Checkout instructions are one of the most reliable ways to damage an otherwise good review. Here’s where hosts go wrong.
The core mistake: charging a fee and assigning chores
This is the single most-cited complaint in negative reviews that mention cleaning.
A guest who has paid a $120 cleaning fee and then finds a list asking them to strip beds, run the dishwasher, take rubbish to the kerb, sweep the deck and wipe the bathroom feels double-charged. They will say so, publicly, and other prospective guests read it.
What guests genuinely accept
A short list of reasonable asks:
- Take rubbish and recycling to the bin
- Strip beds (or leave them, decide which and be consistent)
- Load and start the dishwasher
- Lock up and return keys to the lockbox
- Turn off heating and air conditioning
That’s about the ceiling. Four or five items, all under two minutes each.
What backfires
- Washing dishes by hand when there’s a dishwasher
- Vacuuming or mopping, this is what the fee is for
- Cleaning the BBQ, reasonable to ask them not to leave it filthy; not reasonable to require a scrub
- Remaking beds, genuinely bizarre, and it happens
- Removing rubbish from the property entirely (taking it with them)
- A checkout list longer than five items
The rules that read badly in a listing
Even before checkout, some cleaning-adjacent rules cost you bookings:
"No eating outside the kitchen." Reads as controlling. Fine as a preference, bad as a rule.
"Shoes off at the door." Perfectly reasonable, but phrase it as a request with a reason ("helps us keep the carpets nice for you"), not an instruction.
Extensive penalty language. "$100 charge if the property is left excessively dirty" sets an adversarial tone before the guest has arrived. AirCover already covers genuine damage. You don’t need to threaten.
"Additional cleaning charged at $X/hour." Guests read this as a trap.
How to write checkout instructions that work
Short, friendly, and framed as a favour rather than an obligation:
Before you go
Nothing much, just these four things:
- Pop rubbish and recycling in the bins outside
- Start the dishwasher if there’s anything in it
- Leave used towels in the bathroom
- Lock up and drop the key in the lockbox
That’s it. Leave the beds, we handle those. Thanks for staying, and safe travels.
Note what that does: it caps the list at four, explicitly releases them from a task they might expect, and closes warmly.
The pets and smoking rules
These two are worth being firm on, because the cleaning cost is real:
Smoking. State it clearly, and state the consequence. Smoke remediation genuinely costs hundreds and can take a property out of service.
Pets. If you allow them, charge a pet fee that covers the additional cleaning, hair removal is real work. If you don’t, say so plainly.
Firm is fine on these. It’s the petty rules that cost you.
The underlying principle
Every rule you add is a small tax on the guest’s experience, paid up front before they’ve enjoyed anything.
Spend that budget where it matters, smoking, pets, noise, extra guests, and leave the rest to the cleaning fee you’re already charging.