This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
One reason I prefer one night stays is because I don’t charge a cleaning fee and it is indeed less cleaning than a longer stay. Maybe two nights and 6 nights are the same. I’m not
disputing anyone’s experience but in mine, it’s not the same if it’s one day or several days.
One day stays use fewer towels, so there is less laundry. Certain things don’t have to be restocked because the guest didn’t use it all like q-tips, refillable soaps (I’m not one that always tops off), kleenex. There’s more dust and dirt, more caked on, dried up stuff stuck everywhere. There’s more dried water spots that take more effort to polish off. People staying longer eat and drink more and produce more trash. There’s more hair on everything, and doing things like running the sticky roller over the sheets before washing takes longer. Organic stains multiply like magic. Stuff that gets sprayed on the mirror (perfume, hair product?) is greater in volume and adhesion.
Maybe it’s not an unbearable added effort, but it’s 100% not “same.”
That’s probably quite true for the vast majority of one-night bookings. Also if guests just need a place to sleep and shower, arrive fairly late and get back on the road early.
But I’ve also read posts where the hosts couldn’t believe what a mess the guests managed to create in the 15 hrs they were there.
With probably 500+ one night bookings under my belt, I’m sure it’s true for the vast majority. Here, it’s probably true for 90% of them and that’s with a good percentage having dogs with them. However, almost none have young children and I’m right here and do my own cleaning. I could imagine that personalizing the experience, or guests realizing I’m going to be going in right after they leave might alter their behavior.
The youngsters who left the big mess almost got a message saying “are you coming back because your unfinished breakfast is still sitting on the table.” But I decided just getting to work cleaning was a better use of my time.
I could come up with all kinds of rationales of why my experience is different than many others and also probably not the norm internationally.
I know there are lots of people like you who are unhappy about cleaning fees. I recently moved away from charging cleaning fees, and I hide it in my daily rate using discounts for longer stays. So guests still pay a cleaning fee, but they don’t see it broken out and they are happy that I didn’t charge them a cleaning fee.
I did this too, starting in January. I have bookings into the fall, with some gaps until then but not lots. I do not give a discount for longer stays but for some reason I am still getting more 7-10 day bookings than I ever did last year (when I gave a discount for 1 week). My theory is that being able to search for total price of the stay is helping me relative to my competition, since I also don’t charge a pet fee.
I don’t think that the fee is too much either… but then I figure the cleaning cost into the price of the room. I’m not fond of the extra cleaning fee charge. Although I do list a few bucks, just because. Don’t ask me questions. I’m too tired to think things logically right now.
That just made me think- when the cleaning fee is separate, if a guest cancels after they are past a full refund cut-off date, they get the entire cleaning fee back, plus any refund due under your cancellation policy. If the cleaning fee is rolled into the nightly fee, the host would come out financially ahead compared to if it was separate.
No, I habe a 250m2 House where charge a €300 cleaningfee. It takes 20 hours to properly clean (and I have 6 hours between check-out and check-in)
And it does not matter if 2 guest stay 1 night or 12 for a whole week, the procedure is exactly the same.
I mostly have a 5-7 night minimum. But during the low season I accept 2 night stays. And people still book knowing they pay a high cleaning fee.
And guest compliment on how clean it is.
And I am not making any profit on it, it is exactly what I have to pay my cleaners. I even loose some money because of taxes.
And the host is right. As a host you should know to read a listing before booking.
they do have a two tier cleaning fee. one if for short stays: 2 nights, and the other for longer stays.
oh I disagree with this one Sarah. for a one week booking i’d have to clean under the sofa, wipe down all the skirts, archs, top of fridge, de-cobweb, etc etc. for a one night stay, where I know what I cleaned and mopped yesterday, I know I don’t have to do a thorough clean under the sofa, or pull out the chest from the wall to clean behind there. usually I eyeball it and if I’m in a rush (ie, doing 2 or 3 turnovers that day) I’ll skip it (esp if it’s another 1 night stay). I can end up cleaning the one space 4 times in a week, and I know I don’t need to clean everything every time. by ‘everything’ i mean spaces like top of the fridge, or de-cobwebbing under the outdoor table. But for a week long stay I know there are going to be cobwebs, dust and more mess that I usually see. My overnight guests barely use the kitchen, so things like the oven, fridge and other items are still clean. Week long guests incur much more cleaning, esp in the kitchen.
FWIW I don’t charge a cleaning fee, as I don’t like it as a guest, and that’s how I tend to run my business.
And having just done a trip and stayed in 4 hotels you can bet I was most curious about their cleanliness standard and I can confirm that all of them had dust collections in the corners, on window sills, in air vents and behind furniture. One 4* hotel has mismatched glassware and only 1 coffee cup. I was astounded, cos these are the things that airbnb guests might mark you down for, but somehow in a hotel no one cares? Sometimes I think the review process just encourages guests to get nitpicky (especially as the review prompt tell us both “let Guest/Host know what they could do better”)
preach!
otherwise known as “dream guests”.
I am often this guest, but I usually choose a cheap and cheerful motel instead, as ABBs are too expensive.
most times I stay in a hotel, I don’t even bother to review them. Most of the time, my travel is not about the hotel, and I have better things to do than review every hotel I stay at. Many hotels have hundreds if not thousands of reviews. I just don’t think Ihave much to add compared to what others have already written.
But airbnb makes it sound like it is your duty to leave reviews. People are more inclined to leave reviews on Airbnb since it is not a standard product.
I understand that. I didn’t really mean that everything always has to be cleaned exactly the same way all the time in every case. In my case, I have a 3 night minimum and between the dust and the insects and the gecko poop where I live, I do have to clean the same for a 3 nighter as for a 2 week booking. I’ve certainly found spider webs after 3 nights. And while I’m sure that most guests don’t make as big a mess in 2 nights as others would make in a week, I know hosts have gotten guests who managed to make a huge mess in one day. And I’ve had short stay guests who, while they left the space basically clean and tidy, dripped something on the floor that required me trying to scrub it off, finding it had eaten through the wax-based tile sealer I use, requiring me using some product to try to remove the stain, and resealing that part of the floor.
The single bed in my guest room is easy to slide around on the tile floor, and I move it every time I clean, almost always finding some hair, or a piece of garbage or a hair tie or something underneath.
yeah, I feel the same. currently have nagging emails from all 4 hotels I recently stayed in (via Expedia, and BDC) to leave them a review, and I’m really not inclined to do so. I will probably review the 2* place as it was very good for the budget offering, and I know they are a small family run business and want to leave them a positive review. But the big Accor hotel? nah.
Why not? The cleaning company sends 4-6 people.
They have to be ready 30 minutes before check-in so we can go trough for a final check, and things the cleaners might have forgotten.
I would never be a remote host and trust a cleaning company, especially during high season they tend to take on too much work and rush things.
In the low season we do it ourself, then we need 2 days, but then the extra stuff gets done like cleaning and piling wooden floors etc.
Yeah, but that’s included in the accommodation fee, not some hidden extra charges that pop up once you choose to book the place. So what those guests mean is that hotels don’t charge those fees in addition to the accommodation fee. Be upfront about all your extra-charges (include them in the accommodation fee) and you won’t have guests “whining” about having been duped into paying way more than they were expecting. That’s how it’s done in most of Europe.
