Cleaner Pod 2

[00:00:02] Speaker A: This is Short Term Rental Management, the show that is all about short term rental property management with your host, yours truly, Luke Carl. Short Term Rental Management Cleaner POD Part two. Very exciting stuff. We've been waiting for this one for a while, so happy to be able to put this one together. I will say we were not able to get any kind of smaller cleaner organizations on the show. They just were not responsive and we weren't able to make that happen. So most of the lovely folks on our podcast today are running kind of larger organizations and there's nothing wrong with that. But I just wanted to point that out. But I also want to mention we don't know these cleaners. We found them randomly on the Internet. They do seem like very lovely people, but just, you know, in no way are we recommending them or anything like that. I'm sure they're just fine. But absolutely no advertisement of any kind or marketing ploy of any kind here. These are just nice folks that we found at random on the Internet and we are happy to have them on today's program here on Short Term rental Management. One more thing I want to mention briefly is that some of the stuff discussed on this show does make me a little bit nervous in the capacity that the things that these cleaners are talking about to me sound like things that a property manager should be handling. It does dabble a little bit in property management here. So I think that these are professional cleaners with large organizations because that's who we found for this podcast and they're wonderful. And you know, there was was a couple of mentions of things that I would consider to be the property manager's job, which in a lot of cases, if you're listening to Short Term Rental Management, that's you, you're the property manager. So you know, putting together of beds and remodeling and things like that, or moving furniture around, whatever the case may be. To me that's not a cleaner's job. Now if you have a deal with them, that they're willing to do that, no problem. You know, to each their own. Everything's totally open to interpretation. And you know, if that works out for you, no problem. But I think there is something to be said about boundaries. Set boundaries if needed and try to discuss them up front about whose job is what, what role is, whose job. You know, all that stuff needs to be defined. Roles, we need to find roles. And the reason I bring this up is because I worry that if we lean on our cleaner too much, they might start getting a little expensive. To the point where you probably could just hire a property manager to do everything for you, which we don't want to do that. But so you know, the relationship between host, cleaner, manager, cleaner, all that stuff is something to consider. Don't lean on your cleaners too hard. That's what I'm recommending. But anyway, without further ado, let's rock Short term rental management. Long hair Lou Carl here with the one and only Avery Carl. And we've got some wonderful cleaners on the show today. It is the cleaner pod part two. Very exciting stuff. So we brought cleaners that we have just met. We've just met them. This was not a preconceived thing. We just found them randomly on the Internet and brought them in. I've never worked with any of these lovely ladies. Just so happens that they all happen to be ladies. That was an accident. But here we are. So we have Kelsey on the top left of my screen. Kelsey is in the Smokies. I have another Kelsey, she is also in the Smokies. I have Cherie, she's in Gulf Shores. And I have Elsa who is in pcb. Welcome, welcome, welcome. Then of course, Avery. Avery, you want to say anything before we get started? [00:03:44] Speaker B: I'm not really ready to interview these wonderful folks. We are hiring at the Short term shop agents in all markets, specifically Orlando right now. But any market that you are in, if you're an agent and feel like short term, the short term shop might be a good fit for you, email us at Careers at the Short Term shop dot com. [00:04:06] Speaker A: That's right, hiring baby careers at the shorttermshop dot com. Okay, I do have something to say before we get started. First of all, thank you guys for being here. This is a wonderful thing. Thank you so much. And also, yes, Avery, that I mentioned we're married. But anyway, this is absolutely a positive vibe situation only we are here to spread the, the love and, and information to possible new hosts as to how they can make their life better when it comes to hiring a good cleaner and a working relationship with a fantastic cleaner. And I again, I want to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you guys. We can't do this without you. In a lot of ways you're more important than the homeowner and and we really appreciate you and can't thank you enough. So with that being said, I would like to ask, I'm going to start with Cherie and I'm going to ask you what is your experience working with property management companies per se, Like a large you know, 100 unit plus company versus a host. And do you have a preference? [00:05:17] Speaker C: We started with property management companies. No. Private owners who were self managing quickly found out that wasn't the way we wanted to go. And of 140 properties now that we take care of, only 17 are with a property management company. I've kept them only because they trust the feedback we give to them. Need to update, need to order something new. They're on top of it. [00:05:46] Speaker A: Same question. Kelsey in. Well, we'll go back to Kelsey number two, I suppose is the best way to put that. Are you keen on working with property management companies or prefer to work with. [00:05:58] Speaker D: Hosts versus property management companies? Just because it's so much easier to deal with, I feel like. And it's like less chaos, just I don't know. And when you work with individual owners, the bond and the friendships that you, you know, you make are just incredible. So my preference would definitely be individual owners for sure. [00:06:17] Speaker A: Elsa, owners versus property managers. [00:06:20] Speaker E: I work 50. 50. I do work with both of them. Working with owners, yes, we, we can talk, we can make a relationship with them. It's more easy in a way, I think is a lot of more work. Like have to deal with all the linens and amenities and everything. Property manager, the ones that I work with, it's been a long time, they're, they're pretty easy to work with. It. All our properties are in the same place. So I know everyone, they know the cleaners. So for me it's a 50. [00:06:57] Speaker A: 50. Okay, wonderful. And also note there is obviously each one of these hosts, except for the two Kelsey's ironically are in different markets as well. So that might have a bit to do with it. But Kelsey, Kelsey one, please tell us your thoughts on that subject. [00:07:13] Speaker F: Individual owners worked with property management companies of four. The way that they upkeep things is terrible. I was having to go back and forth all the time with maintenance issues. Nothing was getting fixed and then it became a cleaner issue. So I would prefer just owner only. [00:07:32] Speaker A: All right, Kelsey number one, I'm going to stay with you. Give us an idea of the size of your organization. Are you a small company? Large company. How many homes we have? [00:07:41] Speaker F: 127. [00:07:42] Speaker A: 27. My goodness. How many cleaners total? [00:07:46] Speaker F: 17. [00:07:47] Speaker A: 17. Kelsey number two, same question. [00:07:50] Speaker D: 60 properties and about 12 to 15 girls. And we're currently going through the hiring phase. [00:07:56] Speaker A: So Alyssa, how big are you or small tree? [00:07:59] Speaker C: We have. We fluctuate between about 130 and 150 properties, kind of buying and selling Plays a part in that. We have about two dozen core team members that work year round. We are a heavy seasonal market here and in the summer there are about 60 of us. [00:08:17] Speaker B: Oh, wow. [00:08:19] Speaker A: Okay. And Elsa, go ahead, same question. [00:08:22] Speaker E: Well, I'm a baby. I just have 90 properties. [00:08:25] Speaker A: 90? [00:08:26] Speaker C: Yes. [00:08:27] Speaker E: And I have about 12 cleaners with me. [00:08:31] Speaker A: Okay, so you all are running larger, fairly large organizations. Avery, go ahead. [00:08:37] Speaker B: So I think my biggest question is how do you. If you're working with just owner operators and not big property management companies, how do you find new owners to know to service? [00:08:49] Speaker E: Well, it's is the word to mouth like a owner likes and he's going to talk to. To another friend. [00:08:59] Speaker A: Sheree, how do you, how do you find new clients? [00:09:02] Speaker C: We really don't have to look. Our clients here are our biggest advocates. Social media. I'm tagged non stop every day. [00:09:10] Speaker D: It's just strictly off of word of mouth. But there have been a few come from like Turno and you know, that sort of thing. But mostly it's just been word of. [00:09:19] Speaker A: Mouth here for me and Kelsey. [00:09:21] Speaker F: One same referrals mostly. [00:09:24] Speaker A: Okay. All right. So do you. I was going to ask you guys if you prefer to where you're at or if you want to grow, but it seems like you've all grown, you know, I mean you're already pretty, pretty large companies here. Cherie, talk to me about that. How did you get bigger and bigger and how. What is it like managing this large team of cleaners and homeowners? [00:09:46] Speaker C: Organized chaos is what we operate with. It is. All of our owners are very unique. We have been so fortunate. I have a housekeeping operations coordinator, I have an inspector that is. I WISH I had 20 of her. We are just so fortunate in our team and I really don't struggle in that area. We have a really good team environment that keeps us moving forward. [00:10:15] Speaker A: Okay. And Kelsey, one same thing there. Were you. I mean, do you, do you still clean? [00:10:21] Speaker F: I pick up when need be, but we really grew it so I wouldn't have to do that anymore. Of course there's going to be times where it's busier than not. You know, our cleaners get sick and fall out, but the goal is to, you know, just manage it completely. [00:10:37] Speaker A: Yes. Okay. So were there growing pains, in other words, when you started to go from just you cleaning to two cleaners, three cleaners, Was it, you know, difficult people, cleaners quit, didn't show up, that kind of thing? How do we grow through that? [00:10:52] Speaker F: Sorry. Yeah, definitely the first time that we decided to Grow. We hired a husband and wife. They were wonderful. They would do anything. The best cleaners I have probably ever. Well, not ever hired, but they were top tier. And then all of a sudden, my goal was always to, like, if you wanted to start your. Start your own company, I'm all for that. I'll. I'll tell you everything that I know, but they kind of went the other route and just picked up properties and then said, I'm done. So then I was like, oh, okay. So now I've taken on all these properties, and now I have to go clean them or find somebody really quickly. And I don't like to do that because you never know what anybody's experience is. You have to train people. So definitely growing pains. [00:11:38] Speaker A: Yeah. And so how do you get past that? In other words, how long ago was that? And what did it take to get over that hump? [00:11:45] Speaker F: That was. I. I started to grow in right after Covid, so probably around 2021, 2022. And shortly after that, I just started posting on Indeed and Facebook pages. And then I got more people. I was able to still handle it. I grew it in small doses so that I could handle it if it did all fall back on me. Until that, we made, you know, strong connections with cleaners, and then those people stayed on with me for, you know, some of them still on for the past four years. [00:12:16] Speaker A: Okay, so indeed are we. You don't need to do that anymore. Right. You get to the point where the owners tell other people and your phone number gets passed around. Is that kind of the idea? Right? [00:12:26] Speaker F: Yeah. [00:12:27] Speaker A: Okay, cool. Elsa, tell me about your growing pains. Are you still cleaning once in a while? [00:12:33] Speaker E: I had a really hard time at the beginning. I was a OCD cleaner. I cleaned for a lot of years by myself, but I got to the point where I had to grow, and I had a really hard time to trust someone else because, oh, they will never do work like mine. And what are they doing? It was really hard. But I get. I got in my mind that nobody's like nobody, so they will never clean like me, but they can clean even better. So it was just the time to train the person to be next to her. And yes, it was really hard at the beginning. I was lucky enough. I have cleaners that are with me for six years now. They're really amazing. Once in a while we have to, you know, pull some hangers. But that is like everyone. But yes, is easy to the point where. Where you find a cleaner, you be honest with her. I want the job to be done like this. I expect that to be done like that. You give her an opportunity, two opportunities and then after that if you see it doesn't work, it doesn't work. But I think it's a 50, like a back and forth. You have to communicate with your cleaner to know for her to know what to expect from you. [00:13:58] Speaker B: Makes a lot of sense. [00:13:59] Speaker F: Yeah. [00:13:59] Speaker B: And that really is so important. The, the communication of knowing what, what you're. Well, like really just what to expect as a cleaner, as a host, the communication really is key. And I one thing that I want to ask you guys that I've seen on my end of clients buying properties, I think this is a big no, no and a mistake where they'll like find a checklist on the Internet of things to have your short term rental cleaner do and then hand you guys this big long checklist of that may have nothing to do with the market that you're in and you know, could just be made up on the Internet for somebody to click download and get in somebody's email funnel. So have you guys had owners do that before? And how do you typically handle that? Because my advice would be just to do what your cleaners process is as a homeowner, like just let your cleaner take the lead on it. But I'd like to hear from you guys how that slows you down or maybe how it helps if it does, which I don't think it does. [00:14:59] Speaker C: We actually this happens more specifically with new people. Like it's their very first short term rental. We have had that happen and I have actually not partnered with some owners because we just don't align in what they're expecting and our scope of work. It's so much easier if you just let us take our list and if you get negative feedback, share that with us and let's find a solution rather than giving us something. We have sand, Panama City has sand. Gatlinburg doesn't deal with the things, same things we do. So like you say, those checklists do not match from one market to the other. [00:15:35] Speaker F: Yeah, totally agree. [00:15:37] Speaker A: Kelsey, do you have any thoughts there? [00:15:38] Speaker F: Kelsey1 yeah, we obviously are not, you know, the same thing. I've never been handed a checklist before. They usually just want my checklist of what we do perform but we do do like cater to, towards whatever the owner wants as in like waffle bars or coffee bars or those kind of setups. So those are different and they're added on top of the cleaning procedure to restock those things. So that's the only thing that's really different, that we do cater to those and how they're not just a cookie cutter cleaning list. [00:16:09] Speaker A: And do you, do you ever get to the point where you're, you're like, okay, this, this host is really killing me with all these requests and like this, you know, just, I guess anal would be the word I would use. And you know, just like to the point where you're like, this house is not worth it to me anymore. So this, this is getting a bit more on the deep side of things. And I think I'll go back to Sheree and, and ask you when is enough enough? Like, you know, how do you know when it's time to maybe let somebody. [00:16:40] Speaker B: Go as an owner? Let an owner go? [00:16:42] Speaker A: Yeah, let the owner go. Like they're just too anal. [00:16:45] Speaker C: So I think it starts with clear expectations right at the beginning of the partnership and that is super important to me. Communication. People in this market probably think, man, I wish you'd stop texting me. But I want those, I want those boundaries set right off the bat. We have parted ways with owners and it's not, we don't really have that experience of they're too much. We have had more the experience of owners not taking our feedback. For instance, a guest complaining about the floors. Well, you haven't cleaned your tile in three years. There's no way we're going to get the floors looking like they did three years ago. So those are more so the problems that we have versus an owner being too much. And ours are a lot from coffee bars to all of those things. But in the end, a great guest experience means they're coming back and it's more work for us and it's repeat guests for the owners. So we're pretty good in that area. [00:17:39] Speaker B: Well, Sheree, you reminded me of a question that or something that I see a lot too is how do you differentiate with owners? Like you said, the tile. What is a task that happens during every turn and what is a task that is like a true deep clean, once a year type task? [00:17:58] Speaker C: That's part of our initial conversation. And we do, we have not partnered with some people because they want us down cleaning the baseboards every departure turn. That is not possible in a 5,000 square foot house with a six hour window. It's not happening. But just again, just setting those boundaries and expectations and our owners are fantastic. So we will have some that say, okay, let me pay you a little extra and let's just hit the baseboards in the downstairs this time. And then I can schedule a team member to go and do that if it's a good day to do that, not a weekend. So just kind of. Again, I think I'm fortunate with our clients. We. We really have great people down here that we work with. [00:18:46] Speaker A: So how do you communicate all that between the cleaner that's actually cleaning the house, then it comes to you and then back to the owner? I worry that there's could be a, you know, information could be kind of lost in translation there. How do we handle that? [00:19:00] Speaker C: Lots of screenshots occur. A whole lot. We actually, we. Part of our growing pains has been communication. I am just starting the interview process for a virtual assistant that is strictly going to manage incoming calls and messages from team members and owners alike. I worry I'm going to be driving down the road and, you know, before I get to the office, I've answered five calls, and what am I going to forget because somebody's standing in the office when I walk in the door? That has been our biggest growing pain, has been communication. Fortunately, I haven't dropped the ball too many times yet, but virtual assistant, hopefully within the next couple of weeks will finish up interviews and have that problem solved. [00:19:43] Speaker A: Okay, yeah, just got, you know, we're running a business here is really all it is. Back to the book called the Myth. You know, it's all how to run a business. Kelsey, what about you? Have you ever, you know, do you ever get to the point where you let clean or let owners go? [00:19:56] Speaker F: Yes, I definitely have. It been too much or like, not just letting me have the reins, questioning, like a lot of stuff every single time that we're there over communication is a thing as well. It's like I can't keep up with if you're going to ask me to do 75 tasks on top of the cleaning task alone. And then also, like, what she said about the deep clean. That's those things like when I hear owners say, well, if you're taking care of her properly during every single clean, you'll never need a deep clean. And like, that's never the case. You can never get to all those things in a turn day. And the people who also have, you know, been rude or, like, talk negatively to me and expect me to, you know, sit around and wait for payment for weeks upon weeks. And then I say something and then they're like, well, you know, you're bi weekly. I'm like, yeah, but you're making me pay or wait for another two weeks after the bi weekly invoice. Went out. [00:20:55] Speaker B: So what would you say is asking too much of you as an owner? So, like, let's say I'm, like, shipping you too many things. I want you to put together furniture and set it up in the house. Where do you draw that line of things that you'll do in the name of service to help people get set up, and then things that are too much and way outside your lane? [00:21:17] Speaker F: I do a lot of extra things. Those get. I mean, if it's going to cost me extra time, then, you know, it's going to be more money added to it. And we'll talk about the price if you're doing a setup when you first get the property and you want me to go put out, you know, all the new seasonings, new toaster, all those things. And yeah, there's an extra price that comes with that. I don't care if, like I tell you, hey, you're out of this, this, and this, and they ship it to me. We can put that out in a turn, clean, you know, easy. But if I'm doing an entire setup, then, yeah, it's going to be extra. [00:21:48] Speaker A: But you. It sounds like you like that you want the extra work as long as they're paying extra. [00:21:54] Speaker F: Oh, yeah, absolutely. We've, like, spread out into very different areas. So we do, like, the Christmas tree decorating. We do setups. We do event planning, you know, cater or not catering, but, like, you know, grocery shopping for them and that sort of thing. We've kind of done different sectors because we like to be in all of it. [00:22:13] Speaker A: And all the ladies are shaking their heads. Cherie, you do Christmas trees and Gulf Shores. [00:22:18] Speaker C: I don't do that. Alyssa does that. We have even most recently, we had a client ask Alyssa to do the entire decorating of their home. She helped them pick out all the furnishings. And yeah, it's. [00:22:35] Speaker E: We. [00:22:36] Speaker C: We even branched out. We have a maintenance department of our team because it became so much with so many properties assembling furniture and delivering these things that are shipped. And I'm sure our mail lady hates her as I see her pulling into the parking lot right now. But we have a whole maintenance department for that task, too. [00:22:53] Speaker A: Basically, you get asked these questions repeatedly to the point where you bring somebody on that can do the task. Yes, I see. Okay, Elsa, any thoughts on the subject? [00:23:02] Speaker E: Well, I. I don't mind at all them shipping things to my house, like towels, sheets, little things like that. I do not build furniture. I do have someone to do that if he's an owner that don't have anyone to do it. I just don't have the time for it. But about like if they send something to my house, I don't mind at all to. To bring in the next clean and putting in the closet owner or things like that. [00:23:33] Speaker A: So Kelsey number one, you said something that made me think of that. Maybe you're implying occasionally some hosts can be. I hate to use the word cheap. Does that, does that happen and what do we do when that happens? [00:23:49] Speaker F: Yeah, a lot. The expectations of the cleaner goes beyond just what the cleaner is in a lot of owners eyes. I think they think we are the eyes and ears of their properties or the boots on the ground or all those things, those people. But we, our time should be taken seriously as well. Where we can't just run out to your place to go do this, this and this and then not excited to get paid for it. You know, especially here in Sevier county. Everything, this town, this county is huge. So you could go to Gatlinburg and then go all the way to, you know, where's Val 45 Minute Drive and all of ours are spread out into like different regions of Sevier County. And I don't think that a lot of owners understand how long the travel is around here. [00:24:36] Speaker A: And sheree, same question. Do you feel that they occasionally are nickel and diming? [00:24:45] Speaker C: Really? We don't. We've only had an issue with one client with payment one time and I took legal action and got my payment. [00:24:54] Speaker A: Oh, okay, okay, hold on, let's hear this story. So somebody just didn't pay you? [00:24:58] Speaker C: Yes, just decided not to make the payments and we parted ways. But I don't really understand. No guest complaints, five star reviews, just struggling. And while I understand that I still have people that I have to pay for jobs done and I just thought that it happens a lot in here around this area. I'm fortunate that we are not one of the businesses that that happens with but I just felt like for other businesses that I know that it does happen with that I needed to follow the same standards they were setting and getting paid. [00:25:36] Speaker A: So you eventually did get paid. [00:25:38] Speaker C: Yes, I did. [00:25:39] Speaker A: Okay, well I won't try. Although it does sound like a pretty interesting story. If you're new to vacation rentals or want to up your game, we are here to help. The experts at Short term Shop plus can help guide you in your mission to create memories for your guests at wonderful overnight rentals. We have one on one coaching available with our experts and the price is right. Short term Shop plus is inexpensive and we would love to earn your business. Please join [email protected] that's stsplus.com and where we are now with taking photos. You know, we, we are living in a world where it's gotten easier for one thing, with Turno and Resort Clean and all these apps. And we'll get into the apps as well. But where, where do we stand on pictures? Are we taking pictures every turn? Do homeowners expected every turn? Do they want to see it every turn? Go ahead. Your rate. [00:26:42] Speaker C: Yes. Yes. If, if we don't we take a picture of every room, every closet, the kitchen is with the appliance doors open, refrigerator, microwave oven, dishwasher. You can see the setup. Never any question of what's done in, in a property for our team if it's part of our inspection checklist. So if our inspector goes in and the photos aren't added, she's going to add the pictures and fill that portion of the checklist for the cleaners and it's. We go on 100% score on these checklists. It's a pretty heavy competition in my team to, to be the best. [00:27:18] Speaker A: Was it always like that? In other words, was there a growing pain period where you guys were. Not really. Okay, I'll go to Kelsey. Once you raised her hand, were you not ready to start taking pictures and were people asking for it and you thought it was too much, that kind of a thing? Because there was a period of time where that was not the norm and now it is. So I guess where, where are we at with that? [00:27:39] Speaker F: So whenever I was cleaning solo, I was, when I get got a complaint, I was like, steady for this one condo and I was like, I'm doing the same thing every single time. I'm not sure what's happening. So I started videotaping and sending it to her. So now that's a part of our entire cleaning process. You have to do a slow sweeping video of the entire property opening up dishwashers and ovens and microwaves, closets beside the toilet, even in the showers showing underneath the bathroom cabinets, there's enough towels to really like because guests will say there's not enough toilet paper here. So if I have a videotape of all of it there that gets loaded to the checklist and sent directly to the owner after every single claim, I. [00:28:23] Speaker B: Want to add to that really quick. So what is the procedure? Because it's happened to all of us, it's happened to the best of us, the best cleaners, where some kind of technology breaks down somewhere And a clean is missed. What's the process there, Cherie? [00:28:40] Speaker C: Had to happen yesterday. [00:28:43] Speaker A: Hold on. Yesterday? You had a missed clean yesterday? [00:28:46] Speaker C: I guess so. The owner did manual reservation and whatever he did didn't poured it into our calendar. In resort cleaning, guests checked in, found it dirty. I offered extra pay to two cleaners who I knew lived nearby. They were there within 30 minutes. We were clean in of there in an hour and a half. Did what we had to do to make the guests happy. [00:29:12] Speaker B: That's like not a phone call anybody ever wants to get on the owner or the cleaner side. [00:29:18] Speaker C: No, I don't like that at all. [00:29:20] Speaker B: So I have one more thing that I want to kind of add to that. Unrelated. But when I'm talking to potential short term rental investors who haven't invested yet, one of their main questions is always what should I hire a second cleaner? What if just to have on deck, if my cleaner misses a turn and they're always like, that's their worst fear. I mean it's everybody's worst fear. But a lot of times it can be the hump that they can't get over to actually go buy a property is what happens if the cleaner misses the cl. They think that this just happens all the time. So between all of you, you've got like almost like a thousand properties. How often would you say that actually happens? [00:30:00] Speaker C: Less than a handful a year for me. But this, this also goes back to owners doing their part because in resort cleaning they have a dashboard and if they're monitoring their dashboard and it is not blue with their little number one or however many properties they have, then they should know that it is not on our schedule. [00:30:20] Speaker A: Back to Cherie. So you use Resort Clean? Yes, across the board. So people just drop you an iCal. That's the end of it. Kelsey1 which what software are you using to keep track of calendars? [00:30:33] Speaker F: We use Operto Teams and the only reason we don't use Resort Clean is because they don't allow video uploads and we do the videos. [00:30:40] Speaker A: Say that name again. I don't know that name. [00:30:42] Speaker F: Aperto Teams. It used to be called VR Scheduler but they somebody bought it out and changed it. Oh, it works just the same way as Resort Clean does. Works off iCal. Basically the same thing. But I can add a little bit more information like if they need extra towels or something like that, I can do it off task to do that. I can also add maintenance into that and schedule it all together. [00:31:06] Speaker A: Elsa, what software for scheduling Turno? Okay. Can we do videos on Turno? I don't even know I use it. [00:31:14] Speaker E: We don't, we don't. Well, cleaners will take pictures and videos they will keep with them just in case we need it. We have as a proof. But yeah, normally we do not upload any photos on journal. [00:31:30] Speaker A: Okay. Do you have. Would you say that most owners are looking at the photos or just asking for them when necessary? Elsa. [00:31:37] Speaker E: When necessary. [00:31:39] Speaker A: Cherie. Do they, do they all look at them or they just. When they do look at them. [00:31:43] Speaker C: Yes. [00:31:43] Speaker A: Okay. And it sounds to me like Kelsey number one that yours are looking as well. [00:31:47] Speaker F: Oh, very much. Yeah. They'll. They comment on all the videos every single time. This girl did a great job. Or you know, I saw this was missing or something like that. [00:31:56] Speaker A: Oh, look at the world we are living in. Avery, can you, can you imagine? Go back to Avery, explain what it was like when we first started. [00:32:04] Speaker B: Oh my goodness. So when we first started I had to like on the last day of every month look at our calendar and write out an email to our cleaner and let her know, hey, there's turns on this day and this day and this day. I had to watch like a hawk. If we got any last minute bookings that were. They filled in, you know, maybe an open space in the calendar and let her know because there none of these automations existed back then. So if I missed something, then we were, you know, up a creek and it was really, really, I mean it wasn't difficult. It was certainly better than, you know, sitting at a desk all day. But it was very stressful to know like if I don't check this once an hour, what if somebody does a last minute booking and then it's not clean? And it was just very. Everything was manual. [00:32:55] Speaker A: Yes. This was before Airbnb and VRBO even. First of all, you couldn't even connect the two of them together back then. This was no pre management software. And we also. They also didn't have icals when we first started VRBO and Airbnb. They didn't. At least not to my knowledge. They didn't have an iCal and if they did, it wasn't worth a dang. And then eventually, actually it was a cleaner in the Smokies. Avery would probably remember her name. Her husband figured out a way to. When they first came out with icals, we could just drop the ICAL into Gmail. And back then it was like revolutionary and we didn't have to worry about the calendars anymore. And then of course now today especially with this software that she, that Kelsey one's using with the videos. And I hate to, I hate to even bring that up on the air because now everybody's going to want videos all the time. But it's just gotten so much easier. And, and I'm glad to hear that you guys are, are, are, you know, adapting these, these methods as well, because it was a period of time, you know, I've preached on the podcast here many times about cleaners taking photos. And there was a period where, at least from my perspective, cleaners were not into it. I know my cleaners were not. [00:34:05] Speaker C: They weren't. [00:34:05] Speaker B: They were not. And I get it. It's adding another step to the process. But I think over time, as it kind of evolved that, like, oh, this is actually for the cleaners benefit, because if we don't have photos and then a guest complains, we have nothing to go off of except for what the guest says and we kind of have to believe them. So I think that, but that it really is a great thing to have these systems for cleaners where they can take pictures and owners can see what things look like when they leave. But yeah, at the beginning, they were not into it. They felt, I think, very, like, micromanaged, as would I. I would have felt the same way. But as time has gone on, I think everybody realizes, like, oh, this is actually great. So we can catch those guests who are just looking for a discount and then it keeps your, your nose clean, so to speak, because we can see like, oh, yeah, this guest is just full of crap. And our cleaners doing a great job, still. [00:35:00] Speaker A: 100%. I remember when the, when the picture thing first came around, and this was before Turno even offered photos. Trying to tell my cleaners that I needed pictures of every room. They, it was like they thought I was the worst boss on the planet, you know, they were like, are you, you're making me do extra work here. I'm like, it's a picture. It takes 10 seconds. Not even, you know, so. But everybody on the call here is shaking their heads. Cherie, you. It seems like you prefer this photo. Has it made your life easier, this photo? Sit. [00:35:28] Speaker C: Yes, it. And it, it actually, I think has made our owners a lot easier too. Last summer, we had a guest check in and they were here for two solid days and then text the owner and said, we didn't have hand towels. She looked at the pictures, screenshotted them, sent them to the guests and had circled the hand towels and said, you had hand towels. Then she screenshot the message and sent it to me. So it was kind of funny. Like, people don't really, as a guest, think that we're doing that step, but we are. And it's for all of our benefits, too. [00:35:58] Speaker A: Kelsey1, you're shaking your head. It seems like this has made your life easier as well. [00:36:03] Speaker F: Yeah, it's kind of like an insurance policy, so we don't have to either refund the cleaning fee or have to make a social trip up there. Whenever we have the video, the owner can just view it, screenshot it, and say, oh, we didn't have any dishpods. Well, I see them in the video. Here they are. You know, we don't care about an extra trip, but I don't want you to blame the cleaner for not leaving those things. [00:36:22] Speaker A: Look at the world we're living in. And in the way you guys are describing it, it almost makes it sound like it's been easier for you to scale because these cleaners are taking literally a picture of every room in the home. So you just don't have to be there. And it used to be maybe you had to go and check up on these folks and follow behind them. And with the advancement of technology and the turno and resort clean, etcetera, you don't have to be there, which is kind of the whole point of post Covid living. Right. So, Avery, what do you have next? [00:36:57] Speaker B: So, while we're on the topic of processes, do you guys mind when owners have maybe specific things that they want done and it's not the same process for every single owner? Like, maybe one owner has a hot chocolate bar that they want you to refill, and then one owner has a certain gift basket with certain things, and it becomes like a slightly different process for each owner. Do you guys have a problem with that? Are you happy to do it? How does that impact the work that you do? [00:37:28] Speaker C: We're happy to do it too. [00:37:32] Speaker F: Yeah, I don't. I don't mind at all. And we also do, like, if an owner wants things in a certain way, because since we do have several different cleaners that go to these properties, we ask them to create a PDF of their pictures off the Airbnb or how they want their bed staged so every girl that goes in there can view the PDF and then know how the room's supposed to look and where everything goes back to. Guests move stuff. We have no idea. If it's a new cleaner we just hired, she'll have no idea where the furniture goes correctly. So we do the PDFs attached to the property listing. [00:38:03] Speaker D: You know, I personally don't mind. Sometimes it can be a little hectic because if it's not start, like put in a certain place or little things get moved or things like that, it kind of makes it difficult. But for the most part, I don't care to accommodate. [00:38:14] Speaker A: That's great to hear. We, you know, we're not used to that as hosts and owners, at least for those of us that have been doing this for a number of years, it was. It was like pulling teeth to get somebody to do a. A gift basket type of a deal. And. And I got to the point where I just was. Didn't want to bother with it, you know, and it sounds like maybe we're getting a cooler with that. And I, you know, I. I do like to provide little snacks and things for. Because, you know, again, the travelers number one here, you know, it's not about host versus cleaners or cleaners versus host. First of all, we're on the same team, and we're all on the team of making the guest experience fantastic because without them, none of us are in business. All right? So at least that's the way I run my business. Even when the guest has made me so mad that I can't. I got smoke coming out of my ears. They're still right. And we have to give them everything they want. And I know as a guest, when I roll up at a house with, you know, the two kids, we've been driving all night, and everybody's hungry, man, it's real nice to have a granola bar sitting on the countertop. So, yeah, great to hear that. That's kind of coming around a little bit. Go ahead. [00:39:16] Speaker C: All right, so. [00:39:17] Speaker B: So my last question is, there are so many apps and platforms out there to streamline processes between cleaners and hosts. I want to start with Kelsey. Number one. What are your favorite apps that help you. You and your team work better with your hosts? [00:39:33] Speaker F: Yeah, so we use open phone to communicate. All the communication goes through there. We have assistants that respond back to that. We use Microsoft Teams for any kind of restocking that needs to be happening or ordering. So all the cleaners will get on teams, report what needs to be restocked, and then I screenshot that, send that to the owner. Of course, the software that we use Aperto teams for scheduling, and then we use the timestamp app so we can use that to record so that you know what property you're at. And then the owner or the guests can't ever say that you weren't there at that point in time and that was that breezeway. [00:40:12] Speaker A: No, no, it's called Timestamp app. [00:40:14] Speaker F: Timestamp app. [00:40:15] Speaker B: Oh, Timestamp app. Okay. [00:40:15] Speaker F: Yeah. And they'll record the videos through that. So then we know where we're at, what time we were there, and it's all sent onto them. [00:40:23] Speaker A: I was under the impression that Turno automatically timestamped. Is anybody using Turno and does it timestamp? It does Timestamp. Yes, it does. Okay, so your, Kelsey, your app. Kelsey1, your app does not timestamp. So you have a third party timestamp app and then put it into your cleaning. Look at how fancy this has gotten. Okay, Cherie, what. What is your stack, if you will, of softwares? [00:40:46] Speaker C: We're simple resort cleaning. It has everything we need. Timestamp, the team reports issues, so that pops up as the subtask on my desk. So forward it to owners. I like to be streamlined. We use Google Voice for communications for our owners. That's text call. That way, me, management coordinators, we're. We all have access to that line. [00:41:08] Speaker A: Elsa, what are you. What are you using? [00:41:11] Speaker E: I keep it very, very simple. I use Turno, where we can start the time of cleaning and then finish. When we finish, we put that. And I just communicate through WhatsApp to my cleaners. They can send me all the pictures in the video and I can do a video chat with them if I need to. Like, if there's something in the apart that I need to see and I'm not nearby, I just keep it super simple. [00:41:42] Speaker A: Right, okay. And Kelsey too, what are we using for softwares? [00:41:45] Speaker D: I try to have the direct communication with my owners and then, like, have two managers that did the scheduling for connecteam. In Connecteam, it gives you, like, they have a list where I can go in and put all of my codes so when the cleaner gets there, they can check in. It's got like a geofence, so we can kind of keep the location for, you know, safety reasons and all that. I do use the Timestamp app. I do not directly send photos to owners, but I always have them on hand in case they need them. For the most part, though, it's pretty simple as far as, like, I try to try not to be too much when it comes to, you know, doing all the extra apps. But for the most part, it's just, like I said, timestamp and connect team and connecting is really awesome. I don't know if you guys have heard of it. But it's. It's fantastic app. [00:42:30] Speaker A: No, I don't know that one. Okay, I'm gonna look into that. All right, we're gonna hit the hard hitting question now. I'm gonna start with Cherie. Craziest thing that's ever happened to you walking into a home. Craziest cleaning story in general. Horror story, if you will. What do you got for us? [00:42:47] Speaker C: Craziest was probably most embarrassing. Owners were supposed to be out of a. Gonna keep this PG. We're supposed to have left at 8:00am I knocked on the door, nobody answered. Walked down the hall, and owners were not gone. In fact, I walked in on a very inappropriate moment. [00:43:05] Speaker A: Oh, my Lord. Wow. [00:43:09] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:43:10] Speaker C: These days when I walk into a property, probably all neighboring businesses, buildings hear me yelling housekeeping to the loudest. [00:43:19] Speaker B: Oh my God. [00:43:20] Speaker A: I do the same. I say maintenance. You know, I checked, I checked the schedule 100 times before I go in and I'm still not satisfied. So I say maintenance. Maintenance. Maintenance. Do you still work with those? [00:43:31] Speaker C: Yes. [00:43:33] Speaker A: Oh, my goodness. [00:43:34] Speaker C: It was very awkward and funniest. Every day here is funny. My team is hilarious. They are the worst to send me videos and I am the first to post on social media. So all of our owners probably think we're all lunatics down here, but we do have a really good time. Wow. Yes. [00:43:57] Speaker A: Wow. Kelsey, one, same question. [00:44:00] Speaker F: The worst and the funniest. Same owner, the funny. Well, I wasn't funniest. It was like a combined moment. We had a storm here. The power went out, they had no water, so we left to go clean a different property. Came back, opened the door and it was like raining inside because the guest had left the sink faucet on and the. The sink was stopped up and it was just running for four hours. Ceiling tiles, everything was ruined. He had servcro come in there and said he couldn't cancel the stay because it was like a six thousand dollar stay and refused to and let the guest stay there. [00:44:39] Speaker C: Oh my God. [00:44:40] Speaker F: And he like ripped up half the carpet. The mattresses were soaked. And then after all of that, he ghosted me and owed me $7,000. And then he never paid me. And then he was arrested by the. So, whoa. [00:44:56] Speaker A: Yeah, not because of this. This was a different. The arrest was. [00:45:00] Speaker F: Yeah, he. Well, he was. He got. He was wanted by the TBI and FBI because of theft of services. He wasn't paying any of his housekeepers in any of the towns that he owned properties in. [00:45:12] Speaker A: Hmm. You know where he is now? [00:45:15] Speaker F: No idea. No, it was. He was messaging me and then he had an assistant and then his wife ended up messaging me and then they all just ghosted me. I have no idea where he's at. He used to live in Alabama, but I don't know. [00:45:28] Speaker B: Wow, that's pretty crazy. [00:45:30] Speaker A: Kelsey too. [00:45:31] Speaker D: There was one time my biggest cabin, they got the whole stomach bug and that was a whole nightmare. So it was a turn and like all the bed linens, all the throw blankets, all the couch cushions, all the couch like everything was just trash. So that was horrific. But we dealt with it, you know, got through it. And then the most craziest part I think we've ever dealt with, which, you know, bears are common up here, but we had a hot tub pump and for whatever reason, this bear decided to take one of my girls hot tub pumps down the side of a mountain. I'm not sure why, but anyway, so she ended up getting it back. But that's, that's probably it. The bears hanging off my cars. I had a Stanley tumbler in my car one time and the bear got in there and tipped my whole Stanley over in the floorboard. So. And I mean it was like a five minute span. I went in to get my, you know, my cleaners and I come right back out and my car was, you know, up at like he got in my truck. [00:46:21] Speaker F: So wait, I want to go back. [00:46:24] Speaker B: To the, the stomach virus thing. So there is no reason, like I'm, I'm a mom. I've had three sick people in my house that I'm trying to take care of at a time and never have we gotten throw up on every surface in the house. As a matter of fact, I've done a pretty good job of not letting anybody get throw up on anything. I'm right there with the bowl. I am Johnny on the spot with the bowl. And that's just crazy to me that there. This happened on multiple sheets and couch cushions and everything like you can get to the bathroom is my opinion. I don't know. [00:47:02] Speaker D: Yeah, it was bad. Like I'm, you know, I've got four kids myself, so it's, it's crazy. But some guests are just ruthless. Like they just don't respect any other people's stuff. [00:47:12] Speaker A: Yes. And we love you guess even when you're ruthless. But that they make a good point. I mean, come on. You know, it's ridiculous. You guys are making it sound like some kind of comedy horror movie when really you could have just, you know, gone to the other room and. Anyway, Elsa, same question. And again, feel Free to tell more than one story. If you have more than one horror slash, you know, comedy story. [00:47:40] Speaker E: We always have that relationship of love and hate for spring breakers. We love you. But sometimes we find a lot of funny things in the houses. Some of them forget that they have to check out at 10:00. So we just get inside and sometimes it's just taking a shower, things like that. We do find bad things too. Like guns is a thing that sometimes we, we need to find. [00:48:11] Speaker A: Hold on, I'm gonna stop you there. You find a gun, what do you do? [00:48:16] Speaker E: Well, when we find the gun. Well, if is if I'm working for an owner, I will contact the owner and normally what they do is that they will contact the. The person that stayed there or she comes back to grab it or they contact the police and the police come and will grab it. I We don't touch it at all. [00:48:36] Speaker A: Perfect. Again, this is not a legal podcast here. None of us are lawyers, so we don't know what we're supposed to do here. But I think what she just explained is probably exactly what I would recommend if I was the type of person and I'm not recommending anything, but yes, I agree. Don't touch it. Call the cops. And Cherie shaking her head. Do you have, what do you have a protocol there? [00:48:59] Speaker C: Yes, it happens a lot here. We host. My brother's a police officer, so there's big conventions for police officers from all over comedy. Oddly enough, they often forget weapons. And then, you know, we host the hangout fest. So very often there are lots of illegal drugs left in places. Even this past year, not only did people leave illegal drugs behind, they also left their ID in the rooms with said illegal drugs. But we always call the police, they come touch the. I don't want to touch it. What if they killed somebody? Killed somebody in another state. And my fingerprints. No, I'm not gun. No. So we have pretty strict policies when we're training on drugs and guns. [00:49:43] Speaker A: Kelsey1 yeah, it's having a lot here. [00:49:46] Speaker F: I guess because the bears not sure people bring their guns here. I had an AR15 found. Not sure why you would have that here, but yeah, it's been. We have to contact the police. We always the owner too and say, hey, do they want to come back and get it? If they do, we let them. We just leave it there. But yeah, it's happened a lot and we used to be able to take it to the gun shop here, but then they changed the laws so you can't ship any kind of gun back. [00:50:15] Speaker A: Yes, I have actually had it where we contacted the guest and they said we're not coming back for it. It was too cheap for us to bother, so just keep it. [00:50:25] Speaker F: Yeah, yeah, they told me the same thing. They told me I could keep one of them. So I did. [00:50:30] Speaker A: I was like, oh, whoa. I, I would. I still called the cops and had them come and pick it up and take it back. And then I think their protocol, at least in Sevier county, is to keep it until the rifle owner comes and proves that they own it and then they can take it and they keep it for a certain period of time and then they dispose of it. Something like that. Again, no legal advice here on the, on the program, but. Okay, Elsa, we cut you off there. I felt like maybe you had another or were you good? Okay, cool. All right, well, anything else, Avery? Did we miss anything? [00:51:02] Speaker B: I don't think so. I think we got everything. [00:51:04] Speaker A: Okay, well, I do want to say one more thing here, cherie. Do you have any advice for a new owner getting into this that's maybe nervous about the whole thing? Advice on, you know, maybe how to hire the right cleaner, that kind of thing. But in just in general to make, make their, you know, ease their mind. [00:51:24] Speaker C: Most of our clients are first time, so there's a lot of anxiety. Trust the process. That's, that's the biggest advice. Interview, talk to cleaners, talk to own other owners of cleaning businesses and make sure you find the right fit for you. [00:51:42] Speaker D: You know, sometimes cheaper isn't always the best. You know, like your linen qualities, your paper, product quality, that kind of thing kind of sets you aside from the rest of the companies and the competition out there. And you know, don't be scared to do the deep cleans. The deep cleans will save you in the long run. You know, you can be the best cleaner out here and you're still going to need a deep clean because it's just not impossible to, to hit all those areas on every turn. But just don't be scared to invest in your properties is huge for us. [00:52:10] Speaker F: Kelsey1 yeah, I agree with that fully. Especially the investing. I do a lot of the new owners, the ones that never had and starting fresh, there's a lot of freak out. I don't know if they've just heard horror story after horror story, but they call me a lot and like, hey, is it going to be okay? Like, what do you think about this? What do you, what if we get a propane tank? How are they going to fill that up and so it gives a long list of questions. There needs to be some kind of guide for new owners in some sort of way. But yeah, invest in your property. Do the deep cleans. When your cleaner says you need something, I would probably take it seriously because they're just trying to help you out. [00:52:50] Speaker A: Yes. And we will make this podcast the guide moving forward. Short term rental management. Short term rental management Cleaner Pod part two will be the guide moving forward. But that does leave me alone. I got one more question, Kelsey. One, you made me think of something here. Do you prefer a host that has multiple properties or in other words, over this new person that's scared to death and you gotta kind of hold their hand? Does that get a little annoying when they're new? Do you prefer somebody that has multiple properties? [00:53:25] Speaker F: Yeah, I mean, everybody's kind of new at first, so I know that once you get into it, it's okay. You end up stop being so stressed out about it. But they. The newer ones do, I think care more. They're see or they think that there's more importance of refreshing things. The people who have had these and then they're like, well, it's been had steady income for the past four years. I don't really. There's nothing wrong with it. And I'm like, well, there, you know, it needs a deep clean or like the couch is broken down it goes. It's kind of like 50, 50. It's annoying to be like phone called every day about, is it going to be all right if I do this, this and this? And then other times it's hard to get anybody to do anything if you've had a property for a long time. [00:54:07] Speaker A: So somebody in the middle is the ideal host is what you're saying. [00:54:11] Speaker F: Yeah. [00:54:11] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:54:12] Speaker A: Okay, awesome. Well, listen, we love you guys. Thank you so much for making this happen. But there's a lot of work to get this put together and we're so glad that you guys came and to hang out with us and everything. I guess let's go do a little round of how do we get a hold of you? Kelsey 1, you're in the Smokies. How do if I want to hire you to be my cleaner, how do I do that? [00:54:29] Speaker F: Yeah, you can call 865-228-4220 or go. [00:54:33] Speaker A: To sweatbeestcleaning.com putting her phone number on the Internet. Good for you. I mean, why not? It's already on the Internet. Right. Kelsey too. [00:54:42] Speaker D: 865-440-5105. [00:54:45] Speaker A: All right. And Sheree what's the name of your company? It seems like you're kind of a big deal there in Gulf Shores. [00:54:51] Speaker C: Housekeeping Squad. You can reach us at 251-202-9794 or follow us on Facebook. The Housekeeping Squad. [00:54:59] Speaker A: The Housekeeping Squad. Look at you. I like you. Okay, I'm gonna buy some in Gulf Shores just so you can. So we can work together. Okay, wonderful. And Elsa, how do we find you there in pcb? [00:55:12] Speaker E: Elsa's Cleaning Services. You can find me on Facebook or 850-687-4083. [00:55:20] Speaker A: Okay, wonderful. Avery, what do you have for us? On the way out the door, my darling. [00:55:26] Speaker B: Treat your cleaners like the gold that they are. None of us could do this without them. So please, please, please, always, always treat your cleaners with the respect that they deserve. That's all I got. [00:55:39] Speaker A: 100%. 100%. Thank you, guys. Thank you so much. And as always, on behalf of short term rental management, don't overthink it.