If you are about to list a Philadelphia home on Airbnb or a similar platform, the order matters more than the cleaning. The City wants your business set up and your licenses in hand before the listing goes live, and then the work becomes a repeatable routine: Hotel Tax due on the 15th, and a reset between every pair of guests. This guide gives you the City's own order of steps, the tax calendar, and a turnover routine built for rowhomes and condos, with the prices we publish.
We are a cleaning company, not a lawyer or an accountant, and nothing here is legal advice. The licensing and tax statements below are quotes from the City's August 25, 2026 notice for short-term rental operators and two other phila.gov pages, all read on October 17, 2026. The turnover and price statements come from our own Airbnb turnover cleaning page and booking list. Where the City or our pages are silent, we say so rather than guess.
Before the first booking: the City's order of steps
The City's notice lists the sequence in plain terms. Here it is, with the exact wording where it matters:
- Choose a business structure. "The first step is to choose your business structure, such as a sole proprietorship or a Limited Liability Company (LLC)."
- Get a Philadelphia Tax Identification Number. "Then, you must obtain a Philadelphia Tax Identification Number (PHTIN), which allows you to register for City taxes." The notice adds: "It's important to register your business with the City of Philadelphia before you start renting your property."
- Get a Commercial Activity License. "Last, you must obtain a Commercial Activity License (CAL) before conducting business in Philadelphia." The City's Commercial Activity License page says "There is no cost for a Commercial Activity License." When you apply online, "The license is issued automatically." It also says the license "does not need to be renewed."
- Get the permits for the property. The notice says you will generally need "a zoning permit approving the property's use" and "a Limited Lodging Operator License or another required rental license, depending on the type of property and occupancy."
- Then list. "Obtain these licenses and approvals before advertising your property on a booking platform."
That last line is the one hosts skip. A listing that goes live first and gets licensed later is the order the City tells you not to use.
Which rental license applies to you
The City's rental licenses page separates two cases. The Limited Lodging Operator License is for "Your primary residence or a room in it for 30 days or less (e.g. using a short-term rental platform like AirBnB)." Rentals of a property where nobody lives full time fall on the other side, listed as "other short-term rentals of properties without a primary resident (i.e. visitor accommodations)." Which one you need depends on whether you live in the home. We are not quoting fees or night limits here because we did not verify them on a City page; take them from the City's pages directly.
The money calendar: hotel tax on the 15th, income taxes on April 15
The notice states the Hotel Tax in two sentences: "The tax rate is 8.5%, and it's due on the 15th of every month for the previous month's rentals." You collect it from guests and send it to the City. If the platform collects it for you, the City says you "do not have to file separately," but also that "you are responsible for confirming that the platform is doing so." If it is not, "you must register, file, and pay the Hotel Tax yourself through the Philadelphia Tax Center."
| What | When | Source line |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel Tax (8.5%) | The 15th of every month, for the previous month's rentals | "You must collect Hotel Tax from your guests and remit it to the City." |
| Net Profits Tax | Filed and paid annually, by April 15 | Applies to sole proprietors, partnerships and some other non-corporate businesses, which "may owe" it |
| Business Income and Receipts Tax | By April 15, for the previous year's activity | "Your short-term rental activity is also subject to the Business Income and Receipts Tax (BIRT)." |
A practical habit: put the 15th on your calendar as a recurring reminder, and keep a month-by-month list of stays next to the tax return. The turnover schedule you already keep is a natural place to hold that list. For the state level and anything not on the City pages, an accountant is the right call.
The turnover: a reset for rowhomes and condos
A turnover is a short, fixed job with a hard finish line: the next guest's check-in. A rowhome adds stairs and small bathrooms; a condo adds a building with its own rules. The sequence below is the order we would use on either, and it is the same shape as the sequence on our Airbnb turnover cleaning page: access, beds and linens, kitchen and bath, the guest-facing finish, then a final check.
Before the cleaner arrives
- Access. Put the smart-lock code, lockbox instructions, key plan or concierge details in the booking notes. Test the code the day before, because a code that fails at 11 a.m. costs the whole window. Our access guide covers the options.
- Linens and towels. The service page says "Fresh linens and towels need to be available for the turnover." Keep a second full set per bed so the cleaner can remake the bed immediately instead of waiting on the dryer.
- Toiletries and paper goods. "Toiletries & paper goods replenished" is on the turnover list, so tell us in the booking notes where the stock is kept and what a full shelf looks like.
- Anything off limits. A locked owner's closet, a bed that is not part of the rental: say so in the notes.
The order of work
- Walk through first. Check for damage and left items before anything is moved. Photos of the starting condition help if there is ever a dispute.
- Strip the beds and start the laundry. Linens come off first so the longest task, laundry, starts at the beginning of the window. The service page says your cleaner can "haul the laundry or wash it on site, as arranged," so agree which one before the visit.
- Bathrooms. Spray, let it sit, then work the kitchen and come back to wipe. In a small rowhome bathroom this saves a second pass.
- Kitchen. Dishes washed and put away, appliances wiped, counters reset, trash out.
- Bedrooms and living areas, high to low. Dust surfaces, polish mirrors and glass, then remake the beds last in the room so nothing falls onto fresh sheets.
- Restock. Towels swapped, toiletries and paper goods replenished.
- Floors last, and out the door. Start on the top floor and finish at the entry, so the staircase is not tracked after it is done. On a rowhome this matters: three floors of stairs cleaned at the start are three floors of stairs walked on again.
- Final walk-through. Check the list room by room, take the finishing photos, lock up.
The checks are the same in a rowhome or a condo, but the carrying is not. On a rowhome, plan laundry around the stairs: a basement washer and a third-floor bedroom is a long carry, which is a reason to decide the laundry arrangement in advance. In a condo, ask your building about elevator reservations and where recycling and trash go, and put the answers in the notes. Our rowhome cleaning guide goes floor by floor if you want the detail.
Timing: check-out to check-in
Most turnover trouble is a window problem. The example on our service page is an 11 a.m. check-out and a 3 p.m. check-in: four hours. Our service page says we work "between your check-out and check-in" and offer "same-day resets when a slot is open," and that "tight turnarounds must be confirmed against cleaner availability." That is not a guarantee of a same-day slot, and we do not want to imply one. What you can do about it:
- Book the turnover as soon as the reservation lands, not the night before.
- Leave buffer where you can. A same-day check-in on a Saturday needs a confirmed cleaner; a two-night gap does not.
- Keep a backup plan for the one booking a month that goes sideways: a neighbor with a key, a later check-in time you can offer.
- Photo proof of the finished unit is "available on request," which lets you check the unit without driving across town.
What a turnover costs
The service page is specific about the price: Airbnb turnover cleaning uses the Standard booking price and "is not a separate per-turnover rate." The total for your unit appears before you confirm. The table shows what the booking engine charges for a one-time Standard clean at three Philadelphia homes, read October 17, 2026, before sales tax. Our Philadelphia cleaning cost page and the line-by-line price breakdown show how a home size becomes a price.
| Unit | Standard clean | Deep clean |
|---|---|---|
| 1 bed, 1 bath condo | $220.00 | $305.00 |
| 2 bed, 1 bath apartment | $230.00 | $315.00 |
| 3 bed, 1.5 bath rowhome | $275.00 | $360.00 |
Two booking-list items hosts ask about, with their listed prices: Clean Inside Fridge is $35.00, and Laundry Wash & Dry (Per Load) is $20.00. Whether your turnover needs the laundry add-on depends on the arrangement you made, so check the total shown at booking before you confirm.
Tipping is never required or expected, according to our FAQ: the price is complete on its own. We have not published a volume or calendar discount for hosts, so none is promised here.
When a turnover should become a Deep clean
A turnover resets the surfaces guests touch. Detail work such as the inside of the oven is priced on our booking list as an add-on ($35.00), so it is not something to assume inside a turnover. When a month of back-to-back stays has left a unit that looks reset but does not feel clean, or before you re-list after a gap, price a Deep clean for that unit instead. On the three homes above it adds $85.00 over the Standard clean.
Questions hosts ask
Do I really need all of this before I list?
The City says to "obtain these licenses and approvals before advertising your property on a booking platform." Which licenses depend on your property and occupancy, so the L&I rental licenses page is the place to confirm yours.
Does Hometress file hotel tax or handle licenses?
No. We clean. The City's notice puts the responsibility on the host, including confirming that the platform is collecting the tax.
Do I have to be there?
No. The service page says your cleaner can "enter, complete the reset, and lock up" without you there, using the access you share. Our access guide has the lockbox and smart-lock detail.
Is there a separate turnover rate?
No. It is the Standard booking price for your unit, shown before you confirm.
Are the cleaners vetted?
Our help center says Hometress works with background-checked independent cleaning professionals.
Your next step
List the order, then book the clean: business structure, PHTIN, Commercial Activity License, the permits for your property, and only then the listing. When the first reservation is on the calendar, see the full Airbnb turnover cleaning page or start a booking. You see your total before you pay. We currently clean in Philadelphia.