What is a room turnover, and why does the order matter?
A turnover is the full clean after a guest checks out, so the room is ready for the next guest. A stayover clean is lighter and happens while the guest is still staying. This checklist is for turnovers in hotel rooms and villa units. For how housekeeping fits with the front desk and the rest of the day, see our guide to hotel operations for small hotels.
Working in the same order every time is the secret. When the order never changes, nobody skips a step on a busy day. Three simple rules guide the order:
- Top to bottom. Dust high shelves and lamps before you clean the floor.
- Dry before wet. Dust and strip the bed before you mop or clean the bathroom.
- Clean areas before dirty ones. Do the bedroom first and the toilet last, with separate cloths.
If you run short-term rental homes cleaned between guests, our Airbnb cleaning checklist covers that job. This page is about hotel and villa rooms handed back to a front desk.
What should housekeeping check before entering the room?
Check three things at the door: is the guest really gone, what does the next guest need, and is the cart ready?
- Status. Confirm the guest has checked out at the desk. Knock and announce yourself, even when the board says the room is empty.
- Next guest notes. Read the arrival notes for this room: twin or double, baby cot, extra bed, early arrival, allergy, birthday.
- Cart. Check you have clean linen, towels, guest amenities, cleaning products, gloves, rubbish bags and a lost property bag.
Knowing the next guest's needs now saves a second trip later. A cot added at 15:00 is easy. A cot found missing at 21:00 is a bad review.
Room-by-room turnover checklist
Print these tables. Tick each line, then sign and time the sheet when the room is done.
Entry and first walk-through
| Check | Done |
|---|
| Open curtains and windows to air the room (if weather allows) | |
| Look for lost property in drawers, safe, under the bed, behind the door | |
| Look for damage or broken items, and photograph them | |
| Note anything for maintenance: drips, lights out, AC noise | |
| Remove rubbish and used cups | |
Bedroom
| Check | Done |
|---|
| Strip the bed and check sheets and mattress for stains or signs of bed bugs | |
| Make the bed to your standard: sheets, pillows, cover, throw | |
| Dust lamps, shelves, headboard, desk and wardrobe from top to bottom | |
| Clean mirrors, glass and the TV screen | |
| Check remotes for TV and AC, and test that both work | |
| Check the safe is open, empty and reset | |
| Leave hangers, slippers and robe in their places | |
| Vacuum or mop the floor last, including under the bed | |
When you strip the bed, look closely. The US Environmental Protection Agency says signs of bed bugs include rusty or reddish stains on sheets, small dark spots, and tiny pale eggs. See the EPA guide to finding bed bugs. If you see these, close the room and tell the manager straight away.
Bathroom
| Check | Done |
|---|
| Clean toilet inside and out, seat and base, with its own cloth | |
| Clean shower, bath, tiles and glass, and remove hair from drains | |
| Clean sink, taps and mirror until there are no water spots | |
| Run hot water and check it gets hot | |
| Replace towels and bath mat in the right number for the booking | |
| Restock soap, shampoo, toilet paper and bin bags | |
| Dry and mop the floor last | |
Minibar, amenities and extras
| Check | Done |
|---|
| Count minibar items and write down what was used for the desk | |
| Restock minibar and drinking water | |
| Wash or replace cups and glasses, and check the kettle | |
| Set up extras from the notes: cot, extra bed, welcome card | |
| Villa only: sweep terrace, check pool area, wipe kitchen, empty fridge | |
What is the final check before a room is ready?
Before you call a room ready, stand at the door and look at it as a guest would. This takes about a minute and catches most misses.
- Does the room smell fresh?
- Is the temperature pleasant, with the AC set to a normal setting?
- Do all lights, the TV and the AC remote work?
- Are towels, water and amenities in the right number?
- Is the floor dry, including the bathroom?
- Are the notes for the next guest done (cot, twin beds, extra bed)?
If you can, have a second person spot-check rooms with an early arrival or a special request. A supervisor, the owner or a trained front desk staff member can do it. Fresh eyes see what a tired cleaner misses.
How do you hand rooms back to the front desk?
Use one shared set of room statuses, and only mark a room ready when it passes the final check. The desk sells the room based on that word, so it must mean the same thing to everyone.
| Status | What it means | Who changes it |
|---|
| Dirty | Guest has left, room not cleaned | Front desk at check-out |
| Cleaning | Housekeeping is in the room | Housekeeping |
| Clean | Cleaned, waiting for final check | Housekeeping |
| Ready | Passed final check, can be given to a guest | Housekeeping or supervisor |
| Out of service | Cannot be sold until fixed | Manager or maintenance |
Handover rules that stop problems:
- One channel for status. Use the board, the system or one group chat. Not all three.
- Report what the desk needs. Minibar use, damage photos and lost property go to the desk with the room number.
- Maintenance stops the room. If something is broken, the room becomes out of service, not "almost ready". See hotel room out-of-service control.
- Early arrivals first. The desk tells housekeeping which rooms must be ready first.
- End of shift. Write rooms still in progress into the handover. Our front desk handover checklist has a format.
The desk also needs to check today's bookings before guests arrive, so the right room goes to the right guest. See how to check hotel bookings before arrival.
What about rooms that nobody used?
Empty rooms still need care. A room that sits empty for days collects dust and still water in its pipes.
- Dust and air the room every few days.
- Run the taps and shower for a short time each week. The World Health Organization advises reducing stagnant water by flushing unused taps in buildings on a weekly basis, to lower the risk of Legionella bacteria. See the WHO fact sheet on Legionnaires' disease.
- Flush the toilet and check for smells from drains.
- Check that the AC and lights work before the room is sold again.
How do you plan the turnover order each morning?
Plan the day from the list of check-outs and arrivals. Start with rooms that have an early arrival, then rooms with special requests, then the rest. Leave stayover cleans for when guests are out.
A good morning plan has four parts:
- List today's check-outs, arrivals and stayovers by room.
- Mark early arrivals, cots, twin beds and long stays.
- Assign rooms to each attendant with a target order.
- Update the desk as each room moves from clean to ready.
How does Kiyo help with housekeeping?
On every plan, Kiyo's calendar shows who checks out and who arrives today, so you can plan the turnover order from real bookings. Every plan also has unlimited team seats, so each attendant or supervisor can have their own login.
The housekeeping module is part of the Business plan only. It is for properties that want housekeeping work kept next to the stay record, so the desk and the cleaning team look at the same rooms. On Starter and Pro, teams can run this checklist on paper and use the calendar to plan the day.
Kiyo also connects your rooms to 60+ booking channels on every plan, so the calendar your housekeeping team plans from is the same one the desk sells from. Kiyo is live and open to all properties, and we set it up with you over WhatsApp or a demo call. Plans start from Rp40k per room per month; see plans and prices.
Frequently asked questions
It depends on room size, layout and your standard. Time your own team on a few normal rooms, then use that to plan the day. Plan more time for villas, suites and rooms with extras.
The attendant checks every room with the final check list. A supervisor, the owner or trained front desk staff can spot-check rooms with early arrivals or special requests.
A turnover is the full clean after a guest leaves, including fresh linen and a full restock. A stayover is a lighter tidy while the guest is still staying, based on your hotel's policy and the guest's wishes.
Not to start. A printed checklist and a shared status board work for many small hotels. Software helps when you have more rooms and staff, because status changes reach the desk at once. In Kiyo, the housekeeping module is on the Business plan.
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