I can’t help but wonder whether when guests are paying a cleaning fee, they assume you are getting professional help and are more likely to leave a mess.
I charge a cleaning fee and find that most guests leave the place very tidy. In fact, they even make the beds. I only have a kitchenette not a full kitchen and provide disposable drink and dinnerware so that might help.
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I change a small cleaning fee which just covers the laundry really. That seems to work and almost everyone leaves it clean and tidy.
I think guests will be clean or not regardless of whether you charge a cleaning fee. IMHO how clean the guests are depends on how well you choose them based on reviews, and how you present your listing in writing and in person. The messiest guests tend to be those staying in places where the hosts are not present.
If you’re charging $80 cleaning for 1 night in a $30-50 listing you’ll lose bookings because it looks like you’re ripping them off by charging a low nightly and a huge cleaning fee.
Most of us charge a reasonable cleaning fee – $15 or $20; mostly to cover the cost of consumables and a smidgen of your time.
We charge a 100 dollar cleaning fee on a 2000 square foot home and 10 dollars when we rent out a room.
It covers not only cleaning but wear and tear on the rental including linens, etc.Also it enables us to rent the whole home for a 2 night minimum. If I didn’t have the cleaning fee, I would need to raise my nightly price. I also would raise my minimum stay as the nightly price would then be too high and it would penalize the longer term guest. So the cleaning fee charges a higher cost per night overall for shorter stays.
I think people are either tidy or they aren’t. I think they look at the total price when they book and see the cleaning fee but really focus on the overall cost.
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Why not charge a nightly rate to cover consumables and cleaning and give a discount for longer stays?
No. We had a $10 super cheap cleaning fee and people were just as messy as when we raised it to $40. Sometimes they just complain more that it’s too expensive. 
I too charge a cleaning fee that covers one third of the pay to the cleaner and then it covers the laundry costs fully.
So with the fee I’ve added a small amount to the nightly fee it that works very well for me.
My guests here in Copenhagen leave the place in a great condition and hardly never dirty and messy.
1 out of 100 guests can be less clean but I can live with that ratio.
I charge a cleaning fee $90 that just nicely covers consumables and my cleaner. I think what you charge for cleaning doesn’t really matter as much as the total cost to the guest.
I used to not charge a cleaning fee, and most people left the place really clean. But for those few people who didn’t, the time I spent cleaning meant that my entire profit went to pay me for cleaning (even putting us into the red some nights). So now I have a cleaning fee so that I will still make a profit even when cleaning takes extra time, and I have the same percentage of people who leave it really nice vs messy. I did get one comment from someone when I mentioned food smeared on the couch that I have a cleaning fee which should cover those things, so I think some people do take advantage.
I rely on it and don’t charge for that reason.
Filthy entitled people.
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Sorry for bringing up an old thread. I am new to this site but not to AIRBNB. I have been a host for a 3/2/2 pool,spa,canal near a beach for almost 7 years not. I have never charged a cleaning fee and make sure guests know that. With the exception of one lady with two teenage girls, I have always had guests who keep it very clean and tidy. Even putting my forks and spoons in the right stacking order ! I was advised by another host that if you add a cleaning fee that jacks up the price at the end, along with other fees and the airbnb fees, people will leave it dirty. I dont add any other fees, pet, extra people. I have found that people respect the home knowing the host/owner will be there after them to clean it.