Airbnb maintenance needs a clear handover from the person reporting a fault to the person confirming it has been fixed. A contractor booking is a useful step, but the job remains open until someone checks the result and updates the guest.
For London hosts, this can involve a cleaner, an owner overseas, a building manager and a local tradesperson. Use the following checklist to keep the repair, access arrangements and guest communication in one record. It complements our property inspection guide, which explains how faults are identified between stays.
1. Record what is wrong and how it affects the stay
Describe the symptom before guessing the cause. “The dishwasher stops during the cycle and shows an error” gives a contractor more useful information than “the dishwasher needs replacing”. Add the appliance model or a photograph of the error display when it is safe and practical to obtain one.
- Property, room and affected item.
- Time reported, reporter and reservation dates.
- What the guest can and cannot use.
- Photographs or a short description of the fault.
- Any earlier report of the same problem.
- The person responsible for the next action.
Ask for information the guest can provide comfortably. Do not turn the guest into a repair technician or ask them to investigate gas, electrical or other hazards. In an emergency or where personal safety is threatened, Airbnb's guidance on problems during a reservation directs guests to local emergency services immediately. Routine maintenance messages should never delay that response.
2. Prioritise the impact before arranging the visit
Separate immediate safety concerns from failures affecting the guest's use of the home and work that can be scheduled later. Assess the circumstances rather than relying only on the name of the broken item. A faulty lock can affect access and security; a failed washing machine may be particularly disruptive during a longer stay.
Assign one person to coordinate the response, even if several people are involved. That person should know the current guest impact, whether a qualified contractor is needed and when the guest will next hear from you. If you cannot make the home suitable for the stay, contact Airbnb about the reservation promptly rather than leaving the guest waiting for an uncertain repair.
Airbnb's ground rules for home hosts cover accurate amenities and timely communication. They expect hosts to respond within one hour to time-sensitive guest messages received during local daytime hours close to check-in or during a stay. A response acknowledges and starts addressing the issue; it does not establish that the repair is complete.
3. Confirm spending authority and building responsibilities
Before a problem occurs, agree with the owner who may approve work, how quotes are authorised and who is the backup contact. Record whether an approval covers diagnosis, parts and labour, or only an initial visit. Use the agreed amount for that property rather than assuming a universal maintenance allowance.
For a London flat, check whether the fault is inside the home or may involve a shared building system. Keep the managing agent or building maintenance contact available for matters such as communal entrances or building-wide outages. Confirm responsibility with the relevant people; do not promise that the building manager will pay or that a contractor can work on shared equipment.
Record the approved scope and any quote in the repair task. If the diagnosis changes, obtain the necessary further approval and give the guest an updated plan.
4. Plan access as carefully as the repair
Confirm the appointment with the contractor and agree the visit arrangements with the guest. Include the date, a realistic arrival window, who will attend and the work expected. Use London local time in messages, especially when the owner is abroad.
Check the full route into the flat: building entrance, concierge arrangements, lift access where relevant and the flat door. A tradesperson having a front-door key does not establish that they can reach the property or that the visit has been agreed. Keep access details in an appropriate private channel rather than a widely shared job description.
Arrange any building permissions or working-hour restrictions before confirming the visit. For routine work, consider whether a gap between bookings offers a less disruptive appointment. Our key exchange and self check-in guide covers the wider access setup.
5. Give the guest a next update time
Explain what is confirmed and what is still being checked. Avoid promising a completion time before the contractor has diagnosed the fault and confirmed that the required parts are available. If there is a suitable temporary alternative, explain its limitations honestly.
Use this example as a structure, adapting every detail to the reservation:
“Thank you for reporting the dishwasher fault. We have asked a contractor to assess it and are checking an appointment for tomorrow. That visit is not yet confirmed. I will update you by 5pm today, London time, even if we are still waiting for availability. Please let us know which visit times would suit you.”
Send the promised update even when there is no new diagnosis. Keep the important arrangements in the booking message thread so the guest can find them. Handle any refund request using the current platform process and the individual circumstances; do not promise that every fault has a fixed compensation amount.
6. Verify the repair before closing the task
Ask the contractor to record what was found, what was done and whether any follow-up is required. “Attended” and “awaiting part” should remain distinct from “repaired and checked”. Keep the invoice or work report with the task.
Arrange an appropriate functional check after the work. For a dishwasher, for example, confirm that the repaired machine completes a suitable test without the reported fault. Technical or safety checks belong with a suitably qualified professional. A photograph alone may show the item is present without proving it works.
Update the guest with the outcome and ask whether the original problem has been resolved from their perspective. Tell housekeeping about any extra cleaning or preparation needed after the visit. Use the turnover cleaning process to ensure the next arrival is prepared properly.
A compact maintenance handover record
Keep these fields together in your task system or maintenance log:
- Fault and impact: what is affected, evidence and current guest inconvenience.
- Coordinator: one named person and a backup contact.
- Approval: authorised scope, quote and any pending decision.
- Visit: contractor, agreed access and confirmed appointment.
- Next guest update: date, time and person sending it.
- Completion: work report, functional check and guest follow-up.
- Next stay: any remaining action before arrival.
Review recurring faults and schedule preventative work around the manufacturer's guidance and the property's needs. Keep future listing information accurate if an advertised amenity remains unavailable; do not let a repair task disappear just because the current guest has checked out.
StayinLondon's Airbnb management service in London brings guest communication, housekeeping and maintenance coordination together. If you need local support for your property, request a property management assessment.
