How to get more cleaning customers
In cleaning the money isn't in the house you clean once, it's in the house you clean every two weeks for three years. A recurring client is worth forty to a hundred times what the first visit pays, so the whole business is about getting that first clean and turning it into a standing one. The sources that work in Miami are referrals, short-term rental managers, small offices and the Google profile.
Updated 2026-08-16
The math that changes how you look for customers
A one-off clean at $150 is $150. That same house every two weeks is $3,900 a year, and if they stay three years it's nearly $12,000.
That's why it's worth doing the first clean cheaper than you'd like, if that's what gets you into the rotation. And why it isn't worth chasing one-off move-out cleans that never repeat, however well they pay.
When you finish the first one, the line to always say: "If you like how it came out, I can keep it this way every two weeks for $X." That question is what builds the business.
1. Referrals, actually asked for
In this trade referrals are the number one source by a wide margin, because you're going inside someone's home: nobody hires a stranger when they can hire the person who cleans for their friend.
What works is asking out loud and specifically, when you finish, with the spotless house right there: "If you know anyone in the building who needs the same, pass them my number." In a condo building one happy client can give you three more in the same block, and those three cost you no travel.
To speed it up, offer half a free clean for every client who comes through and stays on. It's far cheaper than any ad.
2. Short-term rental managers
Miami is full of Airbnbs and seasonal rentals, and all of them need cleaning between guests. It's constant work, on known dates, with nobody to convince each time.
How you get in: find short-term rental managers in your area and offer to cover turnovers. What they'll require is availability on turnover days, usually Friday, Sunday and Monday, and speed. It's usually paid per unit at a flat rate, $80 to $180 depending on size.
The advantage is that one manager with fifteen units gives you more work than fifteen separate clients and you only have to convince one person.
3. Small offices
Medical practices, law offices, dental clinics, insurance agencies. They're cleaned at night or early morning, they don't collide with daytime houses, and they pay on monthly contracts.
It's the step that turns a solo cleaner into a business with employees, because the hours don't conflict with residential.
4. Google profile and reviews
Category "House cleaning service," service area with your cities, real hours. Upload before-and-after photos: in cleaning they work as well as in landscaping.
And ask every recurring client for a review. In this trade a review counts double, because the question isn't whether you clean well, it's whether someone can be left alone inside your home. Only another person can answer that.
5. Getting off the apps that keep half
Handy, Homeaglow and similar give you work from day one, keep a large commission, and usually forbid taking the client off-platform.
They work for starting out when you have nothing. They don't work as a business: you end up working at the price the platform sets, with no way to ever raise it.
The way out is to use the app only for the gaps left in your week, and build your own list in parallel with referrals and Google. When your own list fills the week, you leave.
6. What to charge in South Florida
| Job | What it pays |
|---|---|
| Regular clean, 1 to 2 bedroom apartment | $90 to $140 |
| Regular clean, 3 bedroom house | $130 to $200 |
| Deep clean, first time | 1.5 to 2 times the regular |
| Airbnb turnover | $80 to $180 per unit |
| Move-out clean | $200 to $450 |
| Small office, monthly contract | $400 to $1,200 |
The first clean of any house always takes longer, and it has to be charged as a deep clean. Charging it as regular means starting out losing money, with the client believing that's the standing price.
7. Somewhere to send the people who ask
With what each type of clean includes, your areas, the starting price and the WhatsApp button up top. In this trade almost every inquiry arrives by message, not by call.
If you want a reference for what it needs, look at the cleaning page.
doubts
What people usually ask
How many recurring houses fill a week?
One person does two or three houses a day. With twenty biweekly clients your week is full and you're at roughly $5,000 a month gross, depending on pricing.
Should I charge by the hour or by the house?
By the house. By the hour punishes you for working fast and makes the client watch the clock. Work out how long it really takes, including the longer first visit, and set a flat price.
What if they want me to bring the supplies?
Charge for them separately or build them into the price, and use your own: it's faster to work with what you know and it avoids being blamed if something gets damaged.
Do I need a license to clean houses in Florida?
No state license, but you do need the local business license from your city or county. For offices and rentals they'll ask for liability insurance.
Is a bond worth it?
If you clean high-end homes or want manager contracts, yes, and it's a selling point almost nobody uses: "insured and bonded" reassures the person about to hand you a key.