Clean Is Clean: A Business Owner’s Honest Holiday Experience

Over the Christmas holidays, my family and I took a week off to spend time with family — and it was genuinely amazing. Time away, slower days, and switching off from work was exactly what we needed.

But there’s one thing that always stands out to me when travelling during school holidays — standards.

Now, before anyone jumps to conclusions, let me be very clear:
I understand holiday pricing. I understand surcharges, peak periods, public holidays, and increased demand. I’m a business owner myself — business is hard, and I get it.

What I struggle with is when prices go up, but standards go down.

Three Stays, Three Experiences — Same Problem

Over our break, we stayed in:

• 1 apartment

• 1 hotel

• 1 cabin in a caravan park

Different locations. Different price points. Different expectations.

One stay cost us over $600 per night. The accommodation itself was modern, neat, and looked great on first impression. Clean linen, beds made, everything looked fine at a glance.

But once we unpacked and actually lived in the space, the issues became obvious.

Here’s what we noticed:

• Floors not vacuumed

• Microwave not cleaned inside

• Fridge not cleaned inside

• Toilet bin not emptied

• Shower floor not scrubbed

• Dining table not wiped

These aren’t “deep clean” issues.
These are basic, expected standards when you’re paying for accommodation — whether it’s an apartment, hotel, Airbnb, or cabin.

I can cope with outdated décor. Old carpets. Worn appliances.
What I can’t accept is paying premium prices and walking around in someone else’s hair and grime.

This Isn’t About the Cleaners

I know the cleaners were young girls — one even left her lunch bag behind, which I returned straight away.

And I want to be very clear:

• I don’t blame the cleaners

• I don’t question their work ethic

• I don’t believe they don’t care

I do blame management.

These cleaners are likely:

• Underpaid

• Rushed

• Short-staffed

• Given unrealistic timeframes

• Working peak season with no extra support

I highly doubt they even have a simple checklist or quality control system in place.

This isn’t a cleaning issue — it’s a systems and leadership issue.

Why I Didn’t Complain or Leave a Review

Should I have complained?
Should I have left a Google review?

Honestly — no.

Not because it was acceptable, but because I know how these situations often go. Nothing really changes, and the cleaners are usually the ones who cop it.

Instead, I made a simple decision:
👉 I won’t recommend the accommodation to anyone.

And that, in my opinion, says more than a complaint ever could.

I will never recommend a business unless I’m confident they can deliver a solid service from the start. If standards aren’t set or checked, why would I put my name behind them?

Clean Is Clean — Every Time

This experience just reinforced what we stand for at The Dynamic Assistant:

Clean is clean. There are no grey areas.

Missing one small thing can happen.
Missing multiple basic cleaning tasks is not acceptable.

This applies to:

• Holiday accommodation

• Offices

• Homes

• And especially end-of-lease cleaning

People deserve to walk into a space that is genuinely clean — not “looks okay at first glance.”

Because no one should have to start their stay — or their move — cleaning up after someone else.

Clean is clean. Always.