Even in a volatile economic climate, homeowners, tenants, and business owners still make room for professional cleaning services.
According to the latest edition of the Home Service Economic Report released by the operations management software firm Jobber, both residential and commercial cleaning have been resilient despite other industries slowing down.
GROWTH OF INDUSTRY
Statista Research Department estimates that the residential cleaning industry will generate market revenues of $40.4 billion at the end of 2025.
Katie Burkey of the Molly Maid franchise in Mahoning County/Trumbull County says that the rise of cleaning services is partly due to an increase in the time spent at home as a result of the pandemic.
There’s a huge influx of people who work from home. They don’t have the time and are already working too much. “They probably want to go out as much as possible,” she says.
Burkey says that the demographics of clients for cleaning services are changing. Burkey says that the older generation is likely to be more willing to invest in professional cleaning services. She says that her clients are older than 35.
“We tend to attract a bit more of the over-50s population.” She says that we have a lot of younger professionals in the active phase of their lives, with kids, activities, and careers.
Burkey says that there are many reasons why a person might hire a cleaning service. They may be physically incapable of cleaning or lack the desire, time, or knowledge to do so.
According to an American Cleaning Institute survey, Americans spend, on average, six hours cleaning their homes every week. 28% of respondents would prefer to spend more than seven hours cleaning at home each week. Only 10% of Americans wash their homes for less than an hour per week, according to a survey by the American Cleaning Institute.
Molly Maid is a 29-year-old company in the Mahoning Valley. Burkey, who has owned her business for over 20 years, has increased the number of employees to 30.
Burkey reports that the company has experienced rapid growth in recent years. It now serves Mahoning Trumbull and Columbiana Counties.
It was a struggle to find employees, maintain staffing levels, and do other things. We definitely saw an increase in demand from customers and clients. “We have also been able to secure employees,” says Ms. Sherry.
Burkey believes that the cleaning industry is attractive to both employees and customers. It is a full-time, dayside job that runs from 8 am to 5 pm. There are no holidays or weekends.
In 2021, the United States janitorial service industry will have 1,063,988 companies. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2023, there will be over 236,500 new jobs.
“I believe that this is a great perk for people who want to return to the workforce but don’t necessarily want to work in retail.” Burkey says that it has been a great opportunity to get some help.
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, residential cleaning trends are growing at a rate of 20% per year. By 2024, 80% of homes will be using house cleaning services.
Jim Standohar is the marketing manager at ServPro Team Dobson. He says that people turn to cleaning services because of their busy schedules, aging, and the pandemic.
Standohar adds that the baby-boomer generation is now in their 60s and may be more likely to require cleaning services at home. Lack of energy, time constraints, and health concerns are also factors. The COVID-19 scare pushed commercial cleaning to the top for two years and will likely remain on the budget of larger corporations that share space.
The Cleveland market was entered by ServPro’s co-owners, James Dobson, Katie Dobson, and Andrew Dobson, in late 2021. Team Dobson now covers 12 counties in Northeastern Ohio. The company’s workforce had grown to over 200 since 2011, when it first acquired a license in Mahoning County.
ServPro moved its mitigation and janitorial team to a new facility adjacent to the Youngstown Road headquarters of Warren. The new site accommodates the company’s equipment, as well as a fleet of over 100 commercial vehicles.
Standohar says, “We have seen a lot of growth in our janitorial and general cleaning services this year as several large companies are looking to centralize their services.” This aligns with cleaning services and mitigation services. It isn’t easy to provide a service at an affordable price while maintaining a viable workforce.
BEYOND BUSINESS
Standohar believes that cleaning services will always be required, and ServPro is committed to providing quality and affordability to its clients. Standohar estimates that 90% of ServPro’s clients are commercial, while 10% are residential.
He says that companies evaluate their cleaning services frequently to see if they are still valuable or if they have become stale. “With higher wages becoming the norm, it is more difficult to stay profitable and keep labor costs under control.”
The franchise provides a complete complement of services, including water, biohazard, and fire cleanup, as well as HVAC cleaning, carpet cleaning, reconstruction, asbestos abatement, and storm damage response.
The Dobson Storm response team will travel more than 6,500 kilometers in 2021 to help victims of storm damage.
Standohar said that the company is constantly reengineering services in order to remain profitable and competitive.
Burkey says that the Molly Maid company is always looking for ways to give to the community. Ms. Molly Foundation is a nonprofit that helps victims of domestic abuse.
Burkey says that the local franchise raises funds annually for Someplace Safe, a shelter in Warren, and Sojourner House, a home in Youngstown. This year, Burkey will donate $2,000 as well as 14 totes of diapers and wipes, along with toiletries, personal care products, and other items.
“We give back to the community that serves us. I like to empower my staff so that they can be a part of that, as well as let our customers know that we are not only here to collect money. “We are here to help not just them but also people in need throughout the county.”