You have every right to charge your cleaning fee, but I’m just wondering why you couldn’t use the weekly dscount feature instead? I can understand people who say that they appreciate their time invested in cleaning and want to charge for it, although I do not share their opinion regarding expressing it separately via cleaning fee. But if the sole purpose is the discount for a long term stay, why not simply use the actual discount feature?
The discounts are not dynamic to the day. To get at what you are trying to do you would need different rates for ever different stay length. It is just easier to have a flat fee. Most hosts pay a fixed fee for cleaning regardless of the stay length.
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I offer monthly, weekly and 3-day discounts but I don’t think Air has a way of doing 2-day discounts yet. My cleaning fee is fairly low but I use it as a motivation for people to stay more than one night.
When I’m travelling as a guest, if there is no cleaning fee sometimes I stay at 2 different places for the variety, but if there is a cleaning fee I tend to spend both nights at the one place.
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These were my thoughts exactly. Hahahaha. No aircon on trains while they just sit in the middle of tracks waiting to pass through … oh the summer frustrations! I type this as I sit on a delayed train… it’s not even hot today hahaha
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@Brandt and @anomaly14, fair enough. I think that the name “cleaning fee” is misleading, though. For hosts it might be perfectly clear what it entails, not so much for the guest. But this is not hosts’s problem, but Airbnb’s.
@Chloe I agree with your point about guests mostly being too harsh in their cleanliness judgements in any case, but from my experience, many hosts are quite relaxed too. People writing here on forum tend to be highly proactive and engaged hosts so I guess we tend to forget that not everyone really prepares their place well for guests’ arrival. I recently stayed at place which really wasn’t adequately cleaned, and was charged a cleaning fee. This would make me disatisfied in any case, but it made me particularly furious considering I paid a cleaning fee. Judging from the OP’s post and some other opinions I encountered in RL it is quite a common reaction and it would be the best if the name was changed. It’s way too misleading now.
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yeah, there’s often so much more to it than just cleaning. I’d like ‘turnaround charge’, or ‘it’s not just bloody hoovering you know’ fee.
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I’m not following how the cleaning fee is related to the discount for a long term stay and I’ve read the thread twice.
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I think she was responding to this concept.
If the property is £100 a night, with £50 cleaning fee, that 50% cleaning fee becomes less a percentage if they stay a week (sorry if I misunderstood your question!)
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Yes. And I’ve heard this as a justification for a cleaning fee expressed separately from the nightly price from most of the hosts here over several topics. Because otherwise, if you’re not paying a fixed sum for cleaning staff, it makes more sense to include your cleaning rate in your nightly price. At least to me it seems more logical. I don’t see how it is qualitatively different expense from the time we spend managing bookings, welcoming guests, renovating, shopping for the purposes of hosting, or anything else that we do as hosts, really. I hope this can be a constructive discussion about purposefulness of the cleaning fee, without some hosts feeling personally offended that someone is challenging their “concept”. In the end we all have right to charge whatever we want, as long as it is clearly advertised.
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LOL! I still don’t get it since I never do discounts, especially on the cleaning fee.
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It’s a subjective call regarding cleaning fees. For a small place for short term the fee, if any should be small. Whole-house long term rentals usually charge a larger fee that, when spread out over the number of days occupied, is reasonable.
I recently stayed one night in what amounted to a storage shed on a lake. No bedding, plywood floor. Cleaning fee was $15. It irked me, especially when I saw the “cleaning crew” show up as I was leaving: The owners teenage daughter carrying a broom and dust pan. Made me laugh.
But what really bugs me is the fee Airbnb tacks on. Seems excessive, but what can I do except not use Airbnb :))
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I love that you’re back posting! We’ve missed you! 
Well I have. 
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Me too!
And I agree with you @J_Wang that the cleaning fee is subjective to a great extent. I don’t charge one, mainly because I don’t want people to think they can leave the room a mess because “they paid for it”. But for whole properties it’s different, as always. LOL at the teenage cleaner! Also agree about the huge service fee for guests. I think we often forget about this when pricing our places. I know I do.
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Thanks for welcoming me back. My house got sold a few months back so I’m obviously not hosting any longer. Toward the end of my 4 or maybe 5 year as a Super Ho I started to get a bit burnt out but did enjoy the $. I only took singles and my price was very reasonable, so I was booked a lot.
I’m presently in Oregon on the coast. Initially I thought I’d settle here and start Bnbing again. I’m having 2nd thoughts, though. The first big drawback, at least for me, is the weather. It chilly and it rains a lot, and my allergies (wink at Kona) are driving me crazy with all these trees and smoke. Not wildfire smoke but smoke from people burning their trash and burning wood in their stoves. It is gorgeous though. I’m staying in Bandon in a log house in the forest.
Yes on the huge fee Air charges. It stinks. Of course I’m sure they have some twisted-logic way of justifying it. As many of us have said, WE are the ones doing all the work.
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I’m jealous, house cleaning 1400 sq. Ft for $100. The best rate I’ve found is $150 so I clean the unit myself most of the time for $50 (min rental-3 nights max = 90; I move most of my rentals >30days to a traditional lease). 1600 sq ft, 3 BR 2.5 Bath takes 4 hours to clean usually 4 hours for linens (Beds of linens, bedspreads, & 4 sets of towels). but occasionally up to 10 hours for the sheets, bedspreads, & towels to wash & dry.
I moved to an area with different fauna & flora than I grew up with (e.g. palm trees). My first two years were plagued with allergies & sinus infections. Turns out that it is normal to react for a while to the pollen & other allergens to which we are not accustomed. The good news is after a while, they calm down and it won’t be so difficult.
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I use ABB a lot as a guest. It’s easiet way with 3 children under 4. We are keen and avid travellers so always on the road. Since we’ve been in New Zealand, we go away once every month sometimes twice. I’ve never not been charged cleaning. I book based on our needs and don’t factor things like cleaning charge into it.
There are times I’ve asked for a discount and the host has agreed as long as I do the cleaning and I’m happy to do that as well if it works with my time frame
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I would never ever trust a guest to do the cleaning. I also decline anyone who asks for a discount.
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Well done of these hosts have been happy to lwt5me clean and give me discounts. Don’t know if it’s because I’m a host myself but hey ho, not complaining