The 90-Minute Airbnb Turnover Playbook

Checkout is 11. Check-in is 3. You've got four hours, minus the 30 to 60 minutes you spend driving and parking on Atlantic Ave, which leaves about three hours to fully reset a two-bedroom unit before the next five-star review is on the line. One streak on the bathroom mirror, one hair on the pillow, one crumb behind the toaster, and you're either refunding a guest or watching the rating drop. South Florida hosts know this routine cold.

This is the 90-minute playbook our turnover teams run for hosts from Mizner Park to The Cove. It assumes a 1 to 2 bedroom unit, a team of one to two people, and a stocked supply caddy already in the unit. If you're solo, add 30 minutes. If you're on a 3-bedroom with multiple bathrooms, add another 30. Same sequence either way.

Before you arrive

The clock starts the night before, not at the door.

• Confirm checkout time with the outgoing guest the night before
• Have linens laundered and ready, two sets per bed minimum (one on, one in the closet, one in the wash)
• Restock the supply caddy: coffee pods, toilet paper, paper towels, dish detergent, hand soap, trash bags
• Charge the cordless vacuum
• Confirm any same-day maintenance issues with the guest so you're not surprised by a broken blind at 11:05

If you self-manage and you live more than 15 minutes from the unit, this is the part that breaks. Build a checklist into your turnover process so the day of is execution, not problem-solving.

The 90-minute sequence

Work in this order. Trust the order. It's optimized so wet steps dry while you're doing dry steps, and so you never have to backtrack into a finished room.

Minutes 0 to 10: Walkthrough and reset

Walk every room with a phone camera in hand. Photograph:

• Any damage or missing items
• The state of the bathroom and kitchen
• The bed before you strip it (proves the guest slept here, useful for any dispute)
• Anything left behind, with a closeup of the item

While you're walking, do the strip:

• Pull all bedding, towels, and bath mats into a hamper
• Open windows for two to three minutes per room if weather allows (humidity below 70 percent, no rain). Cycles out cooking smells
• Open the dishwasher and start unloading if the previous turnover ran it on departure
• Pull all trash and recycling. New liners in every bin

Minutes 10 to 25: Bathrooms

Bathrooms are the highest-stakes room in the unit. A hotel-grade bathroom is what separates a 4.7 host from a 5.0 host.

1. Spray the shower, tub, sink, and toilet with cleaner. Let it dwell while you do the next steps
2. Wipe the mirror with a microfiber and glass cleaner, top to bottom
3. Wipe the vanity, the faucet, the soap dish, the toothbrush holder if you provide one
4. Scrub the toilet bowl, then wipe the seat, lid, base, and the bolts at the floor (the spot every shortcut misses)
5. Scrub the shower or tub. Squeegee the glass dry. Wipe the chrome. Check the bottom of the door for hard water spots, which build fast in our 200+ ppm water
6. Wipe the floor edges and corners, then mop or wipe the floor

Restock: toilet paper roll plus a spare visible on the back of the toilet, fresh hand towel folded display-ready, fresh bath towel, fresh bath mat, hand soap topped off, shampoo and conditioner topped off if you provide.

Minutes 25 to 45: Kitchen

Kitchen sets the trust signal for the rest of the stay.

• Empty and run the dishwasher if there's a load. While it runs, work the rest of the kitchen
• Wipe counters edge to edge, including behind the toaster, coffee maker, and any small appliances
• Clean the stovetop including under the burner grates. Wipe the hood vent
• Wipe the inside of the microwave and the turntable
• Wipe the front, top, and handle of the fridge. Open it: pull anything the guest left, wipe shelves visibly
• Empty the dishwasher when it finishes. Put everything back exactly where the next guest will look for it
• Wipe the sink, the faucet, the drain stopper. Polish stainless along the brushed grain (never against it)
• Restock: coffee pods, dish detergent, paper towels, dish soap, sponge swap (sponges leave the unit with every checkout)
• Sweep the floor. Mop or wipe the high-traffic strip in front of the sink and fridge

Minutes 45 to 65: Bedrooms

Beds set the photo expectation. If your listing photos show a hospital-corner bed, every guest expects one.

• Make every bed with fresh sheets. Hospital corners, top sheet smooth, comforter even, pillows fluffed and standing
• Wipe nightstands, lamp bases, headboards
• Wipe the inside of any drawer the guest may have used (the top drawer of the nightstand always)
• Wipe light switches, door handles, the closet handles
• Vacuum the floor including under the bed if it's a low-clearance frame
• Check under the bed for guest-left items
• Restock: closet hangers, extra pillow on the shelf, a folded blanket if you provide

If a previous guest's perfume or food smell lingers, a brief spray of an unscented or lightly-scented neutralizer 10 minutes before you leave gets you to neutral, not "freshly cleaned." Heavy florals read as "covering something up" to a discerning guest.

Minutes 65 to 80: Living area, patio, and entry

• Wipe every flat surface: coffee table, side tables, TV stand, dining table, kitchen counter pass-through
• Wipe the TV remote, the AC remote, the coffee table handles, the light switches
• Fluff and arrange throw pillows. Fold the throw blanket on the arm of the couch
• Vacuum the rug and the floor edges
• Sliding doors: both sides of the glass, tracks vacuumed
• Patio or balcony: sweep, wipe the chairs and table, empty any ashtray (which shouldn't be there but sometimes is)
• Front door, both sides, including the handle and any keypad face

Minutes 80 to 90: Final pass and photo confirmation

Walk the unit one more time in the order a guest will walk it: front door, living area, kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms, patio.

• Lights all off
• Thermostat reset to your standard (76 to 78 in summer is the South Florida sweet spot)
• AC running, fan on auto
• All doors closed and locked from inside (sliders, bedroom doors, bathroom doors)
• Final photos: every room ready for the next guest, sent to the host channel as confirmation that the unit is turnover-ready

The last 10 minutes are not padding. They're the difference between "ready" and "five-star ready."

What to skip on a quick turn (and bake into the deep-clean weekly)

You can't deep-clean an Airbnb in 90 minutes. Don't try. The following items move to a separate weekly or biweekly deep clean:

• Inside the oven
• Inside the fridge fully emptied
• Baseboards hand-wiped
• Ceiling fans, light fixtures, and AC vents
• Hard-water descaling on shower glass
• Grout scrubbing
• Patio furniture cushion washing
• Window glass inside and out

A common rhythm for our Airbnb turnover service: per-checkout 90-minute turn, plus one 3-hour deep refresh every two to three weeks during high season. November through April is when units run hot in this market, and that's the cadence that holds the 5-star rating.

When to bring in a turnover team

If you're a host with one unit you self-manage well, the 90-minute playbook is doable. If you're managing two or more units, or you have a day job, or you live more than 20 minutes from the unit, the math stops working fast. A missed turnover is a refund and a permanent rating dent. We run turnovers across Delray Beach and Boca Raton every week, with photo confirmation before checkout, supply restock from your spec sheet, and same-day windows.