Cleaning operations

Bilingual turnover cleaning checklist (English / Spanish)

The full vacation rental turnover checklist in both languages, side by side, room by room. Print it, copy it, or hand it to your team today.

This is a complete turnover checklist with every task in English and Spanish, side by side, so your whole team works from one document. The cleaner reads the Spanish column, you read the English column, and nobody is guessing at a standard written in a language they read slowly. It is organized by room and written in neutral Latin American Spanish. Edit the wording to match how your team actually speaks, then print it or copy it into your turnover app. It pairs best with reference photos of the finished standard for each room.

39 tasks across 6 areas. Tap print to save as PDF.

Bedrooms Dormitorios

English
Español
Strip and replace all bed linens
Quitar y cambiar toda la ropa de cama
Make beds to the staging standard
Tender las camas según el estándar
Dust all surfaces and nightstands
Limpiar el polvo de las superficies y mesas de noche
Check under beds for guest items
Revisar si hay objetos de huéspedes debajo de las camas
Empty closets and straighten hangers
Vaciar los clósets y ordenar los ganchos
Vacuum or mop the floor
Aspirar o trapear el piso
Set the thermostat to the standard temperature
Ajustar el termostato a la temperatura estándar

Bathrooms Baños

English
Español
Scrub the toilet, tub, shower, and sink
Tallar el inodoro, la tina, la regadera y el lavabo
Disinfect all surfaces
Desinfectar todas las superficies
Replace towels to the par level
Reponer las toallas al nivel establecido
Restock toilet paper, soap, and shampoo
Reponer papel higiénico, jabón y champú
Clean the mirror until streak-free
Limpiar el espejo hasta que quede sin marcas
Empty the trash and replace the liner
Vaciar la basura y poner una bolsa nueva
Check for hair in drains and corners
Revisar que no haya cabello en los desagües y esquinas

Kitchen Cocina

English
Español
Wash, dry, and put away all dishes
Lavar, secar y guardar todos los trastes
Clean inside the microwave, oven, and fridge
Limpiar por dentro el microondas, el horno y el refrigerador
Wipe down all counters and the wall behind them
Limpiar las encimeras y la pared de atrás
Check the dish and silverware counts
Revisar la cantidad de platos y cubiertos
Take out the trash and recycling
Sacar la basura y el reciclaje
Restock coffee, filters, and paper towels
Reponer café, filtros y toallas de papel
Confirm all appliances work
Confirmar que todos los electrodomésticos funcionen

Living areas Sala y áreas comunes

English
Español
Vacuum sofas and under the cushions
Aspirar los sofás y debajo de los cojines
Dust all surfaces, shelves, and electronics
Limpiar el polvo de superficies, repisas y electrónicos
Arrange the pillows and throws
Acomodar los cojines y las mantas
Check that the remotes work and are in place
Revisar que los controles funcionen y estén en su lugar
Clean the windows and glass doors
Limpiar las ventanas y las puertas de vidrio
Reset the furniture to match the staging photos
Acomodar los muebles según las fotos de referencia

Outdoor Exterior

English
Español
Wipe down the patio furniture
Limpiar los muebles de patio
Sweep porches, decks, and the entry
Barrer los porches, las terrazas y la entrada
Check that the grill is clean
Revisar que la parrilla esté limpia
Confirm the hot tub cover is secured
Confirmar que la cubierta del jacuzzi esté asegurada
Remove trash and cigarette butts
Recoger la basura y las colillas de cigarro

Final check Revisión final y seguridad

English
Español
Take photos of every room
Tomar fotos de cada habitación
Photograph any damage immediately
Fotografiar cualquier daño de inmediato
Confirm all lights work
Confirmar que todas las luces funcionen
Check smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
Revisar los detectores de humo y monóxido de carbono
Lock all doors and windows
Cerrar con llave todas las puertas y ventanas
Set the thermostat and turn off the lights
Ajustar el termostato y apagar las luces
Report low supplies to the manager
Avisar al gerente sobre los suministros bajos

How to use this

Treat this as a starting template, not a finished SOP. Every property is different, so add the tasks specific to your units (the outdoor shower, the pool gate latch, the espresso machine) and cut what does not apply. The most important edit is the Spanish: if your team uses different regional words, change them. The goal is that your cleaners understand instantly, not that the grammar is textbook-perfect. For the broader system this fits into, see the guide to managing a Spanish-speaking cleaning team.

Pair the checklist with the standard

A checklist confirms a task happened. It cannot confirm the task was done to standard. That is where photos do the work that words cannot, regardless of language. RapidEye compares each turnover's photos against a baseline of how the property should look and flags damage and missed items automatically, so "clean" is defined by a reference image every cleaner can see, not a word that translates imperfectly. See how to build photo-based instructions that need no translation.

Frequently asked questions

Why use a bilingual checklist instead of just translating to Spanish?

A side-by-side English and Spanish checklist lets the whole team work from one document. The cleaner reads the Spanish column, the manager or inspector reads the English column, and there is no second version to keep in sync. It also means a new English-speaking hire and a veteran Spanish-speaking cleaner are held to the exact same written standard. A Spanish-only checklist solves the cleaner's problem but creates a coordination problem for everyone else.

What dialect of Spanish is this checklist written in?

It uses neutral Latin American Spanish with vocabulary common in Mexican and Central American usage, since that reflects the majority of the U.S. cleaning workforce. Words like trastes (dishes), clóset (closet), and regadera (shower) are used where they are most widely understood. If your team uses different regional words, edit the Spanish column to match how your people actually speak. The goal is comprehension, not formal correctness.

Should the checklist replace photo documentation?

No. A checklist confirms tasks were done; photos confirm they were done correctly. The strongest turnover process pairs a bilingual checklist with reference photos of the finished standard for each room, plus a photo of the actual result. The checklist tells the cleaner what to do, the reference photo shows them what done looks like, and their photo proves it. Words, even translated perfectly, leave room for interpretation that a picture removes.