It could be a cultural thing…, Euro versus US. Holiday home rentals (talking about entire homes here, not home shares) here in the US almost universally have the prep fee. Just standard.
Just got this email from Airbnb wonder if they practice what they preach
Airbnb
Airbnb supports a living wage for cleaners
Hi
In March, we announced the Airbnb Economic Empowerment Agenda, a series of steps we’re taking to support our community and generate new economic opportunities for families. One such step is the Living Wage Pledge to support fair pay for cleaners.
While many hosts clean their listings themselves, many others rely on cleaning professionals to get their listings ready for guests. We want to help ensure the women and men who provide these services are paid the living wage they deserve. That’s why we’re launching the Living Wage Pledge, so you can let guests know that the valuable members of our community receive the living wage they deserve. Guests will see this on your listing page, and soon, we’ll launch a feature that will make it easy for guests to search for listings from hosts that have taken this pledge.
Update Listing
We know that many hosts have questions about this issue, and that’s why we have provided resources on what it means to pay a living wage, and ways to make your home a fair place for someone else to work. Learn more.
We hope you’ll support the Living Wage Pledge and appreciate all that you do for the Airbnb community.
Thanks,
The Airbnb Team
Sent with 
from
Airbnb, Inc.
888 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
View in browser | Unsubscribe
2 Likes
We all should be making money after all costs are factored in. If you stayed in a place where the host does not live, then she’s paying a crew to clean. That costs money, and she passed that on to you. I live in my home where I host, and I charge a lower fee for cleaning because we do most of it ourselves. We have a professional crew that comes in once every 4 weeks, and the amount our guests pay, altogether, covers that and a bit more, for our own time and cleaning supplies. But having people clean doesn’t mean giving them extra work. I’ll take your two examples.
-
You rent your own place and expect the guests to leave the place as you found it. There’s still vacuuming, dusting, bathroom cleaning, mopping, etc to be done, as well as laundry and making of beds. Then setting up the room(s) as we want the next guest to see it. Cleaning fee? Covered in my above paragraph.
-
Treat your Airbnb rental as a business and your guests as customers. Ok, but should those guests be disrespectful of the space? No. When I stay anywhere, be it a hotel or an Airbnb room in a home or a Flipkey whole home rental, etc, I remember what my mother taught me about leaving a place as nice as I found it. It’s common courtesy. If I’m in a hotel, and I’ve eaten take-out there, etc, I’ll make sure my trash is in the garbage, and the food is out of the mini fridge.
1 Like
I do, and everyone I know does.
9 Likes
@LizinMN
"I do, and everyone I know does."
How do you wash the room services dishes, vacuum your room and take out your trash in a hotel? How do you wash your linens and towels?
When I say nobody cleans after themselves in hotel/resorts, I mean hotel guests are not expected to clean the room at check-out.
1 Like
Hello
Thanks for everyone perspective.
I did leave the place in a good shape. We stayed there for 3 weeks with 3 kids and we cooked everyday, cleaned up everyday, did a deep clean once a week to keep it sane. It was just the last 2 days, we rinsed our plates/pots but didn’t wash them and left a lot of unopened food in the fridge we didn’t want to throw away. We didn’t vaccum either the last two days. Her kitchen was not well cleaned either when we checked-in. I had to rewash a lot of the pots that were sticky and counters had sticky residue.
I get host expectations varie at checkout but my host should have spelled them out explicitly and clarified what the hefty cleaning fee would cover. If i had known the cleaning fee was just for fresh linens, I would have changed my booking decision. From this thread you can also see that what is an acceptable mess at checkout varies widely between hosts just here.
The negative part I wanted to share was the reaction of the host that got really nasty on the public review. Calling my family names, making up damages that were there at checking, calling how gross the place was when her place was not spotless at checkin etc felt really out of character compares to when I had met the host. Her reaction made me really uncomfortable and lead to the poor experience. I didn’t expect such a immature & unprofessional behavior.
I would never treat my guests this way, even the worst ones ( I had guests leave a gun behind, destroy a washing machine, shoot a adult movie at my place. throw a wild teenage party etc). There is a mature and professional way to handle these situation. Had she contacted me after and asked for extra for cleaning, i would have been happy to oblige but here the host here just lashed out an angry, hurtful and personal rant. I opened a case with Airbnb to review what she wrote. She can leave a negative review but there are basic courtesy and professionalism that must be respected. Ultimately it reflects poorly on Airbnb and the “magical guest experience” they are selling.
I also wanted to clarify I respect other hosts rules. I don’t want to come across as an entitled guest that can trash someone’s place at will. My last apartment i rented in France in the same area had no cleaning fee but I was expected to leave the place as I had found it. I vaccumed, mopped the floor, cleaned the bathroom/toilet, cleaned the fridge and kitchen and did a load for the linens+towels. That was clear from the get go. Here I paid 105 euros for cleaning fees with no rules, i expected that part of the bargain to be honored and not publically shamed and called names. That is the conversation I have with my Airbnb case manager at the moment.
I have been hosting 100s of guests from all over the world on Airbnb over the last six years, so I am seasoned host. I am trying to share my negative experience from the eyes of a guest with other hosts.
8 Likes
I don’t clean anything when I am in hotel. I tidy up meaning I put my things away and don’t let my underwear to be seen but I really enjoy my stay without having to think of doing the bed and cleaning and stop being mama of the house for once. I like when a maid comes and cleans for me and I always leave good tip.
5 Likes
That host was out of line. I would report her . Even if you didn’t wash dishes at the end … There is a difference between trashing a house or leaving unwashed dishes. Seriously… 100$ euros is tons of money for cleaning in Europe .
5 Likes
I never said I clean when I’m in a hotel. But I straighten up and make sure the garbage is in the garbage receptacles. I do clean when I’m in an Airbnb or a whole home rental.
2 Likes
[quote=“Rsv, post:68, topic:17088”]
It was just the last 2 days, we rinsed our plates/pots but didn’t wash them
When you said this , I jumped off your train. Nothing makes me angrier than guests who use pots and pans and dont wash them. Sometimes they even hide them. To stack some dirty dishes is not a crime, but you had a family of 5 and by your own admittance for the final 2 days you did no cleaning at all, and left used pots and pans.
You acted entitled…expecting someone to clean your mess, and disrespectful to the house and the host.
Use a pot - wash a pot!
A cleaning fee is to clean the house / unit…floors, bedding, bathrooms. A cleaning fee is not to scrub your dirty pots and pans.
The bad review was deserved.
10 Likes
I found this line of conversation very interesting. As a new host, if nothing else it has helped clarify for me that I really need to consider putting a dishwasher into my unit. Also, that I need to be very specific in house rules for departure. Thanks!
4 Likes
Hmm…I’d have to side with the OP here in that the type of review that was left doesn’t sound appropriate for any guest and quite unprofessional.
5 Likes
Why did she claim you trashed her already worn out furniture?? You said she didn’t file a claim, so did she tell you what she thought your family ruined?
Guests in general are not expected to vacuum, dust, mop, srub bathrooms, etc. But they are expected to wash the dishes that eat off of. Since you don’t ask guests to do anything, are your housekeepers prepared to wash a week’s worth of caked on dishes for your 4 bedroom apt,? I am asking seriously - if all of your families rented for a week and did not wash a single fork, cup, dish, etc. - just how long would it take your housekeepers to scrub just the dishes? Would they be able to finish in time or would it put them behind schedule to get to the next place?
4 Likes
Did you report this to your host? I’m not sure whether this is in line with the rules of the forum, but I would love to see this host’s other reviews… I mean, is the lady going all berserk on her guests in general or she had a sudden outburst?
1 Like
I specifically ask guests to load the dishwasher before they go but not to start it. I do this so I can load items that guests usually forget (coffee pot, coffee filter, etc.) and also to prevent guests from putting dirty or rinsed cups in the cupboards (I think guests often use cups and other items after they’ve started the dishwasher).
1 Like
I do this as well, for the same reasons. I rarely have time to check that every pot, pan or utensil is clean between guests, so I’d rather run the dishwasher myself. And add a few things if needed.
1 Like
Which part of Europe do you mean exactly ? I live in Europe and €87.03 is not a huge amount in the capital city I live in, could you clarify when your comment "100$ euros is tons of money for cleaning in Europe "
1 Like
Calling names is unprofessional and I don’t agree with that type of review. There are plenty of ways to insult someone without name calling. It reflects badly on both the host and guest, like that lady from Bath who had wonderful reviews and then there were her tirades which ruined everything positive.
I suppose this thread has highlighted the different expectations around the world of not just guests but hosts, cheaper flights, cheaper accommodation has opened the world up to so many of us, customs can vary greatly and we don’t always know what a local custom or expectation is.
My grandmother always said leave it as you find it, I have passed this down to my own children, and so forth
1 Like
He can cut and paste the copy, take a screenshot or he can blur out the names. No real names allowed in the public section of the forum.
Preformatted textWe are only being shown one side. The more op posts, the more we learn about the mess left behind. If OP had shared Review, we could better judge.
1 Like