How Often Should You Deep Clean a Holiday Let? Timing, Costs, and Why It’s Essential

Keeping your holiday let spotless is key to five-star reviews and repeat bookings, but how often should you deep clean it? And what exactly does a deep clean involve? From our experience managing over 100 homes across the Cotswolds and surrounding areas, here’s what we recommend.

How Often Should You Deep Clean a Holiday Let?

We recommend three seasonal deep cleans per year:

• January: After a busy festive season, the calendar is quieter, making it a perfect moment to reset for the year ahead.
• May/June: Right before peak summer. You want the home looking its absolute best.
• October: After the higher booked months of June-September but before the Christmas season begins.

This schedule helps maintain the quality and cleanliness guests expect while avoiding disruption during your busiest periods.

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How Is a Deep Clean Different to a Regular Clean?

Our regular changeover cleans are detailed, well-managed, and genuinely impress guests. We often hear feedback like “spotlessly clean” or “one of the cleanest Airbnbs we’ve stayed in.” That’s no accident, it’s the result of high standards, dedicated housekeepers, and a clear checklist that ensures nothing is missed.

But even with the best team, changeovers often happen under time pressure. If there’s only a five-hour window between guests checking out and the next arriving, there’s a limit to how much can be done, and that’s where a deep clean is different.

A deep clean allows us to go well beyond what’s practical or necessary during a typical changeover. You wouldn't move heavy furniture and clean underneath it every week, it wouldn’t be realistic or cost-effective. But a few times a year, it makes sense to go that extra level deeper.

It’s about maintaining incredibly high standards while being practical about what’s most important, and when. A deep clean gives us the breathing room to check every corner and reset the home, ensuring it stays in great condition all year round.

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What’s Included in a Holiday Home Deep Clean?

A deep clean goes far beyond a standard changeover clean. While many of these tasks might be addressed occasionally during regular housekeeping when needed, a deep clean is our opportunity to go through them thoroughly, proactively, and all at once, ensuring nothing is missed and the home is in peak condition.

Here are just a few examples:

• Clean under and behind all furniture
• Hoover and wipe down all skirting boards
• Deep clean all interior bins
• Clean inside cupboards, drawers, and cutlery trays
• Descale kettles and clean out coffee machines
• Clean under and around kitchen appliances
• Hoover mattresses and wash all protectors
• Check all throws and cushions for stains or wear, and clean as needed
• Deep clean inside ovens and microwaves
• Remove cobwebs from external doors and outdoor light fixtures

How Much Does a Deep Clean Cost?

We pay our housekeepers £20 an hour, which we believe is fair and reflects the effort and care the job requires. Costs vary depending on the size and layout of the home, but here’s a typical guide:

• Small 1-bed flat: ~4 hours — £80
• Large 1-bed home: 4.5–5 hours — £90–£95
• 2-bed home: 5–7 hours — £100–£140
• 3-bed home: 7–9 hours — £140–£180
• 4–6 bed large home: 10–12 hours — £200–£240

These are ballpark figures. The exact cost will depend on:

• How many bathrooms/en-suites there are
• Whether there are extra spaces like utility rooms or conservatories
• Age and layout of the property
• How much furniture needs moving

Why It’s Worth Doing Right

A deep clean is a big job – and an investment. But when it’s done well, it protects your home, your reviews, and your bookings.

That’s why we:

• Work closely with housekeepers to agree a date that fits both their schedule and your property’s bookings. We can often identify natural gaps between guest stays and use these to avoid blocking dates unnecessarily.
• Use Breezeway – a specialist operations platform for short-term rentals – to schedule and track every task, with self-created templates for deep cleans but also the ability to add home-specific tasks.
• Coordinate with any maintenance works, scheduling the deep clean after jobs that are likely to create dust or disruption.
• Build in property-specific tasks like carpet washes, hot tub services or BBQ deep cleaning.
• Handle all logistics, including calendar blocking (if needed), communication with housekeepers, and live task tracking.

Why Red Kite Hosts Handles It All For You

Deep cleans matter – but organising them takes time, especially if you want them done to a high standard. We handle everything from:

• Scheduling around your bookings
• Working with experienced housekeepers
• Using smart tools like Breezeway
• Tracking tasks to ensure they’re fully completed

And we don’t stop at deep cleans. Our housekeeping team also handles all regular changeovers, orders and stocks supplies, and reports maintenance issues.

Want to save time and still get perfect results? Explore our full cleaning service here.

FAQ

How long does a deep clean take?

It depends on the size of the property. A small one-bed might take 4 hours; a five-bed property could take up to 12.

Do I need to block my calendar for a deep clean?

Often, no. We try to schedule them in natural gaps between bookings to avoid blocking revenue days.

Can’t my housekeeper just clean more thoroughly sometimes?

A deep clean is a completely separate job. It involves moving furniture, cleaning in, around and under everywhere, and these tasks aren't necessary at every changeover.

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