Cleaning Up the Short-Term Rental Scene with Derrick Agyiri, Founder of Cleanster.com

·53 min·5 clips

Derrick Agyiri explains why Cleanster didn't make a penny for nine months while building their cleaning app.

The episode begins with hosts Micah and Steve introducing Derrick Agyiri, founder of Cleanster.com, a short-term rental cleaning app. Derrick explains Cleanster started accidentally when a client with 25 units suggested they enter the short-term rental space after being impressed with their home service cleaning. He and co-founder Gloria, who had cleaning industry experience, spent nine months not making profit to understand the market, even cleaning properties themselves. They built the app gradually based on client and cleaner feedback. During COVID, they pivoted from Canada to the US, launching in Dallas with investor support. Derrick compares Cleanster to competitor Turnover BNB, highlighting key differences: Cleanster negotiates fixed prices for both parties rather than bidding, focuses on marketplace over SaaS, and emphasizes vetting and quality control. He describes features like geolocation to verify cleaner arrival, photo requirements with timestamps, translation tools, and Cleanster Bots for automated messaging. The app allows video, audio messages, expense payments, and hourly rates. Cleanster takes a 20% commission from cleaners, which covers background checks, insurance, and same-day payouts, decreasing to as low as 5% for cleaners with over 100 jobs. Derrick shares his entrepreneurial background, having built previous apps like a P2P payment system and a platform similar to Upwork, which informed Cleanster's design. He still owns three Airbnb properties managed through Cleanster. The app integrates with PMS systems like Hospitable, Hostaway, and Guesty, and Derrick offers to connect hosts with PMS founders for support. The episode concludes with Derrick encouraging listeners to sign up at cleanster.com/lp for property managers or cleanster.com for cleaners.

As heard by us

A practical look at cleaning logistics, nightly payouts, expense tracking, and the friction of managing turnovers.

Cleanster is framed here as a response to the everyday drag of short-term rental turnovers: finding a cleaner, checking whether the work was actually done, covering supplies, and sorting out extra labor when a place is left in rough shape.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want fewer cleaning-payment headaches when a rental needs supplies, extra hours, or a reclean handled through Cleanster.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Live Let Thrive Podcast