Vacation Rental Turnover
— STR cleaning dispatch

Every architectural decision serves one promise: a cleaning happens between guest checkout and the next check-in. Failure here breaks host trust irrecoverably. The backup queue and QA photo audit are the safeguards.

The single most important diagram for this project. Build Leads coming from the 🟢 projects assume "Mac mini per host." That's wrong. The Mac mini is the operator backbone. Hosts and cleaners are end users of a multi-tenant SaaS layer running on that backbone.

Same canonical 5-agent pattern. QA Agent's photo audit is the differentiator here — Claude Sonnet vision spot-checks submitted photos against the checklist to catch quality failures before the host sees them.

All four channels are in active use, but split differently than other projects: Email + SMS dominate cleaner notifications; Dashboard dominates host workflow; Website Chat = host onboarding; Telegram = ops escalations.

From calendar event to payment release. Each transition is enforced by a timer or rule. The 15-min response window is what makes same-day promise viable.

sequenceDiagram
    participant Cal as Airbnb/Vrbo iCal
    participant Be as Backend
    participant Cl as Cleaner App
    participant QA as QA Agent (vision)
    participant Ho as Host
    participant St as Stripe Connect

    Cal->>Be: Checkout event detected (≤30s)
    Be->>Be: Create Job · status=queued
    Be->>Cl: Push + SMS to matched cleaner
    Note over Cl,Be: 15-min response window
    alt Cleaner claims within 15 min
        Cl->>Be: status=claimed
    else No claim
        Be->>Cl: Auto-reassign to backup #1
        Note right of Be: Falls through top 3 backups
    end
    Cl->>Be: status=in_progress (cleaner on-site)
    Cl->>Be: Photo checklist room-by-room
    Cl->>Be: Submit job · status=submitted
    Be->>QA: Vision spot-check photos vs checklist
    alt QA passes
        Be->>Ho: Push notification — review photos
        alt Host approves within 24h
            Ho->>Be: status=approved
        else No response in 24h
            Be->>Be: Auto-approve · status=approved
        end
        Be->>St: Release payment · cleaner payout
        St-->>Cl: Payout
    else QA flags
        Be->>Ho: Push — review · QA flag attached
        opt Host disputes
            Be->>Be: status=disputed · operator review
        end
    end

The QA Agent runs Claude Sonnet with vision on every submitted job. It compares submitted photos against the property's checklist and flags anomalies before the host sees them. This is what prevents "the one bad clean" from killing host trust (R2).

Two-sided marketplaces fail without supply and demand simultaneously. The Joshua Tree concentrated launch + month-1 free + 30 days manual dispatch solves the chicken-and-egg. Self-reinforcing flywheel kicks in by Month 3–4.

Flat per-job pricing by property size. Platform retains 15–20% commission. Optional host subscription for 5+ unit property managers ($50–$200/mo) gives priority dispatch + custom checklists. Future Premium tier ($1–$5k/mo) for 50+ unit managers gets dedicated infrastructure.

Phase 1 builds the platform and seeds Joshua Tree. Phase 2 automates. Phase 3 scales market 1 to economic viability. Phase 4 launches market 2.

Eight risks. R1 (cleaner cancels, no backup) and R6 (cold-start) are the two High/High risks the operations design directly addresses. R4 (AB5 reclassification) is the regulatory landmine that gates expansion to other California markets.

Five core entities. Job is the central hub — every transition (queued / claimed / in_progress / submitted / approved / disputed) drives operations and billing.

erDiagram
    HOST ||--o{ PROPERTY : "owns"
    HOST }o--o{ CLEANER : "preferred"
    PROPERTY ||--o{ JOB : "schedules"
    CLEANER ||--o{ JOB : "claims"
    JOB ||--|| PAYMENT : "settles"

    HOST {
        uuid id PK
        jsonb contact
        bool identity_verified
        string stripe_customer_id
        enum tier "per_job|subscription|premium"
    }
    PROPERTY {
        uuid id PK
        uuid host_id FK
        string address
        int beds
        int baths
        text key_access "encrypted"
        string ical_feed_url
        enum calendar_sync_status
        uuid cleaning_template_id
        text special_instructions
        bool active
    }
    CLEANER {
        uuid id PK
        jsonb contact
        bool identity_verified
        enum background_check_status
        int service_radius_mi
        string vehicle
        decimal rating_avg
        int jobs_completed
        int no_show_count
        string stripe_connect_account_id
        enum status "active|suspended"
    }
    JOB {
        uuid id PK
        uuid property_id FK
        uuid cleaner_id FK
        timestamp scheduled_start
        timestamp scheduled_end
        enum status "queued|claimed|in_progress|submitted|approved|disputed"
        jsonb checklist
        text_array photos
        int pricing_cents
        int commission_cents
        timestamp claim_at
        timestamp complete_at
        timestamp approve_at
    }
    PAYMENT {
        uuid id PK
        uuid job_id FK
        int host_charge_cents
        int cleaner_payout_cents
        string stripe_payment_intent_id
        string stripe_transfer_id
        enum status "held|released|refunded"
    }

Days 1–7 build the operator backbone. Days 8–10 are platform integrations + Joshua Tree pre-launch (cleaner recruitment + host outreach). MVP build (Next.js + React Native) continues into Week 2.

The hybrid pattern in detail. Different from the 🟢 archetypes: only the operator backbone is on Pro tier. Hosts and cleaners are platform users. Premium tier (50+ unit PMs) is the future path back to true per-client Mac minis.

First of the two-sided marketplace archetypes. Shares more with Network for Creators (the other 🟡 hybrid) than with the Ventura cluster — both need vision-model fraud/quality detection, Stripe Connect Express, Persona + Checkr verification stack.

STR

Short-term rental — Airbnb, Vrbo, direct-booking properties.

Turnover

The cleaning + restock between two guest stays. The unit of work this platform dispatches.

iCal

Standard calendar feed format used by Airbnb/Vrbo. Our primary calendar sync mechanism in Phase 1.

AB5

California law on independent contractor classification. Treats cleaners as W-2 in many cases. Hard constraint on California market expansion — must be addressed per market.

Stripe Connect Express

Stripe account type for marketplace payouts to cleaners. Express = simplified onboarding, suitable for individual cleaners.

Host

Demand-side customer. An Airbnb/Vrbo property owner. 1–10 properties typical; 5+ unlocks subscription tier; 50+ unlocks future Premium tier.

Cleaner

Supply-side participant. Independent cleaner or small cleaning business. Bonded + background-checked. Builds reputation through ratings.

Job

The transaction. Lifecycle: queued → claimed → in_progress → submitted → approved (or disputed) → payment released.

Backup queue

Top 3 nearby cleaners maintained as fallback dispatch targets. Auto-reassign on no-claim within 15 min.

Photo checklist

Room-by-room before/after photo requirement. QA Agent (Sonnet vision) audits against the property's template.

Premium tier

Future $1–5k/mo subscription for 50+ unit property managers. Includes dedicated Mac mini (true Pro per-client pattern).

Hybrid pattern

The 🟡 Hatchstacks tier: operator backbone is full Pro tier; end users are on multi-tenant SaaS. Premium tier customers can opt up.