First: confirm, don't assume
Call your cleaner rather than texting. They may be stuck at the previous job, have the wrong date, or be outside unable to get in. Check your own side too: did the job go out for today, is the lock code you gave them active, and does your calendar show the checkout they expected?
If you reach them, ask for an arrival time, not a reassurance. If you can't reach them after one call and one message, treat it as a no-show and move on. Waiting for a reply is how a few hours become one.
Find cover, in this order
- Your trained backup cleaner. This is the moment they exist for.
- Your cleaner's own cover, if they work with a partner or a small team.
- Other turnover cleaners near you: ask in your local host group, and call cleaning companies that take same-day jobs.
- A co-host, friend or neighbor who knows the home.
- You, if you are close enough.
Offer a rush rate up front rather than haggling; it is cheaper than a refund. Send whoever takes the job your checklist, the access code, the restock list and where the spare linens are, and ask for end-of-clean photos before they leave.
Tell the guest early, with a real time
Once you know the home won't be ready for check-in, message the guest straight away. A guest told about a delay hours ahead can plan around it. A guest who finds out at the door, or who walks into a dirty home, is the one who writes about it. Airbnb's ground rules also expect quick replies close to check-in.
Give a specific time with margin built in, and offer something concrete: a luggage drop if the cleaner is on site, a good place to wait, a partial refund for the delay. If you offer money, send it through Airbnb so it sits on the reservation record. On Airbnb you can change the check-in time on a single reservation, and if your smart lock codes come through Airbnb, the code follows the new time. If your codes come from separate lock software, change the time there.
Hi Sam, I'm sorry, but our cleaning has been delayed today and the home won't be ready at 4 p.m. I've arranged a replacement cleaner and expect it to be ready by 6 p.m. I'll message you the moment it is. As an apology, I'll refund part of tonight's stay through Airbnb. If you arrive before then, you're welcome to leave your bags with the cleaner.
Good news: the home is ready. Your door code works from now. Thanks for your patience today, and let me know if anything isn't right.
Don't promise a time you haven't confirmed with the replacement cleaner. A second delay hurts more than the first.
If you clean it yourself
You won't do a full turnover in the time you have. Do a guest-ready reset of what guests notice and what Airbnb treats as clean, and book a proper clean for later.
- Walk through first and photograph any damage or left items before you touch anything.
- Bathrooms: toilet, sink, shower, mirror, hair in drains, fresh towels, toilet paper.
- Beds: fresh sheets from your spare set. Bag the used linens and leave the wash for later.
- Kitchen: dishes away, counters and sink wiped, fridge cleared of old food.
- Trash out and fresh liners in every bin.
- Floors in the main areas, then open windows if the place smells stale.
- Restock the basics: soap, toilet paper, coffee, dish soap.
Keep a turnover kit at the home for days like this: a full set of linens and towels per bed, cleaning supplies and trash bags, so nobody has to stop at a store.
If the home can't be made ready
Under Airbnb's Rebooking and Refund Policy, a home that is not reasonably clean and sanitary at check-in is a reservation issue the guest can report, and Airbnb may rebook or refund them out of your payout. Cancelling yourself is worse: Airbnb's Host Cancellation Policy can mean a fee, a blocked calendar and losing Superhost status. If you truly can't get the home ready, contact Airbnb before you do anything, tell the guest honestly, and help them find somewhere else.
After the guest is in
- Pay the cover cleaner promptly and thank them. You will need them again.
- Talk to your regular cleaner once things are calm. A real emergency is different from a pattern.
- Confirm each turnover with your cleaner the day before, by a reply, not by silence.
- Train a second backup, and give backups a few paid turnovers a year so they know the home.
- Look at your tightest turnovers. If they keep going wrong, see how to handle same-day turnovers.
If no-shows repeat, it is time to look again; see how to find and keep a reliable cleaner.
Print this and keep your cover list with it, with names and numbers filled in.
- 1Call your cleaner once and send one message. Ask for an arrival time. No clear answer means no-show.
- 2Check your side: the job date, the lock code and the calendar.
- 3Call your backup cleaner, then your cleaner's cover.
- 4Ask local turnover cleaners and cleaning companies, offering a rush rate.
- 5Send the cover cleaner your checklist, access, restock list and linen location. Ask for end-of-clean photos before they leave.
- 6If no one can come, go yourself or send someone you trust. Do the guest-ready reset and book a full clean for later.
- 7Message the guest as soon as you know check-in will be late. Give a confirmed time with margin and a concrete offer.
- 8Change the check-in time on the reservation and check the lock code.
- 9Tell the guest when the home is ready.
- 10Contact Airbnb before you cancel anything.
- 11Review what happened and update your cover list.