Turnover checklist template and daily cleaning schedule for WhatsApp
A copyable room-by-room turnover checklist, a restock list, and four WhatsApp messages that run your cleaning schedule every day.
Tai Pham
Most cleaning problems are not effort problems. They are memory problems. A cleaner who has turned over the same villa forty times still forgets the coffee pods, because nobody wrote "coffee pods" down. A good turnover checklist template fixes that, and a short, predictable WhatsApp message each morning fixes the other half: who cleans what, today.
This post gives you both, ready to copy. First a room-by-room checklist you can print or paste into a shared note, then a restock list, then four WhatsApp message templates for the cleaning schedule: the morning plan, a change alert, the "ready" report and the end-of-day wrap-up.
If you want the bigger picture, our turnover day guide covers the daily rhythm, escalation times and clustering units by area. This post is the paperwork that sits underneath it.
Why a written checklist is worth the effort
Cleanliness is scored directly by guests. Airbnb's ratings article lists cleanliness as one of the category ratings for homes, alongside accuracy, check-in, communication, location and value. Booking.com's guest review guide lets guests rate cleanliness as an optional sub-score next to their overall score.
Airbnb's own cleaning guidance for hosts says plainly that if your space isn't clean, guests may leave a negative review. The same page suggests stripping the beds and starting laundry first, and giving extra attention to high-touch items like remotes and doorknobs. Both ideas are built into the template below.
A checklist also makes training faster. A new cleaner can follow it on day one, and you can see exactly which step was skipped when something goes wrong.
The turnover checklist template (copy this)
Work top to bottom. The order matters: laundry starts first because it takes longest, and the final walk-through is last because it catches everything else.
Start (first 10 minutes)
- Confirm the guest has left and the keys or code are returned
- Open windows, turn on fans or AC to air the room
- Strip all beds, collect all towels, start the first laundry load
- Take a quick look for damage or left items, photo anything unusual
- Empty all bins into one bag
Bedrooms
- Fresh linen on every bed, corners tight, no stains or hairs
- Check under beds and inside drawers and wardrobes
- Wipe bedside tables, light switches, AC remote
- Hangers back in place, spare blanket folded
- Floor vacuumed or swept, then mopped
Bathrooms
- Toilet cleaned inside, outside and at the base
- Shower, tub and drain: hair removed, glass and tiles wiped dry
- Sink, mirror and taps polished
- Fresh towels set out: one bath towel and one hand towel per guest, plus bath mat
- Refill soap, shampoo, conditioner, toilet paper (two spare rolls)
Kitchen
- Dishes washed, dried and put away in the usual place
- Fridge emptied of guest food and wiped, freezer checked
- Hob, oven, microwave and kettle clean inside and out
- Coffee, tea, sugar, water and dish soap restocked
- Bin liner in, sponge replaced if worn
Living areas and outdoor
- Cushions straightened, sofa checked for crumbs and stains
- TV remote and AC remote wiped and working
- Wi-Fi card and house manual in place
- Pool skimmed, loungers wiped, towels for the pool if you provide them
- Bins out to the collection point
Final walk-through (last 5 minutes)
- Every light, tap, fan and AC unit tested
- Door lock or key box tested
- Room smells fresh, no damp
- Report sent to the team chat: done, any damage, anything low
Keep it on one page. If a step doesn't apply to a unit, delete it for that unit rather than training people to skip lines.
Restock list per unit
Most "the room isn't ready" moments are really "we ran out of something". A fixed restock list, with a number you choose for each item, removes the guessing.
| Item | Keep in each unit | Check |
| Linen sets per bed | Your chosen number, at least one spare | Every turnover |
| Bath and hand towels | One set per guest plus spares | Every turnover |
| Toilet paper | Two spare rolls | Every turnover |
| Soap, shampoo, conditioner | Refilled to the line or a new bottle | Every turnover |
| Coffee, tea, sugar, water | Your welcome amount | Every turnover |
| Bin liners, sponges, dish soap | One pack | Weekly |
| Light bulbs, batteries for remotes | A small box | Monthly |
Write the numbers into your own copy. The right amount depends on how many guests you sleep and how far the laundry is, so there is no universal figure.
A daily cleaning schedule in four WhatsApp messages
A team chat works when every day looks the same. Four short messages, at the same times, are enough for most teams of up to a few cleaners.
WhatsApp's formatting help shows how to make these easier to scan: put asterisks on both sides of a word for bold, and start lines with a hyphen and a space for a bulleted list, or a number, a full stop and a space for a numbered list.
1. Morning plan (send the evening before or by 07:30)
Wed 22 Oct, Canggu cluster
1. Villa A: OUT 11:00, IN 14:00, same-day
2. Villa B: OUT 10:00, no arrival
3. Studio C: IN 15:00, check only
Ketut: A then B. Wayan: C, then help A.
Reply 👍 when you start.
2. Change alert (whenever something moves)
CHANGE Villa A
Guest leaving 11:45, not 11:00. Start with B first.
Arrival still 14:00.
3. Ready report (from the cleaner, per unit)
Villa A ready 13:20
All checklist done. Low: shampoo, 1 bulb in bathroom.
Damage: none.
4. End-of-day wrap-up (from you)
Done today: A, B, C
To buy: shampoo, bulbs
Tomorrow: 2 turnovers, plan tonight.
Keep one chat per cluster, and keep questions as replies under the morning plan so the day reads top to bottom.
Weekly and monthly tasks
A turnover keeps a unit guest-ready. It does not keep it in good condition. Put the slower jobs on a fixed schedule so they don't wait for a bad review.
| How often | Tasks |
| Weekly or every few turnovers | Wash pillow protectors, clean AC filters, wipe skirting and doors, check the first-aid kit |
| Monthly | Mattress flip or rotate, descale kettle and showerheads, clean behind the fridge and under sofas, check smoke alarm |
| Every few months | Deep clean grout, wash curtains, service AC units, check every lock and hinge |
Add these to the checklist of the day they fall on, so they are done during a normal turnover with more time, not on a same-day changeover.
How to roll the template out
Step 1
Adapt it per unit
Copy the checklist, delete what doesn't apply, add what is special: a sauna, a baby cot, a gate code.
Step 2
Walk it once with each cleaner
Do one turnover together with the list in hand. Agree what "done" means for the tricky items.
Step 3
Pin it where it is used
Print it inside the cleaning cupboard and post it in the cluster chat.
Step 4
Use the same four messages every day
Same times, same format. People stop asking "which rooms?" within a week.
Step 5
Review after every cleanliness complaint
Find the missing line, add it, and tell the team what changed.
How Santara AI fits into your turnover schedule
Santara AI removes the part of this routine that depends on you remembering bookings. New bookings create cleaning tasks automatically, from every connected channel. The cleaning board lists the jobs by day, and you assign each one to a cleaner 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. You open it, check the plan and share it to that cluster's chat yourself, which gives you message 1 above without typing it. On the web, the plan can also be copied or shared to Zalo.
What Santara AI doesn't do here
There is no cleaner app, and the plan is never sent automatically: you share it. Cleaners don't confirm jobs inside Santara AI, so the ready report still comes back in your chat. Your room checklist stays your own document.
FAQ
What should a turnover cleaning checklist include?
A start routine (air the room, strip beds, start laundry), a section for each room type, a restock check and a final walk-through that tests lights, locks and AC. Keep it on one page and adapt it per unit.
How do I send a daily cleaning schedule to cleaners on WhatsApp?
Send one message per cluster at the same time every day: date, each unit with checkout and check-in times, who does what, and a request to reply when starting. Keep changes and questions as replies under that message.
How long should a turnover take?
It depends on the size of the unit, the laundry setup and the number of cleaners, so time your own turnovers for a week and plan from that. Same-day changeovers should always be scheduled first.
How often should I deep clean a vacation rental?
Put slower tasks on a fixed weekly, monthly and quarterly schedule, such as AC filters, mattresses and curtains. Do them on days with no same-day arrival.
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