How Much Does Airbnb Changeover Cleaning Cost In 2026?
A changeover clean is a different product from either of the jobs it sits between. It is not an end-of-tenancy clean — that is a once-per-tenancy deposit job against an inventory checklist, and if a long-term tenant is leaving, our end of tenancy cost guide is the page you want. Nor is it domestic regular cleaning, which is sold by the hour to someone who lives there.
A changeover is a full reset to photograph-standard, delivered inside a fixed window, repeated every few days. Beds stripped and remade, bathrooms and kitchen done properly, bins out, floors done, consumables restocked, and — the part that separates a good cleaner from a cheap one — a check that nothing is missing, broken or left behind, reported to you with photos before the next guest arrives.
That is why it is priced as a flat fee per turn. The cleaner is quoting a known scope, not selling you hours.
Published UK prices spread widely, and honestly so: one national guide puts a one-bed at £75–£115, while a northern operator quotes £20–£40 for the same job. Both are real — the difference is local wages, whether linen is included, and whether you are buying a person or a managed service with cover. The table gives the spread rather than a single number.
| Unit of sale | Rest of UK | London & South East |
|---|---|---|
| Standard changeover, 1-bed flat | £45–£95 | £60–£120 |
| Hourly rate, independent cleaner | £15–£25 | £18–£28 |
| Hourly rate, agency or managed service | £20–£30 | £22–£35 |
| Minimum call-out charge | £40–£70 | £50–£80 |
| Linen laundered per changeover, 1-bed | £10–£25 | £15–£35 |
| Linen hire per changeover, 2-bed | £25–£60 | £35–£80 |
| Consumables restock per changeover | £5–£15 | £5–£20 |
| Same-day turnaround, under 4 hours | +10–20% | +£15–£25 |
| Quarterly deep clean, 2-bed | £100–£180 | £120–£250 |
Changeover Cleaning Cost By Property Size
Bedrooms drive the price because beds drive the time. A two-bed sleeping six with a sofa bed is a longer job than a two-bed sleeping four, and cleaners quote accordingly.
| Property | Typical clean time | Rest of UK, per changeover | London & South East, per changeover |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 1.5–2 hours | £35–£75 | £45–£95 |
| 1-bed flat | 2–3 hours | £45–£95 | £60–£120 |
| 2-bed flat or house | 2.5–4 hours | £55–£130 | £70–£160 |
| 3-bed house | 3.5–5 hours | £75–£175 | £95–£220 |
| 4-bed house | 4–6 hours | £95–£220 | £120–£260 |
| 5-bed and larger | 5–7 hours | £120–£280 | £150–£350 |
What Affects The Cost Of Changeover Cleaning?
1. Bedrooms, Beds And Bathrooms
Making up beds is the slowest task in the property, and a second bathroom adds 30–45 minutes on its own. Between a studio at 1.5 hours and a four-bed at up to six, the clean time roughly quadruples while the floor area may only double. Sofa beds, bunk rooms and travel cots all count as beds for pricing.
2. Whether Linen Is Included, Laundered Or Hired
This is the line hosts most often forget. Laundering linen you own costs £10–£35 a turn; renting it costs more but removes the washing, the storage and the replacement cycle. London operators quote £12–£22 per double bed set and £5–£12 per towel set, or £35–£80 for a full two-bed pack. Linen handling adds roughly 30% to a basic clean, and a standard double-room changeover is 15 separate pieces of linen.
3. Your Turnaround Window And Notice
An 11am check-out with a 3pm check-in gives a cleaner four hours to reset a whole property — and you are buying certainty, not just labour. A same-day turnaround inside four hours carries a 10–20% surcharge, or £15–£25 flat. Under two hours’ notice, expect £25–£40. Weekends add £10–£20 and bank holidays £15–£30. Booking your changeovers a week ahead, off a synced calendar, avoids nearly all of it.
4. Your Location
London and the South East run 15–30% above the rest of the UK on changeover work — narrower than the 20–35% gap seen across most cleaning trades, because a changeover is a fixed scope rather than an open-ended hourly job. Within London, Zone 1 adds £8–£15 a visit, the congestion charge £18, and parking £10–£40 per booking. Tourist hotspots price closer to London than to their region.
5. Consumables, Welcome Packs And Restocking
Toiletries, tea, coffee, loo roll, dishwasher tablets and bin bags cost £5–£20 a changeover to restock, and welcome packs £10–£30. Some cleaners buy and invoice at cost plus a margin; others only place what you leave in the cupboard. Decide which, and put it in writing, because “restocking included” can mean either.
6. Guest Behaviour, Stay Length And Deep Cleans
One-night stays are the expensive ones — the same reset spread over less revenue. Pets add £15–£50 depending on shedding, and parties or heavy cooking push a standard turn into deep-clean territory, at 25–100% above the normal fee. Separately, a short let needs a proper deep clean two to four times a year at £100–£300+, covering ovens, limescale, mattresses, skirtings and behind appliances.
What’s Included — And What’s Not
A standard changeover quote covers:
- Stripping beds and remaking them with fresh linen you supply
- Full bathroom clean — shower, screen, WC, sink, mirrors, floor
- Kitchen surfaces, sink, hob, microwave and appliance exteriors
- Vacuuming and mopping throughout, including under beds where accessible
- Bins emptied, liners replaced, waste taken out to your collection point
- Dishwasher emptied, crockery put away, fridge checked and cleared
- A walk-through against your checklist, with photos of any damage or missing items
Charged as extras:
- Laundering or hiring linen and towels — £10–£80 depending on size and model
- Consumables and welcome packs — £5–£30
- Same-day, short-notice, weekend and bank holiday work
- Oven deep clean — £25–£80
- Carpet or upholstery cleaning — £30–£75 a room
- Interior window cleaning — £20–£45
- Pet hair and heavy-soiling recovery — £15–£50
- Key collection, meet-and-greet and lockbox management — £5–£10
Can You Clean It Yourself Between Guests?
Plenty of hosts do, and for a single property near where you live it can be the right call — so here is the honest cost.
A one-bedroom flat takes about 2.5 hours to turn around properly. Products come to roughly £7.50 and a load of laundry £5–£12, so your out-of-pocket cost is £12–£20. Price your own time at even £17 an hour and the true cost is £55–£62 — within a pound or two of what a professional charges outside London, and the professional does not have to be in Cornwall on a Friday afternoon.
Self-cleaning genuinely works when you live within about 20 minutes, have flexible working hours, and run one or two units. It stops working the moment you have back-to-back bookings, a holiday of your own, a bug, or a second property. Changeovers are unforgiving: there is no version of “we’ll do it tomorrow”, and cleanliness is the review category guests punish hardest.
The middle path many hosts settle on is sensible — do your own changeovers in quiet months, use a cleaner through the peak season, and buy a professional deep clean two to four times a year regardless.
How To Save Money On Changeover Cleaning
- Set a two- or three-night minimum stay. Nothing else cuts your cleaning bill as fast. Two three-night bookings cost one changeover each; six one-nighters cost six.
- Sync your calendars and book cleans a week ahead. Rush and short-notice surcharges of 10–20% are almost entirely avoidable admin costs.
- Own three sets of linen and rotate them. One on the bed, one in the wash, one in the cupboard. It removes the hire charge and takes the pressure off a four-hour window.
- Give one cleaner several properties. Two flats in the same building or street mean no second journey, and cleaners will price that in.
- Book mid-week slots where your calendar allows. Friday and Saturday are the busiest changeover days and the ones that attract premiums.
- Buy quarterly deep cleans on purpose. Regular deep cleans keep routine changeovers short, which keeps the per-turn fee down.
How To Hire A Good Changeover Cleaner
Start with cover, not price. Ask what happens when your cleaner is ill on a Saturday with guests arriving at 3pm. An agency or managed service will name a backup; an independent cleaner may have none, which is most of the difference in the hourly rate. If you use an independent, keep a second name on file.
Check public liability insurance — they will be alone in a property full of your belongings and someone else’s about to arrive. Agree key handling in writing: lockbox codes, key safes, who holds spares, and what happens if a guest walks off with a set. Confirm they will send photos of any damage before the next check-in, because that report is your evidence for an Airbnb resolution claim.
A proper quote states the flat fee per changeover, what counts as a standard turn, whether linen and consumables are in or out, the turnaround window they will commit to, the short-notice and weekend surcharges, and the cancellation terms when a guest cancels on you. You want a VAT invoice or a numbered receipt for every clean — cleaning is an allowable expense against your letting income, and it is the largest recurring one you will claim.
Red flags: no insurance; a price quoted without knowing the bed count; refusal to commit to a turnaround window; and anyone who will not put the linen arrangement in writing.
Book Airbnb changeover cleaning online!
Guests forgive a dated sofa. They do not forgive a hair in the shower — and it lands in your rating within 48 hours. Fantastic Services covers short lets and holiday rentals within the M25 and in cities including Oxford and Manchester, with linen hire, resupply packs, key handling and teams sized to your turnaround window.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Does Airbnb Cleaning Cost In The UK?
£45–£95 per changeover for a one-bed flat outside London and £60–£120 inside it. Studios start around £35, two-beds run £55–£160 and three-beds £75–£220. Hourly rates behind those fees are £15–£30 outside London and £18–£35 in it. Linen and consumables are usually extra.
How Much Should I Charge Guests As A Cleaning Fee?
Set it to your actual cost, not your neighbour’s. UK guidance puts typical fees at £40–£70, rising to £75–£120+ on three-bed properties, and 63.2% of UK listings charge one, averaging about £55. A common rule of thumb caps the fee at 25–30% of your nightly rate on a two-night stay, so it does not scare off short bookings.
Does Airbnb Take A Cut Of The Cleaning Fee?
Yes. Under the host-only model, Airbnb’s 15.5% service fee applies to the whole booking subtotal, including the cleaning fee. On a £60 cleaning fee that is £9.30 gone before your cleaner is paid. Price it in — a fee set to exactly match your cleaner’s invoice will leave you short.
Do Airbnb Cleaners Do The Laundry?
Some do, some do not, and the quote rarely makes it obvious. Laundering linen you own adds £10–£35 a turn; a full hire pack for a two-bed is £25–£80. Hire removes storage, washing and replacement but costs more per turn. Ask which model the quote assumes before you compare two prices.
Can A Cleaner Turn A Flat Around Between 10am Check-Out And 3pm Check-In?
Usually yes for anything up to two bedrooms — a studio takes 1.5–2 hours and a two-bed 2.5–4. The constraint is laundry, not cleaning: a same-day wash and dry rarely fits, which is why hosts on tight windows keep spare linen sets. Windows under four hours carry a 10–20% surcharge.
How Often Does A Short Let Need A Deep Clean?
Two to four times a year, at £100–£300+ depending on size. A deep clean takes 3–6 hours against 1.5–3 for a changeover and covers the oven, limescale, mattresses, skirtings, inside cupboards and behind appliances. Booking them keeps routine turns fast and cheap, and heads off the “not as clean as the photos” review.
Is Changeover Cleaning Cheaper Than End Of Tenancy Cleaning?
Per visit, yes — a changeover is a reset of an already-maintained property, while an end of tenancy clean is a full deposit-standard job at £120–£560 by property size. Across a year the changeover bill is far larger, because you pay it every few days rather than once per tenancy.
