How can I find someone to clean my Airbnb apartment?

I have an apartment which I do not use very much, which I would like to let out with Airbnb. How could I find someone to clean it between guests and indeed meet and greet for us? J.R.

If you just want cleaners, you could try an internet search, for example with service ménage or ménage à domicile and your town or department.

When using such home services, you may qualify for a tax credit against part of the costs if you use a firm that is officially accredited (they are entitled to use a logo showing S! Service à la personne); however, this only applies if the service is at your own main or second home, so not if the apartment is used exclusively for letting out.

Otherwise, for someone who can meet guests and hand over the key – who may in some cases also be able to do or organise the cleaning – you should look for a service of conciergerie.

One traditional way is to go via an estate agent, many of which are able to be a middle man in rentals (see, for example the following site for a large national chain: orpi.com/location-saisonniere or this one, which is a long-established European specialist: myhome.interhome.com/en).

With the growing popularity of Airbnb there are also several new start-ups offering the kinds of services you are looking for, including en.bnbsitter.com, www.hostnfly.com and www.welkeys.com