The Airbnb Turnover Checklist Toronto Hosts Actually Need

Cleanliness is the review category Airbnb guests punish hardest — one stray hair on white sheets undoes an otherwise perfect stay. After hundreds of turnovers across downtown Toronto, this is the checklist we run every single time. Use it yourself, or hand it to whoever cleans for you.

Before Anything Else: The Walkthrough

Start with a two-minute damage-and-forgotten-items pass. Check under beds, in drawers, behind the bathroom door. Photograph anything broken before you touch it — hosts need that timestamp for a damage claim, and you won’t get it back once the unit is cleaned.

Bedroom

• Strip all beds, every time — even the one that “looks unused”
• Check mattress protector and duvet for stains; swap, don’t flip
• Make beds hotel-style with fresh linens: tight corners, plumped pillows, folded accent throw
• Dust nightstands, headboard, lamps; check drawers for leftovers
• Floors last: vacuum, then under the bed

Bathroom

This is where reviews are won or lost. Guests forgive a dusty shelf; they never forgive a bathroom.

• Toilet fully — base and behind, not just the bowl
• Shower and glass: squeegee, de-spot, clear the drain of hair
• Mirror and fixtures polished to streak-free
• Fresh towels staged the way a hotel would — folded or rolled, never draped
• Restock: toilet paper (2+ visible rolls), soap, shampoo

Kitchen

• Dishes done, dried and put away — a drying rack full of your last guest’s dishes reads as dirty
• Wipe counters, stovetop, sink, outside of appliances
• Check the fridge: remove everything the guest left, wipe spills
• Empty coffee machine, restock coffee/tea
• Take out garbage, recycling and compost; fresh bags in every bin

The Reset

The difference between “cleaned” and “guest-ready” is the reset: thermostat back to standard, lights and blinds to your default, remotes on the coffee table, door codes checked, welcome materials squared. Guests should walk into the exact same unit every time.

The Photo Pass

Last step, non-negotiable: photos of every room once the unit is done. It confirms the clean happened and how it looked, timestamped before check-in — your evidence if a guest claims “it was dirty when we arrived.” Photo confirmation is included in every one of our Airbnb turnovers.

Same-Day Turnovers

An 11am checkout with a 3pm check-in leaves no room for error. Two rules: have linens ready to go (a second full set per bed is the single best investment a host can make), and book the clean the moment the checkout is confirmed — not the morning of. We take same-day rush turnovers for a $50 surcharge on any flat rate; availability is tight in summer, so earlier is better.

One related note: we clean and stage with the linens you provide, and if you want those linens professionally washed between stays, our parent company Soda Laundry runs a commercial linen service that many hosts pair with turnovers.

Rather hand the whole checklist to someone else? Our turnover rates are flat by unit size — Studio $99 to 3 Bedroom $189 — on the Airbnb cleaning page. And if you’re wondering what to charge guests to cover it, see our guide to setting your Airbnb cleaning fee.