The Optus Glean promise: predictability
Three pillars. Three commitments. No exceptions.
Predictable cost. One fixed monthly fee, set against a defined scope and an annual indexed review. No variable hours. No surprise invoices. No padded callout charges. Budgeted once, paid by Direct Debit, reviewed once a year.
Predictable presence. The site is cleaned every day it is meant to be cleaned. A named primary cleaner is rostered to your contract, supported by a named relief who is already vetted, inducted, and trained on the same colour-coded system and IPC standard. The schedule does not depend on whether one person is available on one day.
Predictable freedom. A single point of accountability. One contract. One named manager. One number to call. Cleaning is no longer a problem the hotel has to manage — it is a service that runs.
Why cleaning in Ireland is structurally hard to get right
Most cleaning provision in Ireland — including in healthcare-adjacent settings — is delivered by a workforce that is structurally part-time and casual. A significant proportion of operatives across the sector also work as healthcare assistants in nursing homes, residential care, and acute hospitals. Cleaning shifts are typically taken when healthcare shifts are not available, and released when they are. This pattern is consistent with CSO labour data on accommodation, food, and administrative-support employment, and it is the underlying reason that buyers across Ireland encounter inconsistency from agencies they have contracted in good faith.
The pattern is reinforced by two background pressures specific to Ireland. Housing affordability limits the catchment for any role paying at or near the minimum wage. The Contract Cleaning Employment Regulation Order rate of €14.80 per hour for 2026, set under the Labour Court's sectoral employment framework, sits close enough to flexible care-sector pay that operatives drift toward whichever shift pays slightly more on the day. Both pressures pull cleaning staff away from contracted shifts and toward casual healthcare work.
The result, from the buyer's perspective, is the experience most practice managers, facilities leads, and procurement officers in Ireland describe: a clean that is half-completed when the contracted cleaner is available, missed entirely when they are not, and accompanied by recurring conversations with the agency about cover that may or may not arrive.
This is the structural problem Optus Glean is built to solve. Our operatives are fully PAYE-employed with guaranteed weekly hours, paid leave, and pension contributions under Irish auto-enrolment. They are paid above the ERO floor deliberately — because the structural reliability of the service depends on the cleaner choosing to remain in the role rather than rotating through casual healthcare shifts. A named primary cleaner is assigned to your site, supported by a named relief, both Garda-vetted and trained to Optus Glean's documented HIQA-aligned IPC standard.
The Pub Cleaning Challenge
Pubs are among the most demanding environments for commercial cleaning. Late closing times mean cleaning happens in the early hours of the morning. High footfall concentrates wear on floors, washrooms, and seating. Beer, spirits, and sugary mixers create a sticky residue that standard mopping cannot remove. And washrooms endure more use — and more abuse — per square metre than almost any other commercial setting.
Most pub owners rely on bar staff to clean up after closing. The problem is that bar staff have already worked a long shift. Their cleaning is understandably rushed — a quick sweep, a mop across the floor, and a wipe of the bar top. Within weeks, this approach creates a cumulative hygiene problem: floors become permanently tacky, washrooms develop persistent odours, upholstery absorbs spillage, and the general atmosphere of the premises deteriorates. Customers notice, even if they do not say it directly.
Optus Glean provides dedicated late-night and early-morning cleaning teams for pubs, bars, late bars, and nightclubs. Our teams arrive after closing and complete a thorough clean before your staff return the next day. The result is a genuinely clean premises every single morning — not a premises that has been given a cursory once-over by tired bar staff at 2am.
What Our Pub Cleaning Service Covers
Our pub cleaning specification is built for the specific demands of licensed premises. Every nightly clean includes the following areas:
Bar Area
- Bar counter: full wipe-down, degreasing, and polish
- Back-bar shelving: bottle fronts, display areas, glass shelving
- Beer taps and drip trays: cleaned and sanitised nightly
- Glass washing area: surfaces, sinks, and draining boards
- Ice well surrounds: cleaned and sanitised
- Speed rails, garnish stations, and bar mats
Floor Care
Pub floors are the biggest cleaning challenge. The combination of beer, spirits, mixers, ice melt, and foot traffic creates a sugar-and-alcohol residue that bonds to the floor surface. Standard mopping spreads the residue without removing it, which is why so many pub floors feel permanently sticky.
Optus Glean uses a two-stage floor treatment. First, we apply an alkaline degreaser designed to break down sugar and alcohol residue at the molecular level. Second, we machine-scrub the floor (or pressure-mop for smaller areas) to lift and remove the dissolved residue completely. The floor dries clean, not tacky. For pubs with heavy weekend trade, we recommend a weekly machine scrub in addition to nightly mopping. The cost is modest; the difference is dramatic.
Washroom Deep Cleaning
Pub washrooms endure more use per square metre than almost any other commercial washroom in Ireland. On a busy Saturday night, a single washroom cubicle might be used 200+ times. The result is predictable: odours, blockages, graffiti, broken fittings, and general deterioration.
Our nightly washroom clean covers all sanitaryware (WCs, urinals, basins), floor mopping with disinfectant, mirror cleaning, consumable replenishment (soap, paper towels, toilet rolls), bin emptying, and cubicle door and partition wiping. We also provide a scheduled washroom deep clean service (weekly or fortnightly) that addresses descaling, grout cleaning, urinal trap maintenance, and persistent odour treatment.
Seating and Lounge Areas
- Tables: full surface wipe and sanitisation
- Chairs: seat and backrest wiping, leg cleaning
- Booth and banquette upholstery: vacuuming, spot cleaning of spillages
- Beer garden furniture (seasonal): wiping and debris clearance
- Snug areas, alcoves, and window seating
General Areas
- Entrance doors, mats, and lobby
- Stairways (where applicable): vacuuming, handrail wiping
- Light fittings and decorative features: dusting and cobweb removal
- Gaming machines and pool tables: surface wiping
- Outdoor smoking area: litter clearance, ashtray emptying, sweeping
- Waste removal to external bins
Late-Night and Early-Morning Scheduling
We understand that pubs do not operate on 9-to-5 hours. Our cleaning teams work the hours that your business demands. For pubs closing at 11:30pm (standard licence), our team can arrive from midnight and have the premises ready by 6:00am. For late bars closing at 2:30am, our team arrives from 3:00am. For nightclubs closing at 3:00am or later, we schedule from 4:00am.
All our late-night operatives are Garda vetted and trained in lone working and premises security protocols. They hold keys and alarm codes as necessary, and our operations team monitors check-in and check-out times remotely. You receive a cleaning report each morning confirming completion.
Pub Cleaning Pricing
| Service | Price Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Nightly cleaning (small pub) | €400 – €650/month | Single bar, 7 nights/week |
| Nightly cleaning (mid pub with lounge) | €650 – €1,000/month | Bar + lounge, 7 nights/week |
| Nightly cleaning (large pub / late bar) | €1,000 – €1,500/month | Multiple floors/areas, 7 nights |
| Weekly floor machine scrub | €80 – €200 | Alkaline treatment + scrub |
| Washroom managed service | €120 – €300/month | Consumables + hygiene units |
Note: Prices exclusive of VAT. Bundling nightly cleaning with washroom services and floor care saves 10–20% on the combined contract.
Food-Serving Pubs and Gastropubs
The modern Irish pub increasingly serves food, which introduces HACCP compliance requirements for any kitchen or food preparation area. Optus Glean provides combined bar and kitchen cleaning for gastropubs. The kitchen is cleaned to HACCP standards with documented schedules, food-safe chemicals, and colour-coded equipment. The bar area receives standard pub cleaning. This combined approach is more efficient and more cost-effective than using separate providers for bar and kitchen cleaning. If your pub also needs table linen laundering, we bundle that too.
Serving Pubs Across Ireland
There are over 7,000 licensed premises in Ireland. From traditional pubs in rural villages to late bars in Dublin, Cork, Galway, and Limerick, Optus Glean has the late-night teams, the equipment, and the scheduling systems to keep your pub clean, hygienic, and ready for customers every day. We serve independent pub owners, pub groups, hotel bars, and nightclub operators across all 26 counties.
Frequently asked questions
How much does hotel and hospitality cleaning cost in Ireland in 2026?
A hotel, restaurant, or function venue is priced as a fixed monthly fee tied to scope: public-area programme, back-of-house compliance cleaning, washrooms, function spaces, and out-of-hours deep cleans. The Contract Cleaning ERO 2026 sets a €14.80/hour labour floor across the sector, but reputable providers quote the contract — multi-year term, annual indexed review, single monthly Direct Debit — not the hour.
What standards apply to hospitality cleaning in Ireland?
The FSAI Hygiene of Foodstuffs Regulations and HACCP principles set the back-of-house standard; HSE Environmental Health Officers inspect against them. Failte Ireland's classification standards drive the guest-facing benchmark in hotels and serviced apartments. The cleaning programme must produce a documented audit trail — SDS, signed task logs, contact-time records — that supports the GM's FSAI compliance file.
What's the FSAI requirement for back-of-house cleaning?
FSAI inspections check that food-contact and food-adjacent surfaces are cleaned and disinfected to documented frequencies, that chemical use is controlled and justified per the SDS, that colour-coded equipment prevents cross-contamination, and that records evidence the programme. The cleaning provider's job is to deliver and document — the GM and head chef remain the duty-holders, but a credible provider makes audit-ready evidence routine.
What's the difference between guest-facing and back-of-house cleaning standards?
Guest-facing cleaning is judged on visible standard — finish, presentation, scent, consistency across rooms — driven by Failte Ireland classification and TripAdvisor reality. Back-of-house cleaning is judged on FSAI and HACCP compliance — food-safe surfaces, validated chemicals, documented frequencies. A reputable provider runs both under one contract with one named site lead, not as separate jobs subcontracted to different crews.
What's the difference between PAYE and casual cleaning contracts in hospitality?
A PAYE-employed cleaner is on payroll with the company that signs the contract, paid above the Contract Cleaning ERO €14.80/hour floor, Garda-vetted where required, with paid leave and PRSI/pension. A casual or self-employed operative is none of those things and rotates between venues. PAYE staffing is the only model that supports a named primary cleaner who actually knows your kitchen extract schedule and your function-room setup pattern.
How do I evaluate a cleaning provider for a hotel?
Three checks. One: are the cleaners PAYE-employed by the company that signs the contract, or subcontracted? Two: who is the named site lead and how is back-of-house separated from guest-facing crew? Three: can the provider produce method statements and SDS that satisfy an FSAI inspection on day one of the contract — not "we'll get there in a few months".
What should be in a cleaning contract for a hotel or restaurant?
Scope per zone (front of house, guest rooms, function spaces, kitchens, waste rooms, washrooms), back-of-house frequencies tied to FSAI and HACCP, named site lead and crew, the chemical regime with SDS and contact times, colour-coded equipment commitment, fixed monthly fee, annual indexed review, audit-ready reporting, and a clean exit clause. No per-hour pricing.
How often should function spaces and event venues be cleaned?
Function spaces are cleaned to event turnaround — pre-event reset, mid-event support where contracted, post-event deep clean — over and above the daily public-area programme. The cleaning provider should hold a known-volume retainer with named relief crews available for weekend and out-of-hours peaks. In Ireland, larger function venues typically pre-book extra crews for the November-to-January season.
How Optus Glean handles staff shortages
Every Optus Glean contract is staffed on a redundancy model rather than a single-person model. A named primary cleaner is assigned to the site at contract start. A named relief is assigned alongside them. Both are PAYE-employed by Optus Glean, both are Garda-vetted, both are inducted on the site's specific layout, access protocols, and colour-coded equipment system, and both are trained to the same documented HIQA-aligned IPC standard. Substitution is built into the contract from the first day, not arranged on the day cover is needed.
Sick day cover. When the primary cleaner is unable to work, the named relief is deployed. The hotel site contact is notified by 06:30 on the morning of the absence by SMS or email, with the name of the relief who is attending. The relief follows the same task list, uses the same equipment, and finishes within the same window. The standard of clean is unchanged because the relief was prepared for this scenario before the absence happened.
Annual leave cover. Annual leave is rostered weeks in advance and the relief is scheduled to cover the full leave period. The hotel is informed at the start of the leave period — not on the morning leave begins. This is the same model used in clinical rota management: known absences are pre-staffed, not improvised.
Long-term cover. If the primary cleaner is absent for more than two weeks (extended illness, parental leave, bereavement leave), cover is drawn from the wider trained bench rather than relying on the single named relief. The hotel is kept informed of the cover plan, the named individuals involved, and the expected duration. Continuity of standard is maintained because every operative on the bench is trained to the same documented standard.
Permanent reassignment. If the primary cleaner moves to a new permanent role within Optus Glean — promotion, relocation, retirement — the relief is promoted to primary on a planned timetable, a new relief is trained on the site, and both are introduced to the hotel before the handover takes effect. There is no day on which the hotel discovers, after the fact, that their cleaner has changed.
Substitution is Optus Glean's operational problem, not the hotel's risk to absorb. The buyer pays a fixed monthly fee for a defined scope to be delivered, every day it is meant to be delivered. The mechanism by which we deliver it — primary, relief, bench, retraining — is our cost to manage and our risk to carry.
Last reviewed: 2026-05-06
