Where I started
I was a warehouse supervisor doing two Airbnb turnovers on Saturdays for a friend who owned the flats. Cash, no paperwork, an hour and a half each.
It was fine as side income. It was not a business, because it could not grow past my weekends.
What I struggled with
Short lets are unforgiving. Same day changeovers, no flexibility, and a bad review costs the host real money. I had no linen system, no way of proving I had been, and no contingency if I was ill.
I also had no idea how to find more hosts without cold messaging people on the platform, which felt awkward.
What changed
The short let section of the Growth Blueprint pushed me towards density rather than volume. Clustering properties within a small radius so travel time stops eating the margin.
I focused on one area of the city, approached the two short let management companies operating there with a written turnover specification, a photo confirmation process and a laundry arrangement, and got a trial on four properties.
Building it out
The photo confirmation was the thing that won the contract. Hosts are managing remotely and they want evidence, not reassurance.
I left the warehouse eleven months later. I now cover nineteen properties, all within about fifteen minutes of each other, with one other cleaner on changeover days.
Where I am now
It is a demanding business. Saturdays are non negotiable and August is relentless. But it is predictable, the margins hold because the travel is short, and I am paid monthly by two companies rather than chasing nineteen individuals.
Tom Bradley's advice for other cleaning entrepreneurs
- Pick a small geographical area and go deep. Density beats volume in short lets.
- Photograph everything. Remote hosts buy evidence.
- Approach management companies, not just individual hosts.