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I have been staying in Airbnbs for 2-3 years now. I usually stay in a small private room. I don’t lounge around the house/apt or use the kitchen. I gather my used towels/sheets and take away my own trash when I leave. I HATE the cleaning fees. Hosts abuse them. They are profit centers. When it costs US$2 to do a load of laundry in Mexico and 5 minutes to sweep the floor (no vacuum avail), or when an entire papaya costs 5 cents in Cuba, why are hosts charging a US$15 cleaning fee? Sometimes it’s as much as the room. Often, the floors are dirty. Fridges are smelly. I may as well stay at a hotel and get “fee-d” to death. With Airbnb, it’s this fee, and that fee, and this tax, and that. It’s TOO MUCH!!!
I agree with you! Maybe I’m old school, okay, I AM old school. But hotels, motels, and b&bs, don’t charge cleaning fees. I guess Why should Airbnb? I can see it if you rent out an entire home for a week or so. Renting out a room for a night or two and charging outrageous cleaning fees is wrong in my book. I’ve seen listings on Airbnb that entice you in with a low rate, then you see a cleaning fee that is more than the price of the room! We do not charge any cleaning fees and use that as a selling feature in our listing.
Thank you. I posted this so that hosts would be aware of the cleaning fee issue with guests. It’s a BIG issue. Read the various forums. The answer is not to run away and stay in a hotel. The answer is to work within the system and create an awareness that guests don’t like the cleaning fee because hosts abuse the amount they charge. Airbnb created this problem. They need to either eliminate it, or create a cap/% of a night’s fee. Some smart hosts even go to the extent of sur-printing across their image, “No cleaning fee!!!” They are aware that it’s a big sore point with guests.
My place takes me 2 hours to clean. I do it myself and if it’s really dirty, it could take me even 3 hours. There’s absolutely NO ONE that wanted to do it for the $30 I charge for cleaning. The pay is good per hour but the job is too small for them. 4 people said no unless I’ll give more hours.
So I’m, going back home to clean every-time there’s a turn around. So yes, my time cleaning WORTH the cleaning fee I charge. What YOU would “think” it’s for is not always the case.
You could also say that Airbnb charges WAY too much for their fee. Not all hosts trying to make a buck out of something you know.
You think it’s a big issue because you don’t like it and you read forums? You may be right but your evidence is very weak.
People post on forums when they are unhappy. They actively seek out someone to vent to. They don’t say to themselves “that was a great airbnb: no cleaning fees,” and then go post about it. I used to have a small cleaning fee but I removed it and raised my price as it was just one less line item to look at or answer questions about. Cleaning fees are a good way to “discount” a longer stay since the fee is per stay, not per day.
One way to do this is to refuse to stay with hosts who have cleaning fees, not for airbnb to force conformity onto every host. If this is the big problem you imagine it to be then hosts with fees won’t get booked. Eventually they will lower prices, end the fee or leave the platform. But it seems that hosts with cleaning fees are getting booked. All three airbnb’s that I stayed with in the last 15 months had cleaning fees. It’s not about the fee it’s about the total cost and if the booking meets my needs.
Don’t fool yourself, hosts are charging for cleaning whether they break out the fee or not.
It takes me three to five hours to deep clean the guest room and the bathroom between guests. If my $15.00 cleaning fee deters you, it’s a win-win. You don’t have to pay a cleaning fee and I don’t have to host a guest who doesn’t value my time.
I don’t charge for parking, WiFi, breakfast, use of my washer and dryer, using my printer. If you stay in a motel/hotel you will pay for most of these amenities.
I don’t charge a separate cleaning fee. But if I were to add on the cleaning fee my cleaners charge me when I can’t get to the property it would be (AUD) $150!!!
I charge$155 per night mon-thurs and i have a minimum 2 night stay because 1 night stays would leak more money than I would make…
I also don’t charge a separate fee because it allows me to be competitively price in my area.
I think hosts can decide for themselves if they want to charge a cleaning fee and how much it should be. If potential guests don’t agree or think it’s too much then they should make other accommodations. Are you a host? This is a forum for hosts.
Yes, this is true. If you stay in a hotel or motel, they may not have a separate cleaning fee but you are paying for it. They have to hire someone to clean the rooms. People don’t work for free. It costs money to clean up after people. Even if the host does it themselves. Their time is worth something. If you eat in a restaurant, they don’t charge you to clean the dishes afterwards but you are paying for it. The cost is included in the markup in the bill. Are there hosts on Airbnb who abuse and charge way too much for cleaning? Yes. But then guests should skip staying there.
Some hosts ( not a big amount in my opinion )are charging cleaning fees and are not cleaning very well, I have a guest who left an airbnb as it was so dirty on Sunday he could not stay there and he is happy with me now. I told him to report them but I don’t think he is bothered. The problem is every one has different standards in their own home and what is acceptable to you may not be to another person. We live differently, when you go into someone else home you are experiencing their life in their home. It is much easier to rate hotels as there are certain standards that are applicable depending on the star of the hotel.
Guests have no concept of what cleaning is involved in preparing for a guest. I had an American lady tell me that she was going to host as it looks so easy, she changed her mind when I explained exactly what is involved. A guest does not know, that I get on my hands and knees to clean around the back of the toilet, or I wash out the toilet brush, or pull out the beds and wash the skirting boards. Unless you have cleaned to that standard that many hosts here do, you cannot say make such a general statement about what cleaning is involved unless of course you have visited every airbnb is every country in the world, which obviously you can’t.
I assume you are from a warm climate where linen and wet floor dries quickly, what about us who live in wet countries where it rains a lot. We have to use tumble dryers almost every day, my electricity bill in about €600 per 2 months so it’s not cheap.I also clean two bathrooms each day and change all the towels and I always clean the breakfast room and guest sitting room each day.
My guests want cheap rooms which I offer and not one guest has ever mentioned my cleaning fee as I only charge €10, and I have only ever got 5 stars but a lot of work goes on that most guests don’t have any clue about. Just because you don’t like the fee does not mean you can tar every host with the same manner, we are all so different. As a host I have cleaned up more shit from guests than I have from my children, and I mean shit in the literal sense.
I wish I could burry the cleaning fees as well but it’s impossible. Think of it, at first look your competitor’s listing will look way more attractive to guests. Also, some listings are big and cleaning takes a long time. I can’t burry my $80 fee anywhere, that’s what it costs me.
You obviously have different standards from me when it comes to cleanliness… It takes me three hours to prepare my home for a guest/pay a cleaner to do it. - not including time to launder and iron bedding and towels.
Gathering your bedding and taking your trash out doesn’t mean floors don’t need to be washed/polished/hoovered, kitchens cleaned, beds made, work surfaces and furniture cleaned, beds made up, bathrooms cleaned from top to bottom, guest rooms prepared. It’s irrelevant what amenities you choose to use. The whole house still needs to be prepared.
$15 seems low for a cleaning fee. It costs me 30 pounds when a cleaner does this and my time is worth much more.
Hosts who don’t charge a separate cleaning fee just incorporate it into the night rate (like hotels). So you are still paying
