How to choose a cleaning company on Koh Samui: the questions to ask

There is no shortage of people and companies offering cleaning on Samui. The websites look alike, and almost everyone calls themselves "professional" and "reliable", so you cannot tell them apart from a homepage. What does show the difference is how a company answers a few direct questions, and how its first visit goes.

Below are twelve questions, what a good answer sounds like, and the warning signs to look out for. Copy them into WhatsApp and send the same list to every company you are considering. The way they reply already tells you a good deal.

1. What exactly is included?

Good answer: a written room-by-room checklist for each type of clean. You should be able to see on paper how a regular clean differs from a deep one. Our regular and deep cleaning checklists show what that looks like.

Warning sign: "general cleaning", "everything", or "it depends on the cleaner".

2. Are products and equipment included?

Good answer: yes, the company brings everything, and asks before using strong products on stone, marble or teak.

Warning sign: you are asked to buy a vacuum cleaner, a mop and cleaning products, which makes the real cost higher than the quote.

3. What is not included?

Good answer: a clear list, for example mould inside walls, repairs, moving heavy furniture, exterior windows and windows at height and pest treatment. A company that tells you what it does not do is usually honest about what it does.

4. Is the price fixed before the visit?

Good answer: a price based on the type of property and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, confirmed before the visit, which does not change on the doorstep as long as the property matches the description. Published prices are better still, because you can check the quote yourself.

Warning sign: "we'll see when we get there", or an hourly rate with no estimate of how many hours.

5. Are there extra fees?

Ask directly about travel fees by area, surcharges for steep or unpaved access roads, same-day bookings, badly neglected homes, and extras such as cleaning inside the fridge or oven. Companies on Samui handle these very differently. What matters is that you hear about them beforehand, not afterwards.

6. When and how do you pay?

Good answer: after the visit, once you have seen the result. If you pay a month in advance to a company you have never tried, you have no leverage when the work is poor.

7. How are cleaners trained and checked?

Good answer: a concrete description of how a new cleaner learns the standard, whether she is tested on a real property before her first client, and who checks the work afterwards. A vague answer such as "our team is very experienced" tells you nothing.

8. Will I get a photo report?

Good answer: yes, room by room, after every visit. For owners living abroad and for hosts, it is the only way to know what was done. On turnovers it should arrive before the guests check in.

9. What happens if something is missed?

Good answer: a rule with a time limit, for example "if we missed something on the checklist, tell us within 24 hours and we will come back and put it right free of charge". An apology is nice, but it is the rule that protects you.

10. How do you handle keys and door codes?

Good answer: the handover is agreed in writing before the first visit, keys are used only for booked visits, and they are returned as agreed. Our guide on how to brief your cleaner covers keys, pets and valuables.

11. What is the cancellation policy?

Flights change, guests arrive late, and in the rainy season a storm can close roads for a few hours. Ask how much notice you need to give, whether a late cancellation costs anything, and what happens if the company itself cancels.

12. Who do I talk to, and in which language?

Good answer: one contact who answers on WhatsApp or by phone, in a language you are comfortable with, and who passes your notes on to the cleaner in a language she understands. Many misunderstandings on the island happen at the front door, between an owner who speaks English or Russian and a cleaner who speaks Thai.

• No written checklist, or a checklist they will not send you.
• Prices only "after an inspection", even for an ordinary condo or villa.
• A month's prepayment before the first visit.
• No photos, or photos only when you ask for them.
• No rule for missed items, just "we'll try".
• You are expected to supply products and equipment.
• Nobody can explain how a new cleaner is trained.

Even the best answers are only words. Book a single clean: a deep clean if the house has not been properly cleaned for a while, or a regular one if it has. Then check the places that reveal the real standard:

• the shower glass and taps, for limescale;
• the tops of the wardrobe and fridge, for dust;
• the sliding door tracks, for sand;
• under the bed and behind the sofa;
• the photo report: does it match what you see?

If something has been missed, use the redo rule and watch how the company responds. That tells you more than any website.

Since we wrote the questions, here are our own answers. Every service has a written room-by-room checklist. We bring all products and equipment. Our prices are published, and the calculator uses the same figures. Once we have confirmed your quote, it does not change as long as the property matches the description. The price is the same across the island, with no travel fee and no surcharge for hillside access. A badly neglected home we assess from photos before the visit. The same-day rate and the few extras are listed on the prices page.

Every cleaner is trained to our standard, and her work is checked against the checklist and the photos after every visit. You get a photo report after each visit. If we missed something on the checklist, tell us within 24 hours and we will come back and put it right free of charge. Cancelling or moving a visit is free. Just tell us as early as you can, ideally 24 hours ahead. You pay once you have accepted the work, in cash or by bank transfer. Keys, damage and everything else are covered in our terms. We talk to you on WhatsApp or by phone. We speak English, Russian and Thai, and our coordinator briefs the cleaner in a language they understand.

A regular clean of a 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom villa costs 2,400 ฿, and a deep clean 5,000 ฿. Check the price for your own home: