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I’ve only been doing this since 2016. . . So maybe the program that got us the beeswax candle was more localized? Maybe a pilot program of sorts? It was only that one time so I think it hasn’t continued since.
And for the record: we LOVE that annual $100 voucher.
Imagine once Airbnb takes the whole thing a step further and begins rolling out a points system for guests (and hosts). Business travelers will begin to really get on board. Demand for our listings (and higher rates) will hopefully follow.
Then (trying to stay on topic, LOL!) we will have more revenue to tip our housekeepers!
Sorry, but a housekeeper’s job description is the exact definition of low skilled labor. Like, to the letter. Low skilled labor requires an able body, good training, almost no education (or no education, period), reliable transportation, and ultimately, hard work. Some housekeepers are better than others (those with good attitudes, always on time, etc.). But that does not reflect their actual skill; but rather their desire to do the job a little better than someone else in their field. Great housekeepers are indeed precious, but they are still low skilled. It’s just a fact.
I also didn’t say one rung lower, which is unskilled labor. Think - Wallmart greeter. Zero education, zero training, you can even sit in a chair and do it. So housekeepers are more skilled than those folks (not that there is anything wrong with being a Walmart greeter, there isn’t).
Our housekeepers make $50/hour. Let that sink in. It’s a lot of fricken money for what they are actually doing and how easy it is to enter the field.
When I contract work on our renovation projects, I know that the general contractors above each of the trades are paying the frame crews, painters, carpenters, and laborors a take-home (pre tax) blended rate of around $25/hour. They all have workman’s comp, then the GC takes their fees, and STILL it’s around $40/hour landed for these tradespeople. These are skilled workers that you need to train for months/years to even be decent. Ever gotten a crummy paint job or had a lousy frame gang through a site? You know what I mean. . .
I think you are missing something in your calculation. Housekeepers, particularly ones who can be depended on to always be available for you when you call, have irregular work hours. Therefore they can’t make as much money as someone with a more regular work schedule.
In your example you said you have a single housekeeper for one of your listings. What day does she work? Is it the kind of listing that always turns over on Tues AM at 11 and the next guest doesn’t check in until after 3 pm the following day? That would be ideal and then another similar job could be scheduled for another day that week and a few odd jobs could be taken here and there and a living wage could be earned. Does your housekeeper have other clients?
Contractors that I’ve hired usually have their workers at my house for 7-8 hours a day, 5 days a week while working on my project. When I hire a contractor for a small one day project those folks are typically getting well over $100 an hour. I don’t know how much the low skill guys working in the crew are making locally.
@JohnnyLounge21 One thing you don’t take into account is that it can be a yucky job. Cleaners have to deal with soiled linens, sometimes grossly so, scrub out toilets, sometimes clean up vomit, revoltingly greasy stovetops and ovens, pick up used tissues and other garbage, trash cans full of smelly diapers. It isn’t a pleasant job.
Nor do you take into account the cleaner’s travel time, their gas money, the fact that they don’t get benefits like medical coverage.
It’s like the anti-immigrationists who complain about “illegals” taking all their jobs. I always ask those people which job a Mexican took away from them- the one scrubbing out rich people’s toilets and changing other people’s toddler’s shitty diapers, or the one crawling around on their hands and knees in a scorching hot tomato field, exposed to dangerous agricultural chemicals?
When I got into the dog boarding and Airbnb business I really undervalued my time. Partly I think it was coming from the underpaid teaching background and partly it was ignorance. Now I realize why people are willing to pay me “so much” to board their dogs. The lost sleep, the occasional disaster, the dirty house, all factor in. Any one job might be quite easy but the overall burden on my life is considerable. That said, it’s still the best job in the world for me.
This is a very good point. Ironically, I make the same point to my wife constantly when she laments how much the crews get paid. It goes something like this: “We give them unpredictable days/hours and it’s not really a full time job, bla bla bla.” But the more we work with these folks, the more we realize the following: It’s more a matter of opportunity cost and actual choice with our crews.
That is: these crews don’t want a “real” job. They don’t want to do other low skilled work (like stocking at Walmart, cashiering, driving for Instacart, working at a fast food restaurant, digging ditches). They also don’t want to “go to school” for ANYTHING. They want to make good money NOW. And they don’t want to put in much time in their day. They want to knock it out for a few hours and then take the rest of the day for leisure, to raise their kid, or just plain-old goof around. None of them are going to own Escalades. But most of our housekeepers actually own their homes, have mortgagees, own “toys” like project vehicles or recreational quads, and take vacations, and/or support their young and/or extended families.
To answer your questions directly:
What days does she work?" She works whatever days we have a turn (3-4 days a week, but sometimes as many as 5-6)
“Turnover timing?” 11AM-3PM. Period. Never before, never after; we always have a guest coming behind the one that just check out, without exception
“Does our housekeeper keep other clients?” We keep our crews very busy. However, maybe 25% of their time (but I don’t know the exact amount) they are working other places too; my wife and I will make light of them “cheating on us” but it’s all in good fun - we are their first priority
“Overall workload?” In almost all cases, our housekeepers will turn 2 listings per day on the days they elect to work - so exactly 4 hours per day
In summary, our housekeepers are making a solid $200/day when they decide work. And they make no qualms about making $1K a week and working only 20ish hours (not including commute time) to get this done. We are truly happy for them.
Regarding tradespeople - yes a lot can easily fetch $100/hour (licensed electricians, finish carpenters, good plumbers). But the laborer guys are making far, far less. And in both cases, they have to cut their teeth a lot longer than a housekeeper.
You’re clearly a math and stats quant (my late dad was an economist and you write like his quants). Yet as a businessperson, your math is off.
Your housekeeper for one property was paid $17,780 yet that’s not what they made as approximately (here in FL) 40% of that money needs to be held back for taxes - self employment, social security, federal gov’t, any business licenses, business insurance, health insurance, and then there are employees to pay, supplies to purchase, mileage on the car(s), etc. I see “your” $18,000 going out the door very quickly for their annual expenses.
That $1,800 would have to be split among herself and her workers who come to that property.
What do you pay them per month on average? What can you afford to pay in a year end bonus?
In your shoes, I’d probably give her directly $200-$300 (I’d probably give her $500) and then another $100 per person she brings in to work with her. Make up holiday envelopes with their names and hand them directly to them. And smile.
You’re rewarding excellent work, dependability, and a small business owner and their workers. If you want to make that relationship work, don’t cheap out on rewarding the people you work with.
Naw, I think that is taken into account. Hence, ya know, making $50/hour!
This is a farce. When I worked for “the man” in a former life, nobody paid me to sit on an airplane or ride the subway to work. Nobody is going to pay a housekeeper time/expense to meander over to their job for the next couple hours.
I agree with the general sentiment completely on this. Curious is the fact that in my experience as it relates to the lucrative/short hours needed to do housekeeping we have had almost no immigrant workers jumping at the opportunity. At least not in the markets we participate in. . .
No, you seem to think that $50/ hr. is an extremely handsome wage for “low-skilled” labor, so you aren’t taking that into account. You’re paying it, but you don’t seem to think it worth that.
Actually, with all this discussion, I think this is exactly where it’s going to land. About this much for full time folks and, of course, less for part timers.
Well put, and this is the attitude we’ll do our best to carry when we present the bonuses.
Get them the money maybe right after Thanksgiving, yes? Someone earlier mentioned New Years. . . Felt late to me! Shocking fact that that they probably want the bonus sooner than later!
Uhh. . . I can elect to not pay it if I didn’t think it was worth it. And our compensation also outpaces most of our peers in the markets we participate. So clearly we feel it’s worth it. ~scratches head~
Nope, wouldn’t take that. I’m not even sure what that questions is supposed to ask/relate to. If it pertains to our listings, I tried to explain earlier that our crews make about $50/hour, $200/day working 4 hours per day, $1K a week, working ~20 hours per week.
My wife is a college graduate. Works at the VA. Has worked there for over a decade. She works 40 hours a week, commutes, etc. She knows our housekeepers make what they do above. She bothers me all the time to just become a housekeeper full time. I feel that she can ultimately advance her career further and do better than $50/hour given her education, experience, etc. But we remain torn on what to do now that we have gotten larger in the STR space.
Meanwhile, her and I turn the homes ourselves all the time on weekends, holidays, etc. Why? Because we essentially make $50/hour when we do. It’s good money.
Wait, does everyone else pay their crews more than $50/hour or something? Is that why we keep kicking this around?
Do whatever you and your wife think is right and fair. So many responses here are mere rhetoric. Some of us do our own cleaning (we do). Some are just posting opinions while not hosting at all.
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You KNOW your cleaning person and we do not. You should have a really good idea what will make their eyes light up and say THANK YOU. We have NO CLUE. My guess from what you wrote is between $200 - $350. Ask your wife and you will have your answer.
This forum often goes off topic. It often has spirited opinions and advice can seem harsh. It’s part of the internet and people post what they please, not always what the OP of the thread or respondents to the thread want. Trying to direct how folks respond to your posts doesn’t generally work. It can be annoying, sometimes going off the rails is amusing or edifying. The scroll button is your friend.
I often post things in reply but they aren’t just to the person they seem to be to. This isn’t a private message exchange, it’s a public thread. So I might keep kicking something around in an attempt to make a point to other readers. Maybe I’m trying to make Airbnb hosts look good or maybe I’m virtue signaling. Maybe I’m just ranting because I’m pissed off at society in general. Unless I specifically say to you that I’m only talking about you, no need to take everything personally. You’ve insisted that $18k a year is a good living for your housekeeper for a variety of reasons. I get it. But there could be hosts with housekeepers who haven’t given housekeeper pay much thought and should.
