Challenges arise for cleaning businesses in Tunturi-Lapland due to cabin rental demands on Saturdays

In Tunturi-Lapland, Saturdays are causing significant challenges for cleaning businesses as the influx of weekend cabin rentals leads to overwhelming demand. Pirre Mansikkasalo, an entrepreneur in maintenance services at Levi, notes that most cabin owners prefer Saturday as the changeover day. “As maintenance providers, we would like to know the departure time from the cabin at least the day before,” she states, indicating that cleaning often starts as early as 6 AM. However, the check-out time has been moved earlier while some cabins permit check-in only by late evening.

Mansikkasalo has suggested moving the changeover to Fridays, but this idea has not gained traction due to many travelers beginning their weekends on Friday. Tourists typically leave early Saturday morning or drive north on Friday night. For extended weekends, Thursdays are also considered as changeover days.

Lomarengas, a cabin rental agency, is working with maintenance companies to alleviate the strain from Saturday transitions. Marko Säkkinen, Lomarengas’ service manager, mentions that booking start and end times have been modified, allowing customers to choose their arrival and departure dates rather than adhering to a rigid Saturday-to-Saturday system.

Mansikkasalo’s business, which employs her self and a seasonal worker from France, usually requires two people to clean a cabin. She emphasizes the unpredictability of cleaning conditions and recalls a memorable situation involving a firework mishap that resulted in significant mess. Lomarengas emphasizes the importance of including final cleaning in all bookings to maintain cleanliness and reduce the frequency of additional charges for damaged properties, which are infrequent but can be substantial.