Dirty Jobs

The Unsung Heroes of Outer Banks Hospitality

By Ann Wood / Photos provided by Carolina Designs Realty & Vacation Rentals

It’s 5:30 a.m. on any given summer Saturday morning, and cleaners are already pouring onto the Outer Banks from the west and north to prepare vacation rental homes for the week ahead. By the time guests start arriving, these homes will be spotless — ready to host long-anticipated family vacations, milestone celebrations, and memory-making moments.

Expectations are high. Guests have saved and planned for months, investing thousands of dollars into their stay. They want to walk into a space that feels like theirs for the week — clean, fresh, and flawless. That puts a lot of pressure on the cleaning crews, who not only have to disinfect and clean but stage these homes to perfection, and all in record time. On average, a cleaner working for a vacation rental company will turn over 2 to 3 homes in the narrow six-hour window between check-out and check-in.

Traditionally, Outer Banks vacations have followed a Saturday-to-Saturday schedule. As a drive-to destination, many OBX guests pack their vehicles with everything they need for a full week and hit the road from places like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, and Virginia. The rental home becomes the heart of the vacation: a place to sleep, eat, relax, regroup, and celebrate.

And because these homes are lived in so fully during the stay, they need thorough and meticulous cleaning — every bathroom sanitized, every floor swept of sand, every surface disinfected, every bed made with fresh linens. The house must feel like new again, ready to welcome the next family and their beach dreams.

On peak Saturdays, housekeeping crews fan out all along the Outer Banks, transforming thousands of homes between check-out and check-in. It’s a staggering logistical feat. Casey Kellum, Housekeeping Director at Carolina Designs Realty which manages more than 360 homes that turnover on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, knows the scale intimately. “During the summer, we employ roughly 280 cleaners and inspectors combined,” she says.

Thankfully, the rise of flexible bookings has helped ease some of the pressure to turn all OBX rental homes in one day. Increasingly, travelers want to arrive on different days or stay for fewer than seven nights. To meet demand, more homes now offer customizable check-in and check-out options. Still, the traditional Saturday turnover remains dominant, meaning that crunch-time cleaning is very much alive and well on the OBX.

So who takes on this demanding work?

The cleaning crew is as diverse as the Outer Banks itself. Teachers, retirees, stay-at-home parents, and professionals working multiple jobs all fill out the ranks. Many cleaners take this on as a second job, working seven days a week in the summer to boost their income. “Flexibility plays a big role,” says Kellum. “People can choose how often they work — every Saturday, every other weekend, or just occasionally.”

Many crews travel great distances just to reach the Outer Banks. “Only a very small percentage of our seasonal staff live locally,” Kellum says. “We have people who drive an hour just to get to the office, then often another 30 minutes to their assigned homes. Some even commute from Greenville every weekend.”

Rhonda Mobley, a seasoned cleaner of 15 years, drives an hour and a half from Williamston to clean rental homes for Coastal Carolina Vacations in Nags Head. She started cleaning as part of a team with her husband, a farmer, but she now cleans on her own. Rhonda continues to juggle a full-time job, help with the farm, and clean houses on the weekends.

“Not everyone is cut out for this,” she says. “You’re either good at it or you’re not. You’ve got to be ready for anything when you walk through the door.”
It’s not always just sandy floors and rumpled beds. Sometimes, what’s left behind is downright gross. Think clogged toilets, questionable stains on the linens, overflowing trash cans, a sticky fridge with pungent seafood leftovers, and a sink full of unwashed dishes. It’s all part of the job, and while it’s not glamorous, it’s essential. These crews take it in stride, often with humor, but always toughing it out.

If a home is left in rough shape, it can throw off the entire day. Fewer completed homes mean less income for the cleaner. To keep up the pace while avoiding mistakes, Rhonda approaches each house with a methodical plan – strip and make all the beds first. Complete one task throughout the house, then move to the next task. Consistency is key, especially when a missed detail like a dirty microwave or grounds left in the coffee maker can result in a guest complaint.
Some cleaners work in teams, dividing tasks and maximizing efficiency. When Rhonda and her husband cleaned together, he focused on beds and bedrooms while she tackled bathrooms. That kind of teamwork can allow a crew to clean 4 or 5 small to mid-size homes in a single day. Larger homes may require the entire team’s attention from start to finish.

Behind the scenes, the work begins long before the first house is cleaned. Vacation rental companies rely on technology to keep operations running smoothly. Austin Bembridge, Operations Manager at Coastal Carolina Vacations, managing 197 homes from Nags Head to Corolla, explains that they use a centralized software platform to coordinate schedules, communicate special requirements, and monitor progress throughout the day.

“We can see when guests have left, when cleaners have arrived, and when a house is complete,” he says. “That helps us make real-time decisions, like whether to send support staff or reassign a home if someone needs extra time. And we can communicate with the cleaners using the app on their phones, providing checklists and details about their assigned homes so they don’t miss something important.”

Vacation rental companies also rely on a network of support staff to keep turnover day running smoothly. While cleaners handle core cleaning tasks, other team members take on responsibilities to assist the cleaners in ways that could include bed making, grill scrubbing, kitchen organization, or staging elaborate outdoor areas.

Inspectors follow behind “to assist and take care of some bigger picture tasks,” as Bembridge puts it, and often jump in where needed. “It’s a team effort all the way,” adds Kellum.

Despite the tight timelines, Rhonda says most guests leave homes in decent shape – used, but not abused. Still, there are pet peeves.

“I just wish guests wouldn’t strip the mattress pads,” she laughs. “They get rolled up in the dirty linens, and I have to go hunting for them to put them back on. It’s a small thing, but it takes time.”

Some days are business as usual, but not always. Kellum shares a story that illustrates the unexpected nature of hospitality. “One story that still makes me laugh is the time a guest insisted the house was haunted,” Kellum recalls. “They even sent us photos claiming to have captured a ghost on camera. But when they checked out, the house was left in rough shape. When we followed up about the condition, they blamed it on the ghost, saying the place wasn’t like that when they left!”

Bembridge reflects on the additional pressure experienced by his team during COVID, when some guests would spy on cleaners while they worked to ensure every safety protocol was followed. “If a cleaner even lowered their mask,” he says, “a few particularly cautious guests refused to take possession of the home for the week.”

What motivates Rhonda to do this demanding and often unrecognized work? “Frankly, it’s mostly about the money,” she admits. The hourly pay is strong for a part-time role, and the time commitment is flexible. Rhonda continues, “But I wouldn’t work for just anybody.” The company she works for makes all the difference.

“I’ve worked for a few companies on the beach, but the one I’m at now is the best,” she says. “They really work hard to make things run as smoothly as possible for us. Everyone genuinely cares about you, your well-being… your happiness. They ask, ‘Are you okay? Are you getting what you need?’ And at this stage in my life, that’s what matters most.”

Bembridge, Rhonda’s manager, agrees, adding, “We really get to know our cleaners. A lot of times, it feels like we’re part of each other’s families. It’s really nice to have that kind of connection.”

Kellum shares that philosophy and sees her role as much more than managing schedules and logistics. “I tell my cleaners that we’re not just housekeepers, we’re memory makers,” she says. “We help set the stage for family reunions, milestone celebrations, and long-awaited vacations. It’s our job to make those moments seamless and special, and that’s something I’m proud to be part of.”

And for those wondering after reading all of this, the answer is yes. You can tip your cleaner. While most would prefer a well-kept house over a few extra bucks, a thoughtful tip can go a long way in brightening someone’s day. Better yet, do both. Leave the house in good condition and leave a small thank-you. Because behind every immaculate rental home is a hardworking cleaner, racing the clock to make your vacation feel effortless.

How You Can Help—

Homeowners:
• Provide a quality vacuum on each level of the home.
• Stock the kitchen with good-quality cookware and bakeware, and replace scratched or damaged items at the start of each season.
• Purchase washable bedspreads instead of bulky comforters. They’re easier to launder in a pinch.
• Give your rental company the authority to repair broken items as needed. Guests who see broken things may assume the whole house wasn’t properly cared for.

Guests:
• Rinse off sand before going indoors.
• Leave items generally where they belong. i.e. kitchen tools in the kitchen, bedspreads in the bedroom, etc.
• Clean out the refrigerator before checking out, unless the items are unopened and can be donated to the local food pantry or used by the cleaner.
• Take out the trash. Cleaners are already hauling their own supplies.
• You don’t need to clean, but be considerate. Leave the home in used, but good condition.
• Leave the mattress pads on the beds. (You’re welcome, Rhonda.)

Author: Ann Wood