The rise of the sharing economy is changing the way many industries operate. As more Australians embrace online platforms such as Airbnb, it is time for cleaning companies to consider what they can do to take advantage of the new opportunities.
INCLEAN assistant editor Lizzie Hunter spoke to one such cleaning operator who founded his company, Uber Clean House, after recognising a demand for cleaning services specifically for Airbnb hosts.
Shortly after Sam Mitrovic and his family became Airbnb hosts back in 2014, Mitrovic realised that hosting involved a lot more than just welcoming travellers to his home.
“Every few days we had to clean up after our guests which was quite time consuming,” he said. “The cleaning always happened at different times based on how long the guests stayed with us, so we had to fit the cleaning into our busy schedules”.
“I realised that other Airbnb hosts would be in a similar situation and, as there were no cleaning services on offer for short term accommodation at the time, I decided to start a cleaning service to specifically support Airbnb hosts.”
Mitrovic’s business, Uber Clean House, was officially launched in July 2015. Based in Melbourne the business offers services to residential properties in the central and south eastern suburbs of the city.
Mitrovic says over the past two years, the demand for Airbnb cleaning services has grown quickly, with more cleaning companies now offering Airbnb services after catching on to the trend.
“When we first started, we were the only company offering the Airbnb service. Back then, there were perhaps three to four thousand Airbnb listings. Last time I checked, there were more than 17,000 Airbnb listings in Melbourne.”
While Airbnb hosts are the company’s main target customer base, Uber Clean House also offers end-of-lease cleaning and home cleaning services such as spring cleaning, carpet cleaning, window cleaning and tile cleaning. Uber Clean House also offers a linen service specifically for Airbnb clients.
Evolving with the sharing economy
Being an Airbnb host himself means Mitrovic has experienced what other hosts go through, equipping him the knowledge and expertise to empathise and form strong relationships with his clients.
“We know how the system works and the processes clients go through. Because the company started very early on compared to other Airbnb cleaning services, we are more involved with the community and have a good relationship with them. We have evolved with the sharing economy which helps us understand our clients better.”
Continue reading the full article in the September/October issue of INCLEAN magazine.