Airbnb & Short-Term Rental Turnover Cleaning in New Orleans: French Quarter, Warehouse District, CBD & Marigny

A short-term rental lives or dies on the hours between one guest's checkout and the next guest's check-in. The listing photos, the pricing and the reviews all come back to one question: was the place spotless and ready when the door opened? This guide is what we tell every New Orleans host who asks us how a turnover should work, from the checklist to the neighborhood details that decide whether a cleaner is on time.

The turnover checklist

A turnover is not a regular house clean with the beds made. It is a reset to the exact state your listing promises, done on a clock, with a report at the end. This is the checklist we work from on every FleurShine turnover; it is the same list that sits on your written estimate.

• Linens and beds. Every bed stripped and remade with clean linens. When the unit has a washer and dryer, we wash on site and the washing time is included in the turnover time; otherwise we swap from your clean stock and bag the used set for your laundry run. Towels, bath mats and kitchen towels replaced.
• Kitchen. Dishes done and put away, counters, sink, stovetop and appliance exteriors cleaned, inside the microwave wiped, refrigerator emptied of guest leftovers and wiped, coffee station reset, trash out.
• Bathrooms. Toilet, sink, shower or tub and mirrors cleaned and sanitized, hair removed from drains and floors, fresh towels hung the way your photos show them, toilet paper and soap restocked.
• Living areas and bedrooms. Surfaces dusted and wiped, floors vacuumed and mopped, cushions straightened, remotes and chargers back where they belong, closets and drawers checked for anything left behind.
• Restocking. Toilet paper, paper towels, soap, dish soap, sponges, trash liners, coffee and anything else on your supply list, from the stock you keep on site. Low stock goes in the report so you can reorder before it runs out.
• Trash and recycling. Every bin emptied and relined, bags taken to the building's bins or the curb on the right day for that block.
• Damage and missing items. We check for damage, stains and missing items as we go and send you photos before the next guest arrives, so you can file a claim with the platform while the evidence is fresh.
• Final walk-through. Thermostat set, lights and fans as you want them, lockbox or smart lock checked, door locked, and the after photos taken.

Keys, codes and lockbox combinations are used only to do the work. We hold a key only at your written request, keys are tagged with a code rather than the address, and access details are never shared. The before and after photos are kept private and are never posted or used in marketing without your written permission.

Timing: the window between checkout and check-in

Most New Orleans listings run an 11 AM checkout and a 4 PM check-in. That is a five-hour window, and a turnover of a typical one- or two-bedroom unit fits in it comfortably, including the drive and the laundry when it runs on site. The window gets tight in three cases: back-to-back bookings on a weekend when every host in the neighborhood turns over at the same hour, a unit with three or more bedrooms and one washer, and a guest who checks out late.

What helps most is sharing your booking calendar ahead of time rather than texting the day before. With the calendar we schedule the whole week, put two cleaners on the big units, and start the laundry first so the dryer is finishing while the bathrooms are done. If you can set a 10 AM checkout or a 5 PM check-in on your busiest days, you buy an hour that turns a rushed turnover into a careful one.

Same-day turnovers are priced the same as any other visit when we know the window in advance. What costs more is a surprise: a unit left after a party, heavy trash, or a late checkout that pushes the clean into the evening. In those cases we send you photos and tell you the new price before doing anything extra, and nothing is done or charged without your approval.

What to expect from a turnover cleaner

• A written scope before the first visit. You should know exactly what is included, what counts as an add-on, and what the cleaner will not do (repairs, maintenance, pool or yard care, hauling). Our Airbnb and short-term rental cleaning page lists both.
• The same checklist every time. Guests notice inconsistency more than they notice any single detail. The checklist should not depend on who shows up.
• A report after every turnover. Photos of the rooms as they were left, plus anything found: damage, missing items, a dripping tap, a smoke detector chirping, supplies running low.
• Clear pricing. Per-turnover pricing from a written estimate, based on the size of the unit, the number of beds and baths, linen handling, restocking and how many turnovers a month you expect. No surprises on the invoice: if the unit needs more than the estimate covers, you hear about it first.
• Insurance and a plan for access. Ask for a certificate of insurance, and agree in writing how keys and codes are handled.

Neighborhood notes

New Orleans is small, but each rental neighborhood has its own logistics. These are the practical points that affect a turnover, not a tour guide.

French Quarter

Street parking is the first problem to solve. Much of the Quarter is permit-only or metered, several streets close to traffic at certain hours, and a cleaner circling for a spot is a cleaner who is late. Tell us where you park, whether there is a loading zone nearby, or whether the building has a garage with a code. The buildings themselves are old: stairs instead of elevators, courtyards and carriageways that lead to the unit, slave-quarter apartments at the back of a lot, balconies, and plaster walls and wood floors that want gentle products. Trash rules are specific to the block, so tell us which day and where. Noise travels in the Quarter; we keep vacuuming inside the hours the building allows.

Warehouse District

Here the units are mostly condos and lofts in converted warehouses: concrete or wood floors, high ceilings, big windows that show dust, and shared laundry or in-unit washers. Access usually runs through a secured lobby, a call box or a key fob, and sometimes a freight elevator with its own rules. Give us the building's procedure for cleaners and the name of the management company; most buildings want contractors to sign in. Parking is garages and metered street spots near Julia and Tchoupitoulas, so a garage pass or a validated spot saves time on every visit.

CBD

Central Business District rentals sit in high-rise and mid-rise buildings with doormen, concierge desks and elevator access tied to a fob or a code. Expect to register your cleaner with the building, sometimes with a certificate of insurance on file, and to tell us which elevator and which service entrance to use. Deliveries and move-ins can tie up elevators on weekday mornings, which is exactly when turnovers happen, so a little scheduling flexibility helps. Trash goes to a chute or a building room rather than the curb.

Marigny and Bywater

Shotgun houses, Creole cottages and camelbacks, many split into two or three units, with gates, side alleys and sometimes a flight of stairs to an upper unit. Street parking is easier than in the Quarter but still tight on weekend afternoons and during festivals. The older houses have the same needs as the Quarter: wood floors, painted trim and plaster that we clean with pH-neutral products and a damp mop rather than a wet one. Outdoor spaces such as decks, courtyards and porches are popular in listings and collect leaves and dust; tell us if they are part of the turnover.

One general note on the rules: the City of New Orleans regulates short-term rentals, and permit and operating requirements are published on the city's Short-Term Rental Administration page. We clean; we do not advise on permits, so check the current rules there.

How to book turnovers with FleurShine

1. Request a free estimate. Use the booking page or call or text (504) 355-9525. Tell us the number of beds and baths, whether the unit has a washer and dryer, how many turnovers a month you expect, and how we get in.
2. Approve the written estimate from your phone. It lists the checklist, the per-turnover price and the policies. Nothing is scheduled until you approve it.
3. Share your calendar. Checkout and check-in times, access details and house rules. We schedule the week around it.
4. Get a report after every turnover. Photos and anything we found, before the next guest arrives.

Every estimate is free and written. We serve the French Quarter, Marigny, Bywater, Treme, the Garden District, Uptown, Mid-City, the CBD and Warehouse District, plus Metairie, Kenner, Arabi, Chalmette, the West Bank and St. Bernard Parish, every day from 9:00 AM to 8:30 PM.

Questions hosts ask