay special attention to this area.
Give close and thoughtful attention to the light, fresh air, and the right temperature, as well as nice touches such as a vase of fresh flowers, or a welcome book in this area.
Rules for the Living Room
Comfort is the key to the living room, ensure to arrange this area like your guests feel like they are at their home. for this, imagine them flopping down on the sofa to watch a movie or enjoying a glass of wine in a romantic candlelight setting.
You can also instruct the housekeeper to keep some logs next to the fireplace inviting guests to make a fire on a chilly night or open the door to the balcony for fresh air and some natural light and to encourage guests to step outside during the summer months.
Also, ensure that no outdated magazines and newspapers should be left here while keeping some DVDs, games or other apparatus to enjoy.
Set the air conditioner temperature to a comfortable one for when guests arrive and ensuring the room is aired, is another good rule to bear in mind.
Rules for the Kitchen – the heart of every home
The kitchen is the area of every house where people prep delicious meals to enjoy together. A gleaming, well-organized kitchen with quality appliances to make your guests feel like getting creative in the kitchen, even on their holiday. Include a recipe stand with some modern cookbooks, this will give a nice touch.
Cleaning products should be displayed neatly and safely, instruct your cleaners or housekeepers to replace any chipped plates or glasses and to keep cutlery neatly organized in the drawers provided.
Also, be ensure, to leave a welcome gift including lovely local goodies for your guests on the kitchen table with a welcome note.
Rules for the Bedroom
This is one of the most important parts of a vacation rental when it comes to housekeeping finesse, a good night’s sleep is a vital ingredient for a great holiday.
Instruct the housekeeper, on exactly how the beds should be made, which kind of linen should be used, the number of comfy pillows per bed, and how to fold extra blankets.
Natural light is very important, so ensure when your guests arrive the natural light sources should be opened and the temperature should be moderate.
Rules for the Bathroom
The cleaning state of the bathroom exhibits everything about a property. So, spell out to your housekeeper how you want the towels to be displayed, how the toilet rolls should be presented, and details about cleaning and the refilling of toiletries.
Rules related to Signs for Guests
If you include instruction signs for guests like how to use the hot tub, or for operating the air conditioner. Tell the housekeeper to ensure they should be in the good condition and in the right place always, and discard them when they need to be replaced.
So, these are some elements that will help you to get a standard property appearance checklist for your rental.
