User guide
How Klarstay works, step by step.
Everything is done on your phone. The host sets the standard once. The cleaner checks every changeover against it. Pick your part:
For hosts and owners
Set the standard once
Log in
Open the invite link we send you and choose a password. On your phone, add Klarstay to your home screen (Share, then Add to Home Screen) so it opens like an app. On an iPhone the home screen icon asks you to log in once more; after that you stay logged in.
Add your properties and units
Give each unit a property name (for example Chalet Elza), a unit name (Apartment 1) and a size. Units with the same property name are grouped together; tap the property to open its units. To add another unit, open the property and tap Add a unit. You can copy the rooms, checklist and cleaners from a unit you've already set up, so a second identical apartment takes minutes.
The size sets how many rooms and photos the unit can have:
Size Photos per clean Bedrooms Hotel room up to 6 1, no kitchen Small unit (studio or 1 bedroom) up to 10 1 Apartment (2 to 3 bedrooms) up to 20 up to 3 Large unit agreed with us any Bathrooms are never limited, they just count towards the photos. Need more? Ask us about a custom plan.
Choose the rooms
Tap + for each room guests use: bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchen, living room, ski room, balcony, sauna and more. Add your own (Hot tub deck, Games room) and rename rooms so the cleaner knows which is which.
Take the benchmark photos
Get each room exactly how a guest should find it, lights on, then photograph it. Take at least two photos per room: one wide view and one or more close-ups of what guests judge hardest (shower tray, toilet, basin, bed, hob). Each room starts with a suggested set; add a close-up with + or remove any you don't need.
- Use your phone's wide (0.5×) lens for wide views if it has one.
- Remember where you stood. The cleaner will stand in the same spot.
- In bathrooms, stand to one side so you're not in the mirror.
- Every photo you add is taken on every clean, so 2 to 4 per room is the sweet spot.
Confirm the checklist
We read your photos and draft the checklist for each room, in two parts:
- In the photo: what the AI checks from the cleaner's photos, such as "two bath towels folded on the rail".
- Additional tasks: things a photo can't show, which the cleaner ticks off. For example spare toilet rolls in the cupboard, lights off, heating set.
Untick anything that's wrong, add your own, or move an item between the two parts. Already have a checklist on WhatsApp or paper? Paste it in and we sort it into rooms. Use Anything else the check should know? for quirks, like "the dark mark on the shower floor is a stone feature".
Invite your cleaners and co-owners
In the Cleaner step, add each cleaner's name and email and send them the invite link by WhatsApp or email. They only see the units you add them to. If a cleaning company cleans for you, connect the company and they add their own cleaners. To share the account with a partner or manager, tap your name, then Owners and managers.
Connect your calendars
Open Calendar, then Booking calendars, and paste each unit's calendar link once: Airbnb, Booking.com and your own calendar for private bookings. Klarstay checks them every hour and merges them into one list of cleans, one per check-out day. Add notes for a stay (baby cot, 6 guests) and the cleaner sees them. You can also add cleans by hand or paste a list.
- Airbnb: Listing, Availability, Connect calendars, Export calendar.
- Booking.com: Rates & availability, Sync calendars, Export calendar.
- Own bookings in Google Calendar: make a separate calendar just for bookings, then Settings, that calendar, Secret address in iCal format.
Run a test clean
Mess something up on purpose (a towel off the rail, a smear on the mirror) and run a test check. It's the quickest way to see what the cleaner sees. Test cleans are free and you can delete them.
After every clean
- The report arrives before check-in: how the guests left it, what the check found, what was fixed and how, and the additional tasks confirmed.
- Guest mess or damage reaches you straight away, with photos you can use for an Airbnb or Booking.com claim. Mark it Handled when it's dealt with.
- Dispute anything marked fixed that wasn't. The cleaner sees it at the top of their next clean.
- Maintenance: wear the check spots, like yellowing silicone, darkening grout, limescale and scuffs, collects in one list across all your units, with the first photo next to the latest. Ask us for a quote, or mark it done.
- Photos: download all photos of a clean, or all your benchmark photos, as one file. Room changed? Tap Use this photo as the new benchmark.
- House guide: every unit has a printable guide, room by room with photos, for new or stand-in cleaners.
- Discard a clean: a clean started by mistake can be discarded while it's in progress. Only owners and managers can do this, not cleaners.
For cleaners
Every clean, checked in minutes
Log in once
Open the invite link from your host or company and choose a password. Add Klarstay to your home screen. You only see the places you clean.
Start the clean when you arrive
Tap Start clean on the unit, or on the clean in Coming up. Read the notes for this stay, like a baby cot or extra towels. New to the place? Open the House guide to see how every room should look.
Say how the guests left it
One tap if it's fine: Left in good condition. If not, tap Something to report, tick what you found (excess rubbish, stained bedding, key not in the lockbox) and add a short note. Something broken? Tap Report damage, add photos and say where. It goes straight to the host, so you're never blamed for it.
Clean as usual
Then check your work room by room.
Photograph each view
Stand where the benchmark was taken. The camera shows the benchmark faintly so you can line up (tap Guide off if it gets in the way). It doesn't have to be exact: a step to the side is fine.
- If the photo is too dark, blurry or clearly the wrong view, the phone tells you straight away. Retake it; this check is free and doesn't count.
- You can take up to 3 photos of each view. After that, skip the view and the report will say so.
Fix what's flagged
The check shows anything that doesn't match: a hair in the shower, spots on the mirror, a missing towel. Fix it and tap Fixed (or Fixed + photo). Can't fix it? Tap Can't fix and say why. Wrong flag? Tap Not an issue and it won't be flagged there again.
Tick the additional tasks
Things a photo can't show, like spare toilet rolls in the cupboard or lights off. Tick each one you've done.
Finish and send
Tap Finish and send report. The host gets it right away. If the host disputes something, you'll see it at the top of your next clean there: sort it and tap Sorted it.
Questions
Good to know
Does the photo have to match the benchmark exactly?
No. The phone lines the two photos up, allowing for a step to the side, a slight tilt, a different zoom or different light. It only warns you when the photo is clearly of something else, and you can still use it.
What does the check catch, and what doesn't it?
It catches what a camera can see: hair on linen and in showers, water spots and smears, beds and towels not made to standard, missing amenities, things left behind, stains, damage and things moved or gone. Dust on high shelves, smells and the inside of cupboards don't show in a photo, so they belong in the additional tasks the cleaner ticks off.
What if the AI gets it wrong?
The cleaner taps Not an issue and the check learns not to flag that spot again for that view. The host sees every override in the report and can dispute it.
Who sees what?
Cleaners see only the units they clean, the checklist and the house guide. Owners and managers see every unit in their account, the reports, maintenance and calendars. Prices and billing aren't shown in the app.
Where are the photos stored?
In Switzerland, in our database and photo storage in Zurich. During a check, photos are sent to our AI provider for analysis; they are not used to train AI models. See our privacy notice.
Do I need internet?
Yes, mobile data or Wi-Fi, because each photo is checked as you go. In a spot with poor signal, take the photo near a window or step outside to send it.
What does it cost?
A small monthly fee per unit plus a fee per checked clean, by unit size. See pricing.
Something else?
Get in touch through the form on our home page and we'll help.