A turnover handoff log for short-term rental hosts

A same-day turnover can leave you with a cleaner’s invoice, a text about a missing key, and three guest messages. The invoice tells you what the cleaner did. Your work log should tell you what you did and how long it took. Make one row per task so you can tell the two apart when you review the week.

What to write down

Start with the property, the local date, and a booking or work-order reference. Record the action in plain language: “called cleaner to arrange a second visit” is easier to verify than “managed property.” Add your start and end times or the minutes you actually spent. Keep the relevant message in your own files and put its reference in the log. Use booking IDs instead of guest names.

Two worked examples

A cleaner needs to return. At 10:05 you spend six minutes checking supply notes and arranging a return visit. The cleaner spends 25 minutes on site. Log your six minutes for coordination and record the cleaner’s visit separately in the work order.

Two guests message on turnover day. At 14:12 you spend eight minutes correcting check-in instructions for the incoming guest. Later you spend five minutes helping the departing guest recover a left item. Log the tasks under their respective reservation IDs.

Copy this into a spreadsheet

Local date,Property,Booking or work order,Action,Minutes,Evidence reference
2026-11-09,OAK-2,WO-58,Arranged cleaner return,6,MSG-112
2026-11-09,OAK-2,IN-204,Corrected arrival instructions,8,MSG-117
2026-11-09,OAK-2,OUT-201,Answered left-item message,5,MSG-122

Before closing out the week, check that the same call didn’t end up under both a booking and a work order. If one task served two bookings, give it one row with both references so its time is counted once.

Published by PropHours, the maker of STR Hours Tracker.