An STR cleaning service level agreement for a Calgary property manager should define seven things: arrival window, completion window, photo report, issue flagging, re-clean policy, response time and reporting. Give each a number or a yes or no test, attach proof of insurance and WCB clearance, and review the KPIs on a fixed schedule.
A cleaning agreement without measurable terms leaves you arguing about opinions after a bad turnover. A service level agreement, or SLA, fixes that by agreeing in advance what good looks like and what happens when it is missed. This guide covers the terms and KPIs a Calgary property manager should ask any cleaning vendor to commit to.
What Should an STR Cleaning SLA Include?
An STR cleaning SLA should define seven things: the arrival window, the completion window, the photo report, issue flagging, the re-clean policy, the response time and the reporting cadence. Each needs a number or a yes or no test, so both sides can tell whether it was met. Targets should match your own check-in times and your guests’ complaints, not a generic template. Attach the vendor’s checklist, proof of liability insurance and a current WCB-Alberta clearance letter. Alberta WCB guidance advises getting that letter before work starts, during the contract and before final payment, and making coverage a contract condition. See what to ask about cleaning insurance and WCB.
How to Set Arrival and Completion Windows
Set the arrival window as the longest time after checkout that the cleaner may take to reach the unit, and the completion window as the time by which the unit must be guest-ready before the next check-in. For reference, CleanStays aims to be on site within 30 minutes of checkout. The completion window should leave a buffer for problems, so a unit with a same-day check-in needs a tighter arrival promise than one with a free night between stays. Also define late checkouts: does the clock start at actual departure, and who tells the cleaner? Our guides to same-day turnovers in Calgary and how long a turnover takes help you set realistic windows.
Photo Reports and Issue Flagging Standards
The SLA should require time stamped photos of every room, delivered before the next guest arrives, and a same-visit flag for any damage, maintenance need or missing item. Say what counts as a flag, how it is sent and who receives it. Photos should be filed by unit and date so you can pull them months later. For what a good report contains, see STR cleaning photo reports, and for evidence habits after a guest damages something, see documenting Airbnb guest damage.
Re-Clean Policy and Response Time
The re-clean policy should say who decides a clean failed, how fast the vendor returns and who pays. A common structure is that a verified miss, shown by photo or a guest report, is re-cleaned at no charge, while a problem caused by something outside the vendor’s control, such as a late checkout or blocked access, is handled separately. Response time is how long the vendor takes to acknowledge a complaint before the next guest arrives, and it should be written in minutes and not as “promptly”. Escalation contacts matter as much as the number, so name a person and a backup.
Reporting and Review Cadence
Review the same KPIs on a fixed schedule: weekly for the first month with a new vendor, then monthly. Useful KPIs are:
- On-time arrival: turnovers where the cleaner arrived inside the window.
- Completion before check-in: units guest-ready on time.
- Photo report delivery: reports filed before the next arrival.
- Issues flagged by the cleaner versus issues found later by guests or you.
- Re-cleans required, by unit and by cleaner.
- Guest cleanliness feedback, tracked per unit.
Airbnb guests rate cleanliness on a 1 to 5 star scale as one of six categories, so trend it per unit and compare it with your KPI results. See how cleanliness drives your rating.
Sample SLA Table
Use this table as a starting draft and replace each placeholder with numbers that fit your portfolio. A vendor who will not put anything in writing is telling you something. Before you sign, run a tabletop test: take the worst turnover you have had and walk it through the draft. Would the arrival window have caught the late start? Would the photo report have shown the missed bathroom? Who would have called whom, and how fast? Any gap you find is a term to add. Keep the final document short enough that your coordinators and the vendor’s crew lead will actually read it.
| Term | What to Define | Sample Wording to Negotiate |
|---|---|---|
| Arrival window | Latest time on site after checkout | Cleaner is on site within the agreed number of minutes after checkout |
| Completion window | Guest-ready time before next check-in | Unit finished by the agreed time, with a buffer for problems |
| Photo report | Coverage, timing and format | Time stamped photos of every room, filed before the next guest arrives |
| Issue flagging | What counts and how fast | Damage, maintenance or missing items reported during the same visit with a photo |
| Re-clean policy | Trigger, speed and cost | Verified miss is returned to at no charge within the agreed time |
| Response time | Acknowledging complaints | Reply within the agreed number of minutes, with a named backup contact |
| Reporting | KPIs and review dates | Weekly summary during onboarding, monthly after |
| Remedies | What happens after repeated misses | Review meeting, credit or termination right, written into the agreement |
What We Do at CleanStays
CleanStays works to measurable standards by design. Every clean follows our 33 point room by room checklist, we are on site within 30 minutes of checkout, and we file time stamped photos of every room before the next guest arrives. We also change linen, make beds, check restocks and flag damage or maintenance issues, seven days a week. Our property manager cleaning service is built for portfolios, and you can bring your own SLA terms to the conversation. Get an instant estimate to start.
Sources: Airbnb host resources on guest ratings, read Nov 3, 2026. Alberta WCB contractors page, wcb.ab.ca, read Nov 3, 2026. CleanStays method is our own published process. Not legal advice, confirm coverage requirements with WCB.
