Vacation Rental Turnover Checklist: The 90-Minute Cleaning Plan for Orlando Hosts

If you host a short-term rental anywhere near Disney — Kissimmee, Davenport, ChampionsGate — you already know the turnover window is brutal. Guests check out at 10 or 11, the next family arrives at 3 or 4, and in between the place has to look like nobody was ever there.

Here's a 90-minute turnover plan built for a typical 2–3 bedroom vacation home. Treat the minutes as a planning budget, not a guarantee — your actual time depends on the unit's size, condition, and how many people are on the crew.

Arrival sweep (10 min)

• Photograph the unit as guests left it. Not for shaming — for your records, and for spotting damage early.
• Open every blind and window treatment. Daylight is your inspection light; Florida sun shows everything.
• Start laundry immediately: sheets, duvet covers, towels, bath mats. This is always the long pole in the tent.
• Take out all trash and replace every liner, including bathroom bins.

Kitchen (20 min)

• Empty and wipe the fridge; toss anything guests left behind.
• Run the dishwasher with whatever's in it, or hand-wash and rack.
• Degrease the stovetop and microwave interior — the two things guests photograph when they're dirty.
• Wipe counters, cabinet fronts near handles, and the coffee maker.
• Sweep and mop. Tile floors are standard here; a damp mop with a neutral cleaner beats a soaking-wet one.

Bathrooms (20 min)

• Toilets, inside and out. Then the base and the floor around it — guests notice.
• Hard-water spots on glass and chrome: a 50/50 white vinegar and water spray, dwell five minutes, wipe.
• Fresh towels, folded the same way every time. Consistency reads as professional.
• Restock: toilet paper (a full spare roll visible), hand soap, trash liner.

Bedrooms (15 min)

• Strip and remake every bed with fresh linens — no exceptions, even "it looks unused."
• Dust nightstands, lampshades, and the tops of door frames where Florida dust settles.
• Check under beds and inside closets for left-behind items. Photograph anything valuable and message the guest.

Living areas (15 min)

• Cushions off, vacuum the sofa base, cushions back on straight.
• Wipe remotes, light switches, and door handles — high-touch, high-visibility.
• Restage: throw pillows fluffed, a folded throw, one small fresh touch.

Final walkthrough (10 min)

• Stand at the front door and look at the unit the way a tired family arriving at 4 PM will.
• Check the pool area and patio if you have one: skimmer, furniture straight, no stray towels.
• Lock up, set the thermostat.

The part hosts forget

Turnover isn't just cleaning — it's resetting. Every consumable back to full, every bed hotel-tight, every surface guest-ready.

Running several units, or just tired of the 11-to-3 sprint? Orlando Sanitizing is building a marketplace to connect vacation-rental hosts with local cleaning pros. Join the waitlist or, if you clean rentals yourself, apply as a provider.

Next in this series: the host's supply closet.