Minpaku turnover cleaning in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba

Who this is for

• Individual Airbnb hosts with 1–3 properties and multi-property operators with 4–20
• Property management companies (住宅宿泊管理業者) and real estate agencies with short-term rental divisions
• Overseas-based hosts
• Hosts with a Ryokan Business Act licence (365 days) or a Minpaku Act notification (180 days)
• Serviced apartment operators, vacation rental platforms and channel managers

We have worked with clients like these since 2017.

What we do

• Studio or 1K (18–25 m², 1–2 beds): 60–90 minutes, 1 cleaner
• 1LDK or compact 2DK (25–45 m², 2–3 beds): 90–120 minutes
• 2LDK or standard 3DK (45–65 m², 3–5 beds): 120–180 minutes, or 75–90 minutes with 2 cleaners
• 3LDK or house (65–100+ m², 5+ beds): 180–240+ minutes, 2 cleaners as standard
• A dedicated primary cleaner plus a trained backup for each property
• Daily cap of 1–2 properties per cleaner. We never schedule 3 or more scattered units for one cleaner

Same-day example (10:00 check-out, 15:00 check-in): dispatch at 10:00–10:30, cleaning 10:30–13:15, ready by 13:30–14:00, and a 60–90 minute buffer.

How we work

1. Remote onboarding. Over 85% of units are onboarded remotely. A video walkthrough is enough: breaker panel, main water valve, washer and dryer, owner closet and trash room. Send a floor plan or listing layout and 5–10 staging photos.
2. Access. Key box, key safe, smart lock (August, Yale, RemoteLock, SwitchBot) or a mailbox dial. Codes travel by encrypted chat or your PMS. A departure photo is required, and we keep a backup master key.
3. Calendar sync. Two-way iCal, or direct API with Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com and local minpaku PMS.
4. Turnover. The cleaner works through a 35-point checklist and takes 12–20 timestamped photos.
5. Review. A supervisor checks every photo set before the cleaner is released. Roving physical spot-checks cover 15–25% of jobs.
6. Report. You hear within 15–30 minutes of completion, always by 14:00, via LINE, WhatsApp, Slack or your PMS: time, photo gallery, lockbox state, low stock and maintenance flags.

What we use

• Makita or Dyson Commercial cordless HEPA vacuums with hard-floor heads and edge nozzles
• Flat mops (Yamazaki Condor, Rubbermaid), electrostatic dry pads and microfibre wet pads
• Detailing kit: nylon scouring pads, crevice brushes, squeegee, lint rollers, extending dusters
• Saraya Sanisuta and Kao Professional products for disinfecting, bath, kitchen, glass and toilet, and a deodoriser
• Colour-coded microfibre: red for toilets, yellow for wet bathroom, blue for living areas, green for kitchen, white for glass and chrome. 8-fold, washed hot after each shift
• PPE: nitrile gloves, indoor shoes (off at the genkan), masks, aprons and eye shields for heavy work
• Default products are commercial grade. Eco-certified products on request

Quality checks

• 35-point residential checklist: entry and genkan, bedding and living areas, wet areas, kitchen and appliances, consumables and waste
• Cleaner self-check on 100% of jobs, done digitally
• Supervisor reviews 100% of photo sets before the cleaner may leave, and runs roving spot-checks on 15–25% of jobs
• Platforms: AirHost, Beds24, Turno or Breezeway
• Host portal on web and mobile: live status, gallery, calendar and a monthly statement. A permanent history for each listing, exportable as CSV or PDF
• Issue tags: Maintenance and Repair, Guest Damage evidence, Low-Stock Inventory Alert

How we handle problems

• Damage: work stops. We take wide, macro and video shots and tell you within 15–30 minutes of entry. Guest damage: you file the platform claim. Damage by our cleaner: Global Access covers it.
• Guest complaint: you stay guest-facing and we are on the ground. Our ops desk responds in 10–15 minutes and can be on site in 30–60. Bilingual staff can speak to the guest if you ask.
• Missed item: response in 10–15 minutes, fixed on site in 30–60 minutes at no charge. If a guest claims a refund, you get a 100% turnover credit.
• Staff no-show: digital check-in on departure and arrival (by 10:15). A miss triggers an alert and standby relief. You hear only if completion would slip past 14:00, and we guarantee completion before 15:00.
• Lost property: photographed in place, bagged, tagged by location and sent to you. Held in your locked closet or our ops office, shipped cash on delivery, or dropped at your front desk for a small courier fee. Held 30 days.
• Excessive mess: documented on arrival. Our ops supervisor sets a surcharge and sends you photos within 30 minutes.
• Emergencies: a 24/7 LINE or WhatsApp group for each host plus a hotline, run by a bilingual manager on duty. Chat response in 10–15 minutes, on site in 45–90 minutes for critical cases. We handle access failures, plumbing or appliance leaks, turnover rescues and severe trash or bio-spills. Contained spills are handled in-house. Severe biohazard goes to a certified special-cleaning (特殊清掃) partner.

Staff and training

• About 70% direct staff and 30% vetted subcontracted staff, vetted the same way as our hotel teams (ID and residence card, references, integrity screening, NDA)
• 1–3+ years in short-term rental, minpaku, serviced apartments or boutique hotels
• Minpaku skills: residential appliances, municipal waste sorting rules, and staging to match your listing photos
• Cleaners speak basic Japanese and conversational English. Supervisors and dispatch are fully bilingual
• Training runs 7 days: days 1–2, days 3–5 and days 6–7. A cleaner works alone only after 5–7 trial turnovers and a 98% blind audit
• Insurance: facility and operational liability and employer’s liability, both active. Residential turnover cleaning does not need a minpaku administration licence or a housing management agency registration

Scheduling and availability

• Recurring: 1–2 weeks notice. One-off: 48–72 hours
• Same-day: subject to route capacity, cut-off 09:30, +20–30%
• Standard window 10:00–16:00, 365 days a year, weekends and holidays included
• Nights 22:00–06:00 by prior arrangement only, because of residential noise rules
• No blackout dates. Peaks: cherry blossom season, Golden Week, Obon, autumn, year-end. The roster is locked 30 days before

Pricing

We charge a flat rate per turnover, or a monthly portfolio retainer for 5 or more units. We use hourly pricing only for post-renovation or pre-listing deep staging. A studio turnover starts from ¥5,500, which is also our minimum. Extra beds are charged. There is no monthly minimum. Travel is free in our core zone. Portfolios get 5% off for 3–5 units and 10% off for 6 or more, with priority relief dispatch. In-unit laundry is included. Coin laundry, linen exchange, consumables we buy for you, bulky waste and excessive mess are priced separately. Send the quote form for exact figures.

Contract and payment terms

• Recurring work has no minimum term and runs month to month. One-off jobs use a single work order. Portfolios of 5 or more units can take a 6- or 12-month contract with locked cleaner teams
• Ending the service: 14 days written notice
• Turnover cancellation is free more than 24 hours ahead (before 10:00 the day before). Inside 24 hours or same-day: 50%. If the cleaner is already on site: 100%
• Scope changes: 24 hours before
• Invoiced monthly in arrears, itemised. One-off jobs are invoiced on completion
• Payment on the 10th or 15th of the following month, or within 3 business days for one-offs. Bank transfer first. Card (Stripe, Square) for overseas or ad-hoc clients. International wire or Wise
• No deposit for established clients. First-time or overseas clients: 1–2 turnover fees refundable, or a card on file
• Disputes: a free re-clean within 30–60 minutes. If it is not fixed before check-in, or you refund the guest, you receive a 100% turnover credit. Substantiated platform penalties are shared case by case, up to the turnover invoice

Scope boundaries

• Included: appliance interiors (kettle, fridge, microwave, coffee machine), surface silicone and tile wipe, vacuum and spot wipe of carpet, loose trash pickup and handrail wipe on balconies, photo logging of repairs needed, minor battery swaps and loose-screw tightening
• Quoted separately: specialist carpet treatment, bulky waste (municipal sticker plus a coordination fee), deep balcony cleaning
• Excluded: public and common areas (managed by the building), high exterior windows (interior glass is included), pest control (photo detection is included), asbestos, hazardous materials, repairs, structural mould remediation

Site requirements

• A site visit is optional. A video walkthrough, a floor plan and staging photos are enough
• Public transport by default. For suburban or standalone homes, a host parking space or coin parking passed through at cost
• Heavy vacuuming, linen shaking and laundry are limited to 10:00–15:00. No noisy work before 09:30 or after 18:00. Shoes off at the genkan and no bags left in corridors
• A locked owner cabinet (shizai-ko) holding 2–3 full linen rotations per bed, spare mattress protectors, bulk toiletry refills and trash bags
• Tell us the building rules: trash schedule and location, minpaku notification rules, and shared areas we must avoid

Results and guarantees

• Standard: 98% or higher on the checklist, and 100% alignment with your listing photos
• Zero-trace rule: no hair, no residual odour, no trash, clean drains
• Listing-accurate staging: hospital corners, cushions to spec, remotes aligned, amenities paired
• Guarantee: from completion until 2 hours after guest check-in, or up to 24 hours for vacant units
• Free re-clean: 30–45 minutes before check-in, 30–60 minutes after. If an OTA refund or compensation follows, you get a 100% turnover credit
• Before and after photos for heavy trash, carpet spots, degreasing and damage
• Experience: 3 urban superhost portfolios (4.95+ rating, 15+ Tokyo apartments, 12 months), 2 overseas owners with zero check-in failures, and 2 boutique ryokan operators open 365 days with 100% on-time turnovers
• Example: a late-checkout trash disaster in a Shinjuku 2LDK. Two-person relief team on site in 25 minutes, finished at 14:40. The host recovered ¥12,000 through AirCover

See also: Airbnb and Booking.com cleaning.

Frequently asked questions