What a turnover inspection should actually check

Most turnovers end when the cleaning ends. The bed is made, the towels are folded, the photographs look right, and the next guest arrives to a property that appears ready. Appearances are useful. They are also where small problems hide until they become expensive ones.

A turnover inspection is a separate step, done by someone other than the person who cleaned. Its purpose is not to judge the cleaning. It is to look at the property the way an owner would if they were standing in it.

Water first

In South Florida, water causes more lasting damage than anything a guest is likely to do. We start every inspection there.

• Sealant around tubs, showers and vanities: continuous, clean, not lifting at the corners.
• Under every sink: dry cabinet floor, no staining, supply lines without corrosion.
• The air handler closet: clear condensate line, filter date, no standing water in the pan.
• Balcony door tracks and weep holes: free of sand and debris before the afternoon rain.

Then the things guests touch

Door hardware, window locks, the safe, appliance seals, the shower diverter, every light switch. Each is a small item. Together they decide whether a stay feels effortless or slightly worn.

The useful question is not whether something is broken. It is whether it will be broken in three months.

Write it down, every time

An inspection that is not recorded is a walk-through. Ours produce a short dated report with photographs, which becomes part of the property's history. Over a year, that history shows patterns: the toilet valve that fails every summer, the balcony door that needs adjustment each season. Patterns are where preventive maintenance begins.

None of this is complicated. It simply has to be done the same way, every time, by people who are accountable for the result.