How to hire cleaners for a vacation rental (and keep them)
Employee, per-turnover cleaner or agency? Labour law basics in Vietnam and Indonesia, pay models, a paid trial clean, training and a backup plan.
Tai Pham
Your cleaner is the last person in the room before your guest walks in. If you hire cleaners for a vacation rental well, most cleanliness complaints never happen. If you hire in a rush, you spend your mornings re-cleaning bathrooms and apologising in messages.
This guide is about the people side of cleaning: how to hire cleaners for a vacation rental, which working arrangement fits, what the labour law basics are in Vietnam and Indonesia, how to pay, how to run a trial clean, what to train in the first two weeks and how to keep standards up without standing over anyone.
It sits next to two posts you may already use. Our turnover day guide covers the daily rhythm, and the turnover checklist template gives you the room-by-room list and WhatsApp messages. This post is about the people who will use them.
How to hire cleaners for a vacation rental: employee, contractor or agency
There are three common ways to staff cleaning. Each solves a different problem.
| Employee | Per-turnover contractor | Cleaning agency | |
| Best for | Steady volume, several units | One to a few units, uneven bookings | Peaks, cover, owners far away |
| You pay | Salary or wage, plus legal obligations | A rate per job | The agency's rate |
| Control over standards | High: you train and schedule | Medium: agreed checklist | Lower: depends on who they send |
| Availability on busy days | You plan the rota | Not guaranteed | Usually, at a price |
| Main risk | Paying for quiet weeks | No-shows in high season | Different faces each time |
Many hosts mix them: one employed housekeeper for the core units, a trusted per-turnover cleaner for overflow, and an agency number for emergencies.
Be careful with the "contractor" label. Labour law in both countries looks at what the relationship actually is, not what you call it. The next section explains why.
Labour law basics in Vietnam and Indonesia (as of October 2026)
This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so confirm with the local labour office before you sign anything.
Vietnam. The Labour Code 2019 (Law 45/2019/QH14) says that if an agreement has a different name but covers paid work under one party's management and supervision, it is treated as a labour contract (Article 13). Contracts must be in writing, except that a contract under one month may be oral (Article 14). There are two types: indefinite term, and definite term of up to 36 months (Article 20).
Probation is not allowed for contracts under one month (Article 24). For jobs that need no specific qualification, probation is at most 6 working days, and pay during probation must be at least 85% of the job's wage (Articles 25 and 26). Overtime worked on public holidays such as Tết is paid at least 300% (Article 98).
Minimum wages are set by region under Decree 293/2025/ND-CP, in force from 1 January 2026: VND 5,310,000 a month in Region I, 4,730,000 in Region II, 4,140,000 in Region III and 3,700,000 in Region IV, with hourly minimums of VND 25,500 to 17,800 (Cần Thơ legal information portal). A 7.8% average increase from 1 January 2027 was proposed in July 2026 and was still a draft at the time (Hà Tĩnh provincial portal). Check which region your commune is in.
Indonesia. Under PP 35/2021, a fixed-term contract (PKWT) can run for at most five years including extensions (Article 8), and it cannot include a probation period (Article 12). Work that varies in timing and volume, paid by attendance, can use a written daily work agreement if the worker works fewer than 21 days a month. If they work 21 days or more for three months in a row, the relationship becomes permanent (PKWTT) by law (Articles 10 and 11). Fixed-term workers with at least one month of service receive compensation money when the contract ends (Article 15).
Bali's minimum wage for 2026 is Rp3,207,459 a month, and the regency minimums are higher in Badung (Rp3,791,002.57), Denpasar, Gianyar and Tabanan, all from 1 January 2026 (Bali manpower office). Other provinces set their own figures. A new labour protection bill was brought to the national parliament in October 2026 (InfoPublik), so contract rules may change. Ask your Disnaker office what applies today.
Pay models that work for cleaning
Pick a pay model that rewards the result you want. Here are the common options and what each one encourages.
| Model | How it works | Good for | Watch out for |
| Monthly salary | Fixed pay for agreed hours | Stable staff, many units | Must meet minimum wage and hours rules |
| Per turnover | A fixed rate per clean, set by unit size | Contractors, uneven bookings | Rushing to fit more jobs in |
| Hourly | Pay for time worked | Deep cleans, odd jobs | Slow work costs you more |
| Base plus per-turnover bonus | Small base plus a rate per clean | Busy seasons | Keep the maths simple |
Write down the extras before the first job, not after the first argument: laundry done off-site, same-day changeovers, late-night arrivals, public holidays, travel between units and who buys supplies.
Your rate is a cost line in your pricing. If you haven't worked out what one turnover costs you, our profit and break-even worksheet has a place for it.
Finding candidates and what to ask
Good candidates often come from referrals: other hosts, your building manager, your existing cleaner's network. Whatever the source, ask the same questions and write down the answers.
- Have you cleaned for guests before, and what was the hardest changeover?
- Which days and hours can you work, including weekends and holidays?
- How do you get to the property, and how long does it take?
- How do you check a bathroom is finished?
- What would you do if you found damage or a guest's belongings?
Listen for concrete answers. "I check the drain and under the sink" tells you more than "I am very clean".
The paid trial clean
Airbnb's own cleaning guidance for hosts suggests doing the process yourself once if you hire a cleaner, so you know exactly what the job involves. Do that before the trial, and time yourself.
Step 1
Clean the unit yourself once
Use your checklist, note how long each room takes and what was hard. This becomes your benchmark.
Step 2
Book a paid trial on a real turnover day
Pay for the trial. Choose a day without a same-day arrival so there is time to fix things.
Step 3
Hand over the checklist and step back
Explain the order once, then let them work. Stay nearby for questions.
Step 4
Inspect with the checklist in hand
Check the usual misses: drains, under beds, fridge, remotes, mirrors, the smell of the room.
Step 5
Give feedback the same day
Say what was good and what to change. Decide yes or no within a day or two.
A training checklist for the first two weeks
Most of what a new cleaner needs is not cleaning skill. It is knowing your units.
- Where keys or codes, supplies, linen and the laundry are
- Your room checklist, walked through once together
- Your photo report: which photos to send when a unit is ready
- What to do with left items, damage or a guest still in the unit
- Who to call when something is broken, and when to call you instead
- How the morning plan arrives and how to report "ready"
Pair the new person with an experienced cleaner for the first few turnovers if you can.
Quality checks without micromanaging
Guests score cleanliness directly. Airbnb lists it as one of the category ratings for homes, so your reviews are already a quality signal. Use them, but don't wait for them.
- Ask for three or four photos per unit when it is ready: beds, bathroom, kitchen, and anything special
- Spot-check one unit a week in person, at random
- When a guest mentions cleanliness, find the missing checklist line, add it and tell the team
- Rotate deep-clean jobs on quiet days so they don't pile up
Praise in public, correct in private. People stay where the standard is clear and fair.
Scheduling and the backup cleaner
Airbnb's guide also recommends lining up a second cleaner or another backup plan in case yours can't come. Treat this as part of hiring, not an afterthought.
Agree in advance who covers sick days and holidays, how much notice they need and at what rate. Build the rota around same-day changeovers first, then the rest. Around Tết, Lebaran, Christmas and other peaks, confirm your team's availability early; our peak season pricing guide covers staffing in that period.
How Santara AI helps you run a cleaning team
Santara AI handles the schedule so your cleaners don't depend on your memory. New bookings from every connected channel create cleaning tasks automatically. The cleaning board lists jobs by day; you can add cleaners by name, assign each job and mark it done.
The Daily Brief email, sent at 6am by default, groups the day's cleaning by property group, with a WhatsApp share button for each group, so you can send the plan to the right team chat. On the web, the plan can also be copied or shared to Zalo.
What Santara AI doesn't do
There is no cleaner app, nothing is sent to cleaners automatically, and cleaners don't confirm jobs inside Santara AI. Hiring, contracts, pay and labour law stay with you.
FAQ
Should I hire an employee or a per-turnover cleaner for my vacation rental?
If you have steady bookings across several units, an employee gives you control and availability. With one or two units and uneven bookings, a per-turnover cleaner is usually simpler. Many hosts keep both, plus an agency for emergencies.
How should I pay a vacation rental cleaner?
Common models are a monthly salary, a fixed rate per turnover by unit size, hourly pay, or a small base plus a per-turnover bonus. Agree extras such as laundry, same-day changeovers and holidays in writing before the first job.
Is a per-turnover cleaner automatically a contractor?
No. In Vietnam, an agreement for paid work under your management and supervision is treated as a labour contract whatever it is called. In Indonesia, daily workers who work 21 days or more a month for three months in a row become permanent by law. Check with the local labour office.
How do I test a new cleaner?
Clean the unit yourself once to set a benchmark, then book a paid trial on a turnover day without a same-day arrival. Inspect with your checklist and give feedback the same day.
Keep reading
- How much it costs to open a homestay
- Villa owner statements and management fees
- Short-term rental glossary
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