Finding a quality housekeeper in Los Angeles can be challenging. The distances between areas where housekeeping candidates typically live and where clients with large estates or large private homes live can be between a 1.5 and 3 hours commuting time. In addition to this, finding a top quality executive housekeeper in California can be more difficult than New York, mainly due to the fact the east coast has been hiring estate-level domestic staff for longer and their proximity to Europe has seen a steady stream of relocation of international families with a long history of formal living and hiring a full staff of domestic employees.
Finding a high quality executive housekeeper in San Francisco is even more challenging. Commute times can be even longer, cost of living is higher, and wealth in the area is newer due to the tech industry boom. In LA, the properties in Malibu, Beverly Hills, Hollywood Hills, and Bel Air can be over 20,000 sq ft. This is mostly entertainment families or real estate and this has been a need for many years as opposed to the more newly created wealth in San Francisco.
If the pool of high quality executive housekeepers is small, how can I ensure I find a good housekeeper?
The answer is hire a housekeeper full-time, 40-50 hours a week and offer health insurance. Monday to Friday is by far the most popular schedule as most housekeepers have their own families. Also, pay a competitive salary which is $65-90,000 in LA and 80-110,000 in San Francisco, both with benefits. If you are looking for part time help, pay competitively. $35-50 an hour and employ them for the days and hours they can offer. Flexible schedules can allow staff to work around childcare and other responsibilities. This can tempt a truly good housekeeper to take a part time role long term.
Do all executive housekeepers have excellent laundry skills? No, they don’t. Some do and this gives that housekeeper an edge on the others. Often estates or formal homes hire a part time laundress in LA for $45-55 an hour for a few days a week. If you have very high quality couture clothing this can be a good solution to risking sending your clothes to a dry cleaners.
Contact our office today to find the right housekeeper for your home.