To think 3 hours isn’t a long time to clean 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.

[user1488481370]

I am a self employed cleaner with my own business and a couple of employees. We recently took on a B&B, it was agreed that we would charge the owner an hourly rate. There are usually one night stays through the week and 2 night stays during the weekend so we’re there quite a lot throughout the week.

This morning the owner has contacted me to say she isn’t happy about the time it’s taking for us to do the rooms. I’ve done most of the cleans myself and one of my employees did the others.

The B&B has 5 rooms, total capacity of 10 guests max. The beds are king sized beds but can be split into twins if needed. Each has its own en suite/private bathroom. So we strip beds, make beds, dust and polish, clean all glass and buff chrome, clean toilets, baths/showers/sinks, hoover and mop bathroom floors and hoover bedroom floors, wash used cups, refill tea and coffee tray and deal with all laundry for the laundry company. Every so often we’ll do the windows and skirting boards and under furniture.

I don’t think 3 hours is at all excessive but she says that her old cleaner did it in 2.

I think 3 hours is reasonable if you are doing bed changes and cleaning to hotel standard

Our cleaner spends 2 hours doing 2 bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen… so 3 hours to do all those rooms and bedding sounds more than reasonable!

I think that's good going! It's around half an hour per room that's all and considering it includes stripping and making beds, plus an ensuite for each room I'm not sure you could do it much faster!

Then tell her she is free to find someone else. We have a 4 bed house and our clean takes 2.5 hours to do it not including one of the bedrooms and none of the bedding.

We have 4 beds and 4 baths and a cleaner for 4 hours a week. You sound like you’re doing fine!

If you are cleaning to a high standard then 3 hours is fine. I would tell her to find another cleaner if she's not happy.

My cleaner has three hours to do our kitchen, hall, landing and bathroom. In a 3 bed semi. We are filthy though.

You might now know the answer to why the previous cleaner left…

My cleaner does kitchen, bathroom, toilet, living areas and hoovers our 4 bedrooms but doesn’t change beds in 3 hours.

Ha! I’ve just watched a program on cruising holidays. The cleaner was given 10 mins (ten!!!) to change a king sized bed - sheets, duvet and pillowcases, clean a bathroom, dust all shelves/worktop/bedside cabinets, hoover, mop, empty bin and layout the welcome tray.
I think your B and B landlady has seen the same one.

it’s totally unreasonable to do this in 10 min and to a high standard. @user1488481370 yanbu, to do everything you are doing in three hours gives you less than 20 min per room. So you are having to really motor to get it done.
she needs to think long and hard about what she wants done.

Cleaning is done to a high standard, it’s what I would call a ‘high end’ B&B. I didn’t think the time
we were taking was excessive. I did tell the owner on the phone that I’m sure we could take less time over it but the standard wouldn’t be as high.

Not at all long! YANBU.

I've been a cleaner and generally suggested 3 hours for a 3 bed semi - no bed changing involved. Definitely couldn't do 5 bedrooms/4 bathrooms in that time - although presumably the bathrooms would be cleaner than family bathrooms cleaned once a week.

I bet her old cleaner skimped.

I think 3 hours for all that is very fast! Perhaps this is why their previous cleaner left?
If you can afford to, tell her you'll work a week's notice and she can find someone else.
Or else do a less thorough job in the 2 hours.

Did her old cleaner really do it in 2 hours? Or is she just trying to cut her costs by beating you down on the contract??

I think we’ll continue doing what we’re doing for now. I’m not happy to cut corners and do a substandard job as I’m sure she wouldn’t be happy about that either. None of the room are ever what I’d call dirty as they’re cleaned very regularly but everything gets the once over regardless.

Well the last one couldn't have been that thorough then. That's totally unreasonable. Ask her what she wants you to skip doing then. Go through with her what you do.

YANBU

That’s crazy imo

4 hours for four bed here no sheets

Actually I am in two minds, because these are rooms that are cleaned very very often. During the week it will be daily depending on what guests have booked and weekend it will be cleaned after two days, so even though you’ve to change five beds, I could see how it would be done in two hours.

Our cleaner does our 5 bed, 3 bed house in 4 hours. She wouldn't be able to get round it in any less time and she's fast and efficient

Our cleaner takes that to do our house, but there is some ‘stuff’ in her way - in a B and B there will be zero mess/personal belongings to navigate around so I don’t think we can compare.

When I worked in a hotel there was 45mins allocated for a turnover (old guest out new guest in) and 20 minutes for a refresh (same guest). So I'd say the owner isn't allocating you enough time.

You could invoice her per flip, then invoice on top for laundry room/restocking trollies etc?

@Begoniasforever they're always to hoover and the bathrooms always get quite dirty as the B&B is frequented by walkers mostly. I think it’s the little things that have to be done every day that take the time, sorting laundry, refilling, hoovering, dusting etc