542. How to Actually Hire a Five-Star Cleaner (Without the Headache)
Thanks For Visiting
Airbnb Superhosts Annette Grant & Sarah Karakaian
4.9 • 589 Ratings
🗓️ 12 March 2026
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
If your cleaner controls your calendar… this episode is for you.
Today, we’re breaking down how to actually hire a five-star cleaner (not reactively, not desperately, and definitely not based on price alone).
Because here’s the truth: You are not hiring a cleaner. You are hiring the guardian of your five-star brand.
In this episode, we walk you through:
- The four hiring questions you must answer before posting a job
- How to turn operational pain into a magnetic job description
- Where to actually find professional short-term rental cleaners
- The exact interview questions that reveal mindset, not just skill
- Red flags to watch for (even if they “clean beautifully”)
- How to incentivize and retain A-player cleaning partners
Your turnover team is the backbone of your business. If you get this right, everything else becomes easier.
If you get it wrong? Chaos. Let’s fix it.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to the Thanks for Visiting Podcast. |
| 0:07.8 | We believe hosting with Heart is at the core of every short-term rental. |
| 0:12.8 | With Annette's background in business operation. |
| 0:15.1 | And Sarah's extensive hospitality management and interior design experience, we have welcomed |
| 0:20.3 | thousands of guests from over 30 |
| 0:22.2 | countries earning us over a million dollars and garnering us thousands of five-star reviews. |
| 0:27.9 | We love sharing creative ways for your listing to stand out, serve your guests, and be profitable. |
| 0:34.9 | Each episode, we will have knowledgeable guests who bring value to the short-term rental industry. |
| 0:39.4 | Or we will share our stories of our own experiences so you can implement actual improvements to your rentals. |
| 0:46.4 | Whether you're experienced, new, or nervous to start your own short-term rental, we promise you'll feel right at home. |
| 1:08.6 | Welcome back to another great episode. My name is Sarah Carrakeyan. I'm Annette Grant, |
| 1:11.6 | and together we are. Thanks for visiting. Let's start this episode out like we do each and every week, and that is featuring one of you, our incredible |
| 1:16.6 | listeners, who head on over to STRshare.com, share everything you can about your short-term rental |
| 1:22.7 | so we can share you here on the podcast every Thursday. And at who are we sharing this week? |
| 1:28.7 | We are sharing at Paddle Point Lakehouse, and paddle is P-A-D-E-L-E. |
| 1:35.0 | And this is a self-built A-frame lakehouse. |
| 1:39.1 | And it's gorgeous. |
| 1:41.1 | Self-built. |
| 1:42.2 | I was going through their feed. |
| 1:43.7 | I was getting tired. |
| 1:44.9 | Just going through the feed all the work they put in. |
| 1:47.8 | Yeah. |
... |
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