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.
Why Hotels Outsource Cleaning to Optus Glean
In the hospitality industry, cleanliness is not a background function. It is the single most visible indicator of quality that a guest experiences. A spotless room, a pristine lobby, fresh towels, and gleaming bathrooms are the difference between a five-star review and a complaint on TripAdvisor. They determine whether a guest returns, whether they recommend you, and whether your online ratings attract or repel future bookings.
Yet maintaining consistent housekeeping standards is one of the hardest operational challenges hotels face. Recruitment is difficult. Staff turnover is high. Seasonal fluctuations mean you need twice the workforce in July as you do in January. Training standards slip. Equipment ages. Linen management becomes a logistical headache. And through all of it, rooms need to be turned to a guest-ready standard every single day, without fail.
Optus Glean takes this entire burden off your plate. We provide fully managed housekeeping services for hotels, B&Bs, guesthouses, and serviced accommodation across Ireland. Our per-room pricing model gives you complete cost transparency. Our integrated laundry service means your linen is collected, washed, and returned without a separate supplier. And our trained, Garda vetted teams deliver the same standard in room 1 as they do in room 100.
Guest Room Turnovers
The guest room turnover is the core of hotel housekeeping. Every room must be stripped, cleaned, restocked, and presented to guest-ready standard before the next arrival. Our room turnover specification covers:
- Stripping all bed linen, pillowcases, and duvet covers
- Inspecting mattress protectors and replacing if soiled
- Making beds with fresh, laundered linen to hotel standard
- Full bathroom clean: toilet, bath/shower, basin, mirrors, taps, tiles
- Replacing all towels with fresh laundered sets
- Restocking guest amenities: soap, shampoo, conditioner, body wash
- Vacuuming all carpet and mopping hard-floor areas
- Dusting all surfaces: bedside tables, desk, wardrobe, TV unit, windowsills
- Cleaning and polishing all mirrors and glass
- Emptying bins and replacing liners
- Sanitising all high-touch surfaces: remote controls, door handles, light switches, kettle
- Checking and reporting any maintenance issues (light bulbs, dripping taps, damage)
Per-Room Pricing
We price hotel cleaning on a per-room turnover basis, giving you complete cost predictability. There are no fixed monthly fees apply to manage, no overtime to negotiate, and no surprise invoices at month-end.
| Room Type | Price Per Turnover | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Double / Twin | €15 – €20 | Full clean, linen change, restock |
| Family Room | €15 – €20 | Full clean, linen change, restock |
| Suite / Premium Room | €18 – €25 | Full clean, linen change, restock, lounge area |
| Stay-Over Service | €8 – €12 | Tidy, restock towels, empty bins, bathroom refresh |
All prices exclusive of VAT. Linen laundering can be included in the per-room rate or managed as a separate line depending on your preference. Volume discounts apply for properties with 50+ rooms.
Public Area Cleaning
Guests form their first impression in the lobby, and they carry it through every corridor, restaurant, bar, and conference room they enter. Public area cleaning must be continuous, discreet, and thorough. Our public area specification covers:
- Lobbies and reception — Floor cleaning, furniture polishing, glass doors and screens, sanitising check-in desks and kiosk touchscreens
- Corridors and lifts — Vacuuming, spot cleaning walls and doors, cleaning lift interiors including buttons and mirrors
- Restaurants and bars — Table and chair cleaning, floor maintenance, sanitising menus and condiment sets, glass and crockery polishing
- Conference and meeting rooms — Pre-event setup cleaning, inter-session refreshes, post-event deep cleans
- Washrooms — Scheduled checks and cleaning throughout the day, restocking consumables, deep cleaning during quiet periods
- Leisure facilities — Gym equipment sanitisation, pool area cleaning, spa and treatment room cleaning
Integrated Laundry Service
Most hotel cleaning companies clean rooms but leave you to manage linen with a separate laundry supplier. This creates coordination headaches, delivery mismatches, and quality inconsistencies. Optus Glean is different. We offer an integrated laundry service that handles your entire linen operation alongside your cleaning contract.
- Collection of soiled linen from room trolleys and laundry chutes
- Professional washing, drying, pressing, and folding
- Delivery of fresh linen to floor pantries or housekeeping stores
- Bed sheets, duvet covers, pillowcases, towels, bath mats, and table linen
- Quality inspection at every stage: stain checking, damage reporting, stock rotation
- Linen hire available if you prefer not to own your stock
One provider for cleaning and laundry means one invoice, one quality standard, and one point of contact. It is simpler, more consistent, and typically 15 to 25 percent more cost-effective than managing two separate suppliers. See our full commercial laundry service for details.
Our Services for the Hospitality Sector
Hotel & Hospitality Cleaning
Guest room turnovers, public area cleaning, and back-of-house services for hotels, B&Bs, and guesthouses.
View service →Laundry & Linen Services
Integrated laundry for bed linen, towels, table linen, and uniforms. Collection, wash, press, and return.
View service →Carpet & Floor Cleaning
Deep carpet cleaning, hard floor restoration, and periodic maintenance for high-traffic hospitality environments.
View service →Why Hotels Choose Optus Glean
Guest Experience First
Every room, every corridor, every washroom is cleaned to the standard your guests expect. Consistent quality across every room, every day, regardless of occupancy levels or seasonal pressure.
Cleaning + Laundry in One Contract
No more coordinating separate cleaning and linen suppliers. One provider, one invoice, one quality standard. Integrated laundry typically saves hotels 15 to 25 percent compared to managing two contracts.
Seasonal Flexibility
Occupancy in July is not the same as January. Our staffing model scales up and down with your occupancy, so you never pay for idle labour during quiet periods or scramble for staff during peak season.
Per-Room Cost Transparency
Fixed per-room pricing means you know exactly what each room turnover costs. No fixed monthly fees apply ambiguity, no overtime surprises, no hidden charges. Your housekeeping budget is predictable.
Request a Hotel Cleaning Quote
Complete the form below and our hospitality cleaning specialist will contact you within 24 hours.
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