Just wondering if anyone has any insights on this!
I usually have one room in my house on airbnb (possibility of two) - guests have their own bathroom, I offer them the use of a spare room for luggage overflow, give them breakfast and use of pool, and it all works very well. I have a maximum of three nights and usually block one night after each stay to give me time to clean etc.
The guests I have now aren’t through airbnb, they are family of friends who live nearby. When they asked if they could stay for two weeks I immediately said yes, and offered them half price, but didn’t consider whether they might expect me to clean the bathroom while they are here, or go in their rooms to clean. My cleaning lady will come once while they are here and can change beds and clean, but what about in between? Any advice?
(I am reluctant to come out with it and ask. I hate the cleaning part of hosting 
)
I also have a private room/private bath listing with shared areas. My minimum stay is 3 nights, maximum 2 weeks.
I have had many guests stay for 10 days-2 weeks and I have never cleaned their room during their stay and no one has expected it. I offer them clean sheets and towels if they stay more than a week, at the halfway point in their stay.
I have offered to change the sheets for them, but they all said they would do it themselves, so that tells me guests prefer their privacy, and I stopped asking.
I don’t know why you think these folks would expect you to clean their room- you aren’t a hotel. When you give them clean linens and towels at the one week point, you could ask them if they’d like you to do a quick vacuuming and bathroom clean- it doesn’t need to be intensive, just a 15 minute blitz. But they might say, no, it’s fine, they don’t need that.
Most hosts only clean during a stay if guests stay longer term, like a month or more, just to make sure the place doesn’t get too dirty if the guests are slobs.
I would just tell them that if they need any cleaning done, to let you know. Chances are they won’t expect any cleaning, especially since you gave them a huge discount, but I would offer anyway and hope they decline : )
Thanks Muddy, that’s what I needed to hear. I just felt that two weeks was too long to leave a room undusted (I get a LOT of dust!) let alone a bathroom uncleaned. I think then I’ll tell them where the bathroom cleaning stuff is and let them clean if they want to.
When I have my guests stay more than a week, (My max is 2 weeks). I put an extra set of bedding, towels, etc in the suite and also the cleaning supplies. I then reach out to them a few days into their stay offering them the option of having me clean for a $50 fee, or they can clean themselves and just leave dirty bedding, towels, etc outside the door and to let me know. For trash, I let them know where the outside trash barrel is if I am not doing the cleaning. I have never had a guest ask me to clean the second part of their stay.
My max stay is 5 days and I have multiple guests in 3 rooms and 2 bathrooms. I clean the bathrooms and replace linens in them daily (I do big loads twice a week).
I found that after 5-7 days, the private rooms become a bit… rank. As you said, you need to keep up with the dirt. Also, a spill on the floor or tabletop or counter after a few days is not too bad, but after 2 weeks there may be damage.
I suggest that they understand that you wil come in after 7 days and change linens and cleanup. They cnnot opt out. You will also have the opportunity to see if they are animals and need your input on how to behave in your airbnb.
Remember, NEVER ask guests to ‘treat your airbnb like they treat your home’…
When guests share a bathroom, either with other guests or the host, for sure the host should make sure the bathroom is cleaned regularly. It’s a matter of hygiene and a perceived “yuk” factor if a shared bathroom isn’t kept spotless and you have no idea if someone used a hand towel to dry their private parts, or whatever. But when guests have their own private bathroom, that isn’t really necessary.
My guests have never wanted me to clean their room or private bathroom but I certainly keep my kitchen that is shared with guests much cleaner than I bother to when I am here alone.
In other threads on this subject, you’ll see recommendations to always go in and clean after a week, just to check and make sure they aren’t destroying anything. You don’t say if you know these people and if you don’t then maybe it’s worthwhile to ensure you do something to take a peek and see how things are going.
If a host wants to “take a peek” in the private space a guest has rented, whether they do this by changing sheets and towels, or doing a quick clean, this should be made known to guests before they book, not after the fact. Otherwise guests could quite rightly consider it an invasion of privacy.
Wow I’m surprised at hosts’ reluctance to take a “peek”. I do this every single day, as guests frequently leave the window open (it’s a ground floor city apartment) and the tap running! I also empty the bins in bedroom and ensuite bathroom. If it was a proper B&B or a hotel then staff would be in there every day and I don’t really see the difference.
What you’re doing is not allowed at Airbnb. Sadly we do have hosts from time to time who come to this forum who have not read the Terms of Service they agreed to when they became hosts. Usually they come here righteously asking for validation after they have been removed from the platform for violating the privacy of guests.
“ Community policy
Protecting your privacy
To help create an environment that promotes privacy, here are some ground rules on what we do and don’t allow.
In this article
What we do allow
- Host re-entry: During a stay, Hosts may re-enter their property or enter a guest’s dedicated room in a shared stay when the guest gives the Host permission or when there is an emergency.
What we don’t allow
- Physical intrusions: Hosts and guests must not access or attempt to access private spaces unless they have permission or there is an emergency.
- In entire-home stays, this applies to the listing itself and its property.
- In shared stays, this applies to shared bathrooms when another person is inside, as well other areas where users have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as a bedroom or private bathroom.
- Use of another’s personal property: Hosts and guests must not use the personal property of another unless they are given permission to do so.
- Private space interference: Hosts and guests must not interfere with another’s ability to use a private space, such as by engaging in privacy-infringing activities like spying.
- Non-consensual content sharing: Private information, photos, or videos of community members must not be publicly posted unless the subject of the post has given their permission.”
That isn’t true. For one thing, hotels are getting away from daily cleaning if guests stay more than one night. And hotel guests can leave a “do not disturb” sign on their door.
An Airbnb is supposed to feel like a home away from home. Guests should feel comfortable leaving their belongings however they want, leaving possibly embarrassing things out in their private space, without the host coming in whenever they feel like it.
It would feel invasive to me to go in the guest’s private space when they aren’t home. They are paying guests, not my children.
Not sure what kind of guests you get who leave the tap running, that’s quite strange. And no one needs their bedroom and bathroom garbage bins emptied daily.
I have only entered my guests’ room once, when it started raining hard and I saw the guest’s windows were open and she wasn’t home. I didn’t want her to come home to a wet bed. But I texted her to tell her I was going to do that.
If a guest complains to Airbnb that the host has entered their room in their absence without their permission in a non-emergency situation, Airbnb will suspend your listing.
If I offered guests my space at half price, I would definitely not expect to do any cleaning for them. That was very generous of you.
Exceptional circumstances 
I knew of the people, knew they’d be fine, knew they’d spend most of their time with my friends who asked me if I’d have them! So I felt comfortable letting them come for two weeks (my limit is usually three nights) and I save on change-overs, having to stay in for check-ins and check-outs. I just wasn’t sure about cleaning but it’s worked fine - I put clean towels, sheets etc in the spare room and told them to help themselves, and told them where cleaning stuff is. They haven’t bothered to change the beds and seem very happy, and so am I!
They haven’t even used the A/C, which people usually do in June. They open the windows!! Halleluya! 
You might not see the difference but guests do. Guests in a ‘proper’ b&b (whatever that might mean) have vastly different expectations.
Guests in a hotel or b&b know and expect the staff to enter their room to make the bed at some point during the day. That’s part of the deal and a service that they are paying for. (And as @muddy says, these traditional accommodations are increasingly reducing the cleaning and linen-changing procedures due to ecological concerns.)
Guests staying in an STR have completely different expectations and one of the reasons they choose to use Airbnb or a similar listings service is that they want to be free of the very strictures that are imposed by hotel and b&b traditions.
I travel using Airbnb and would be horrified if a host entered the space I am paying for without my permission.
As @Rolf says, if a host has guests who have booked via Airbnb then the host is violating the platform’s terms by entering the rental ‘for a peek’. (And think of the possible ramifications if the guest becomes aware “my expensive laptop and my professional camera, some jewellery and my wallet were in the room and aren’t there now”. I don’t need that sort of hassle.)
In many places, it’s illegal for landlords, hosts, to enter a rented property or room.
But quite apart from all that, it’s just impolite. Inconsiderate. Unprofessional. Rude.
I don’t understand the thought process of a host who thinks it’s fine to just enter their rented accommodation at any given time for no specific reason.
If any scheduled maintenance requires access to our Airbnb we inform the guests beforehand, needless to say.
However, I’m not gonna watch my house burn down if I saw the Airbnb catch fire or guests leaving the windows open when they left and a thunderstorm would set the the Airbnb underwater. This is clearly stated in our house rules that we reserve the right to enter the accommodation in case of immediate damage to the property.
it’s s strange point of view, isn’t it? Renters, whether people are renting for a couple of days, a few weeks or even renting on an annual lease, they all have a right to privacy in their own home - even if it is their ‘home’ just for a short spell.
Agreed too, that in emergencies it’s another matter and I’m sure every guest would realise that.
When guests are staying for longer than a few days, I do a mid-stay clean and linen-change and give the guests the choice of day ('Would Thursday or Friday be good for you? ’ - closed question) and also ask them whether they prefer me to do the clean when they are there or when they are out.
Every single time, ever, they have chosen to be absent when I go in. I think this shows an element of trust, which I like.
This cleaning session, incidentally, is just as much for my benefit as it is for the guests. It lets me see what’s going on in the apartment but with the guests’ knowledge and permission.
But hosts who do this think they have a specific reason and that it is justified.
From “Guest goes out and leaves the lights on” to “I need to make sure they haven’t hung wet towels over the wooden furniture or that they have food in the bedroom”, these hosts seem to think the invasion of privacy is perfectly reasonable. Mostly it seems to me like a control issue. And they don’t really think of it as a “private” space- they seem to think of it as a part of their property, that should be constantly under their control, as if their teenage nephew was staying there. They just don’t have a concept of a space the guest has paid for as private. That is evident in the host here saying “I don’t understand the reluctance to take a peek”- when it isn’t “reluctance”, it’s respect for privacy.
I once read a guest post where the onsite hosts had gone into the freestanding rental cabin to decorate the place for Halloween while the guests were out. The guest rightly felt their privacy had been disrespected (the hosts even moved the guests’ stuff around), but obviously that never occurred to the hosts- they thought it was a nice thing they were doing that would be appreciated. Pretty clueless.
Of course if you heard water running in the guest bathroom and you knew the guest wasn’t home, that would be a legitimate reason to check it out, but guests should be notified that the host is going to, or has done that.
And while I would never enter the guest’s space during their stay without permission or legit reason, there are actually some guests who have the same attitude as those hosts. When I once told a guest I never go in the guest quarters unless they ask me to for some reason, she said, “Well, it’s your house, if you need to go in there for something, I don’t mind.” But I don’t think that is the attitude of most guests.
We’ve made the same experience whenever we informed guests up front about any possible access by an electrician etc. They were very understanding and in general guests do have the awareness that if an electrician or someone who is working on essential parts of a building should be allowed access to complete any necessary work so the accommodation can be used in a safe way.
We did have a few reservations from guests who intentionally turned on every single light bulb that exists in our studio before they left in the morning. Only to return at night with a fully lit place.
We did not enter the accommodation but it left a dent in our electricity bill. We do make guests aware to make sure that everything is turned off before they leave for the day (except the fridge/freezer of course) but, yeah, for some people this just doesn’t work.
If you use LED bulbs, they are actually one of the lowest consumers of electricity to be concerned about, although of course guests leaving all the lights on during the day just because they plan to be home after dark is a ridiculous waste of energy and disrespectful to the host.