One checklist per departure
Start a turnover from the template for each check-out, or start it from another system through the API. The cleaner, inspector and host are assigned from Phase 1, and due dates count from the moment it starts.
Short-Term Rental Turnover Checklist Template
A turnover has a fixed deadline and no second attempt. Whatever the cleaner misses, the next guest finds, and whatever damage nobody photographed at check-out becomes very hard to claim for.
Between one guest leaving and the next arriving, someone has to clean the property, and also inspect it, restock it, test the alarms, record what was broken and prove the place was ready. On a busy Saturday with three changeovers, the proving part is what slips. This free short-term rental turnover checklist is for hosts, co-hosts, holiday let managers and the cleaning companies that work for them. It runs once per departure and covers turnover set-up, the check-out walk-through, stripping, laundry and kitchen, a room-by-room clean, restocking and safety checks, damage follow-up and a final inspection with a ready-for-guest sign-off. Damage tasks appear only when the walk-through finds something.
A Turnover Is More Than a Clean
Most hosts start with a cleaning checklist and discover its limits the first time a guest reports a broken lamp that the cleaner says was fine. A cleaning list tells someone what to wipe. It does not tell them to photograph the room before they touch it, count the towels, test the carbon monoxide alarm or flag that the dishwasher is leaking. Those are the jobs that protect the host’s income and the next guest’s safety, and they are the ones a rushed cleaner skips.
A turnover has two outputs. One is a clean, restocked, safe property. The other is evidence: what the property looked like when the last guest left, what was done, and what it looked like when it was declared ready. The second output is what you need when a guest disputes a damage charge, a review mentions a dirty oven, or a co-host asks why the property was not bookable on Friday.
The clean
What a cleaning list covers
- Beds stripped and remade
- Bathrooms, kitchen and floors cleaned
- Bins emptied, surfaces dusted
- Usually done by the cleaner alone
The rest of the turnover
What this checklist adds
- Before and after photos of every room
- Damage, missing items and rule breaches recorded
- Consumables restocked and alarms tested
- Maintenance logged and a named person’s ready-for-guest sign-off
What the Short-Term Rental Turnover Checklist Covers
Seven phases run from the moment a guest checks out to the moment the property is signed off for the next one. Phase 6 appears only when the walk-through records damage or missing items, and individual tasks in Phase 4 appear only for same-day arrivals or properties with a hot tub, pool or sauna.
Set-Up
Phase 1: Booking & Turnover Set-Up
Start one checklist per departure. Two questions here decide which conditional tasks this turnover shows.
- Name the cleaner, the inspector and the host for this turnover — tasks and the ready-for-guest approval are assigned from these fields
- Record the booking reference, check-out time and next check-in time — so everyone works to the next arrival, not to a guess
- Say whether the next guest arrives the same day — a yes adds a midpoint progress update for the host
- Say whether the property has a hot tub, pool or sauna — a yes adds the water and cover checks
- Read the next guest’s notes — cot, extra bedding, early arrival, accessibility or allergy requests
Inspect
Phase 2: Check-Out Walk-Through
- Confirm the guests have left before going in — from the message thread or the smart lock’s entry log
- Photograph every room as found, before touching anything — this is the evidence for a damage claim and protects the cleaner
- Check for damage, breakages and missing items against the inventory — answer “Damage or missing items found?” here; a yes adds Phase 6
- Look for signs of smoking, extra guests, pets or a party — where house rules were broken, attach the photos for the host
- Bag and label anything left behind — photo, where it was found and the date, so the host can contact the guest
Reset
Phase 3: Strip, Laundry & Kitchen
- Strip every bed that was used, and any that looks slept in — check mattress protectors and pillows for stains
- Check mattress seams and the headboard for signs of bed bugs — rusty or dark spots, tiny pale eggs or shed skins; stop and call the host if you find any
- Start the laundry or bag linen for the laundry service — count items out so losses and stains are traced to this stay
- Clear the fridge, freezer and cupboards of guest food — then wipe shelves and door seals
- Clean the oven, hob, microwave, kettle and coffee machine, and run the dishwasher — check cupboard items are clean, not just what is on the drainer
- Empty every bin and sort the recycling — in time for the local collection
Clean
Phase 4: Room-by-Room Clean
The hot tub task is shown only for properties that have one; the progress update only for same-day arrivals.
- Clean bathrooms top to bottom — shower screen, grout, plughole, behind the toilet, mirrors, and a final check for hair
- Make the beds with fresh linen to the reference photo — same pillows, same fold, same throw, every time
- Dust, wipe and vacuum every room — including high-touch points: handles, switches, remotes, banisters
- Clean outdoor areas — seating, barbecue, ashtrays and bins
- Check the hot tub, pool or sauna — water treatment, cover and lock, following the supplier’s instructions
- Send the host a progress update at the halfway point — so a late finish is known before the next guest sets off
Restock & Safety
Phase 5: Restock & Safety Checks
- Restock consumables to the par list — toilet roll, soap, shampoo, bin bags, dishwasher tablets, tea and coffee; note what is running low
- Test every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm — press the test button and replace any battery that chirps
- Check the fire extinguisher and fire blanket — present, in date and unobstructed, where your fire risk assessment provides them
- Check escape routes, the fire action notice and the house manual — doors clear, notices in place, window-lock keys where needed
- Reset the door code or key safe — and check every spare key is accounted for
- Set the heating or air conditioning for arrival — and check windows and outside doors are locked
If Damage
Phase 6: Damage & Maintenance Follow-Up
Shown only when the walk-through records damage or missing items.
- Photograph and video the damage close up and in context — with something for scale
- Get a repair or replacement quote, or keep the receipt — a claim needs evidence of the cost as well as the damage
- Raise the request with the guest through the booking platform — on Airbnb, within 14 days of check-out
- Log the repair as a maintenance job — with the photos attached and the person who will fix it
- Decide whether the next stay can go ahead as booked — if the damage affects safety or a listed amenity, tell the next guest before arrival
Sign-Off
Phase 7: Final Inspection & Ready-for-Guest Sign-Off
- Take final photos of every room from the same angles as the reference set — the next check-out is compared against these
- Walk the property as the guest will — from the front door: lights on, hot water running, Wi-Fi working, welcome items out
- Record anything left unresolved — a stain that would not lift, a bulb out, a missing pan
- Inspector approval: ready for the next guest — required; the turnover is not complete until it is given
- Lock up and tell the host the property is ready — so check-in details can go to the guest
Rules That Touch a Turnover in the UK and US
Short-term letting is regulated locally, and the rules change often, so treat this as a map of where the duties come from rather than a full statement of what applies to your property. The safety checks in Phase 5 and the evidence in Phases 2, 6 and 7 are how a turnover shows those duties are being met between stays.
| Area | United Kingdom | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Fire safety | In England and Wales a holiday let owner or manager is the “responsible person” under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and must carry out a fire risk assessment. In England it must be recorded in full since 1 October 2023, when the Home Office guide for small paying-guest accommodation (up to 10 guests, ground and first floor) also took effect | Set by state and local fire codes; requirements for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms vary by state and city |
| Gas appliances | Landlord gas safety duties apply to holiday accommodation: an annual gas safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and records kept. GOV.UK guidance for England says to display the certificate where guests will see it | Set by state and local codes |
| Registration and licensing | Scotland: a licence is required; new hosts since 1 October 2022, and existing hosts had to apply by 1 October 2023. England: a national register is planned, and the Culture Secretary said in September 2026 it would be fully operational by March 2027 | Many cities and counties require a permit or registration. In New York City, Local Law 18 registration has been enforced since 5 September 2023, and platforms cannot process bookings for unregistered listings |
| Smoke and CO alarms | Airbnb strongly urges hosts to install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and test them regularly; NFPA recommends testing smoke alarms at least once a month. Check local rules, which may require more than one of each | |
| Damage claims | Airbnb’s host damage protection asks for the reimbursement request within 14 days of the guest’s check-out, with photos or video and repair estimates or receipts. Other platforms set their own terms, so check each one you list on | |
Why the 14-day window shapes the checklist. Fourteen days sounds generous, but evidence goes stale fast. By the time the next guest has stayed, a scratch on the table could have come from either party, and the host has no way to show which. That is why Phase 2 photographs every room before the cleaner touches it and Phase 7 photographs it again once it is ready. Each turnover then leaves a matched pair of photo sets, and the before set of one stay is the after set of the stay before it.
Annual compliance sits outside the turnover. Gas safety checks, electrical inspections and the fire risk assessment review are yearly or periodic jobs, not something the cleaner does every changeover. Keep them on a separate schedule, and use the turnover to catch what changes between stays: an alarm that has stopped working, an extinguisher that has been moved or discharged, an escape route blocked by luggage storage.
Why Run Short-Term Rental Turnovers in CheckFlow?
Photos on the task, not in a camera roll
The cleaner photographs each room through the phone’s browser and the picture attaches to the task, with a record of who completed it and when. When a guest disputes a charge, the before and after sets are already filed against that stay.
Nothing marked ready without a sign-off
The ready-for-guest approval halts the checklist until the named inspector answers it. Damage tasks appear only when damage is found, and dashboards show every turnover across your properties at a glance.
Turnovers are one part of running a let. Repairs found in Phase 6 belong in the Property Management Maintenance Checklist, and the yearly safety and condition check is covered by the Annual Property Inspection Checklist. If you also let on longer tenancies, the Move-In / Move-Out Inspection Checklist handles the condition report and deposit side.
For the fire risk assessment behind the Phase 5 checks, use the Fire Risk Assessment Checklist. Managing several properties? See how CheckFlow works as property management checklist software, or read our property management checklist guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a short-term rental turnover checklist?
It is the list of everything that happens between one guest checking out and the next checking in: a check-out inspection with photos, stripping and laundry, a room-by-room clean, restocking, safety checks, damage follow-up and a final inspection before the property is declared ready. It is broader than a cleaning checklist because it also produces the evidence a host needs.
How long should an Airbnb turnover take?
It depends on the size of the property, the number of beds, whether laundry is done on site and how the last guests left it, so time your own turnovers for a few weeks before setting the gap between check-out and check-in. Same-day arrivals are where turnovers fail, which is why this template adds a midpoint update for the host on those days.
How long do I have to report guest damage on Airbnb?
Airbnb’s host damage protection asks you to submit a reimbursement request within 14 days of the responsible guest’s check-out, supported by photos or video and estimates or receipts. In practice, record the damage before the next guest arrives, or you may not be able to show which stay caused it.
Do I need a fire risk assessment for a holiday let?
In England and Wales, yes. Paying-guest accommodation falls under the Fire Safety Order, and the owner or manager is the responsible person. In England the assessment must be recorded in full since 1 October 2023, and the Home Office guide for small paying-guest accommodation explains what to cover. In the US, requirements come from state and local fire codes.
Should the cleaner or the host do the final inspection?
Ideally someone other than the person who cleaned, such as the host, a co-host or a supervisor at the cleaning company. Where that is not possible, the cleaner’s final photos become the inspection, and the host reviews them before approving. Either way, one named person should sign that the property is ready.
Is CheckFlow free for this template?
14-day free trial, no card required. The Business plan is $10 per user per month after the trial. Full details at checkflow.io/pricing.