Savannah's visitor numbers bring many hosts, and the city keeps close watch on vacation rentals. Here is how the local rules work and how to keep a rental ready between guests.
Savannah drew 14.8 million visitors in 2019, and the city has rules for homes rented to some of them. For owners, that means a home doing double duty, and a cleaning routine that has to be reliable every time.
This guide covers the city's rules as they stand on its own website, the practical side of turnovers in old buildings and humid weather, and how TotalCare Cleaning's services will fit. Check the rules directly with the city, because they can change.
Savannah requires a short-term vacation rental certificate for any home rented to guests for 30 consecutive days or less. There is an application fee and a yearly renewal fee, and the current amounts are on the city's page. Your cleaning plan belongs in the same folder as that paperwork, because the certificate lets you operate while a tidy, well kept home is what keeps neighbors and guests content.
The city also runs a round the clock complaint hotline and an online complaint portal for short-term rentals. Trash left out, overflowing carts and noise are the sort of things neighbors tend to notice. A turnover checklist that includes bins and the exterior can head off a call.
Short-term vacation rentals are allowed in an overlay district that includes the Downtown, Victorian and Streetcar local historic districts. In the Downtown and Victorian districts, new rentals in residential areas are capped at 20 percent of residential parcels in each ward, with owner occupied parcels exempt. So if you are buying with this use in mind, check the ward's status with the city before you close.
This matters for cleaning because so many rentals sit inside the historic core. The downtown landmark district, with its 22 squares from the 1733 Oglethorpe Plan, and the Victorian district to its south contain many homes with old floors, narrow stairs and limited storage. Parking, stairs and where to keep supplies all become part of the plan.
A turnover is different from a house cleaning, because the goal is a home that looks unused every time. Hosts usually write this down and photograph how each room should look. Sharing that with whoever cleans removes guesswork.
TotalCare Cleaning's Recurring House Clean comes weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, so think of it as the steady maintenance behind your own turnovers. A One-Time Deep Clean is useful between seasons for baseboards, vents, tracks and fans. Bed linens and restocking generally stay with the host or a dedicated turnover service.
An empty rental can have more moisture trouble than an occupied one. Relative humidity runs near 78 percent in August and September, and a house closed up with the AC set high can start to smell musty between bookings. Keep the air running at a sensible setting, leave closet and cabinet doors slightly open, and have somebody check for leaks after heavy rain.
Guests also bring the outdoors in. Sand, oak debris and rain all land on floors in greater volume than a resident would produce. Good mats at each door and hard floor care between stays help. See the humidity guide for more about keeping a damp season under control.
If you do not live near your rental, think through storm weeks in advance. Recent hurricanes to affect the area include Matthew, Irma, Debby and Helene, and the city warns about flooding from heavy rain, storm surge and high tide. Name a local contact who can bring in carts and porch furniture, because the city asks that loose items be secured. Keep your insurer's number and evacuation zone information in the guest book, too. After a storm, have someone check the home before the next arrival, and call a restoration company for water damage rather than a cleaner.
The questions Savannah homeowners ask most often about this topic, answered plainly.
TotalCare Cleaning will service Savannah and surrounding areas with background-checked cleaners and is insured up to $1 million. Re-clean guarantee: if we missed something, tell us by the end of the next day and we come back to fix it. Beyond Clean. TotalCare.
