As a property manager juggling multiple vacation rentals across platforms like Airbnb and VRBO, coordinating cleanings between guest stays is critical to your business. Many property managers turn to Google Calendar as their go-to solution, but is it really the best tool for the job?

The Technical Hurdle for Non-Technical Cleaners

One of the biggest challenges property managers face is getting cleaners onboarded with Google Calendar. Most cleaning professionals are experts at making properties spotless—not navigating complex tech platforms.

Consider this common scenario: You’ve carefully set up a shared Google Calendar, sent an invitation to your cleaner, and… nothing happens. Your cleaner either:

1. Doesn’t know how to accept the calendar invitation
2. Accepts it but can’t figure out how to view it properly
3. Can’t distinguish between different properties or booking sources
4. Gets overwhelmed by the interface and gives up entirely

For many cleaners, Google Calendar’s interface is simply too complicated and unintuitive, leading to missed cleanings, confusion, and frustrated property owners.

The Multi-Platform Integration Problem

As a property manager, you’re likely using multiple booking platforms—Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, and maybe even direct bookings. Each platform provides its own iCal feed, but integrating them into Google Calendar is cumbersome:

1. You need to manually add each iCal feed separately
2. There’s no easy way to label which bookings come from which platform
3. Color-coding is possible but requires multiple steps for each feed
4. When you add a new property, the process starts all over again

The “When Was This Updated?” Mystery

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of using Google Calendar for vacation rental cleaning schedules is the lack of clarity around data freshness. Google Calendar doesn’t tell you:

• When each calendar feed was last updated
• If there were sync errors with any platforms
• Whether all bookings are displaying correctly

This leads to an all-too-common situation where a new booking comes in, but your cleaner doesn’t see it because their calendar hasn’t refreshed. By the time you discover the issue, it might be too late—resulting in a poor guest experience and negative reviews.

The Sharing Headache

Sharing calendars securely with your cleaning team through Google Calendar involves multiple steps:

1. Setting the right sharing permissions (which can be confusing)
2. Ensuring cleaners have Google accounts
3. Troubleshooting when they claim they “can’t see” the calendar
4. Managing access when you need to change cleaning providers

The process is unnecessarily complex and time-consuming for busy property managers.

The Solution: TurnCal

We created TurnCal specifically to address these pain points. With TurnCal, you can:

• Create a simple, clean calendar view from multiple iCal feeds in minutes
• Share with cleaners via a simple link—no accounts or technical setup required
• Clearly see which bookings come from which platforms with custom colors and labels
• Know exactly when your calendar data was last updated
• Easily refresh calendar data with one click
• Customize event titles and descriptions for clarity

No more frustrated calls from confused cleaners. No more wondering if your calendar is up to date. No more complex sharing setups.

Ready to Simplify Your Cleaning Coordination?

Stop struggling with Google Calendar for your vacation rental cleaning schedules. Try TurnCal today and experience the difference a purpose-built solution can make for your business.

Sign Up for TurnCal Now →

Your cleaners will thank you, your guests will enjoy spotless properties, and you’ll save countless hours of frustration and coordination.