How to brief a cleaner on Koh Samui: access, keys, pets, valuables and the photo report

Most problems with cleaners on Samui have nothing to do with effort. They come from instructions given once, out loud, at the door, in a language neither side speaks well, and then forgotten. The fix is a written brief covering access, priorities, what not to touch, pets and valuables, and the photo report you expect. Send it once and keep it up to date, and the result no longer depends on who comes and what they happen to remember.

Decide how the cleaner gets in when nobody is home, and put it in writing.

• Key safe or lockbox. The most practical option for villas. Give its location and the code.
• Door code. Change it whenever guests or long-term tenants leave.
• A neighbour, maid or manager lets them in. Give a name and phone number, and agree who locks up.
• You are at home. Say what time suits you and whether you need some rooms kept quiet, for example during calls.

Also include the gate code or remote, where to park a scooter, whether the dogs run loose in the garden, the Wi-Fi password if the cleaner needs to send photos, and what to do when leaving: which doors to lock, which windows to close, and whether the AC and lights stay on or off.

Tell the cleaner about pets before the first visit, not when they open the gate.

• The name and type of each pet, and whether they are friendly with strangers.
• Where nervous dogs should be during the visit: in a separate room or in the garden.
• Which doors must stay closed so the cats do not get out.
• Pet bowls, beds and litter trays: should they be cleaned or left alone? On Samui pet food attracts ants, so say where it should be kept.
• Any cleaning products to avoid because of the pets.

A good cleaner does not go through your things, but it helps to draw the line clearly for everyone.

• Put cash, jewellery, watches and documents in a safe or a locked drawer, every time.
• List any rooms or cupboards that are off limits: a study, a locked storeroom, the owner's wardrobe in a rental.
• Say whether wardrobes and drawers should be cleaned inside, and how often. On a regular visit we tidy without going through personal belongings, and we do not open drawers, safes or private cupboards unless you ask us to clean inside them.
• Point out fragile or valuable items: a teak table that should only see a dry cloth, an artwork, a stone surface that must not come into contact with acid.

Say what matters most to you, because that is what you will check first.

• Your top three priorities, for example shower glass free of limescale, clean kitchen counters, beds made the way you like them.
• Products: if you want a particular product used on natural stone, wooden floors or teak, leave it out and say so.
• How beds are made, and where clean linen and towels are kept.
• What to do with washing: leave it where it is, or fold it if it is dry.
• Rubbish: where the bins go out, and on which days.
• Things you do not want moved: papers on a desk, the children's toys laid out a certain way, plants.

If you are not at home, the photo report is how you know what was done. Ask for:

• every room once the work is finished, with the beds made and the floors in shot;
• the bathrooms: shower glass, toilet, sink and taps;
• the kitchen: counters, hob and sink;
• the terrace and the entrance;
• anything that needs your attention: a leak, a stain, something broken, ants, mould starting behind a cupboard.

The photos should arrive in the same chat you booked through, so everything about your home stays in one place.

When you book with us, you do not have to brief the cleaner yourself.

You pay after the visit, in cash or by bank transfer, once you have seen the result or the photo report. There is no prepayment. This is what we mean by European quality control with Asian execution: the standard is written down, the work is documented, and a trained local team carries it out to that standard. Read more about how we control quality.

A cleaner is not a handyman, a pool technician or a pest controller. Keep the brief to cleaning and arrange everything else separately.

• Repairs, leaks and mould coming from inside a wall need a technician. We point them out in the photo report wherever we spot them.
• Exterior windows above the ground floor and moving heavy furniture are not part of our checklists.
• Pool water and equipment are for your pool service.

A regular clean starts at 1,000 ฿ for a 1-bedroom condo. For a 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom villa it is 2,400 ฿ as a one-off, or 2,040 ฿ per visit on a weekly schedule. Check the price for your home in the calculator and send us your brief when you book: