Hello–I just had a guest check out after a month stay so I hadn’t been into the space in over a month. They left the place very clean but the shower curtain had TONS of mold on it. Now I have two young men (25) staying with me for two weeks and they have no reviews so I am worried that the place will be a mess. Do I ask them if I can come in on a Saturdays to clean the bathroom and change the sheets? I leave a lot of cleaning supplies but I bet they don’t use them. My charge for cleaning is only $15. BTW!
Thanks for your help—
Justine
Hi Justine,
It seems that you’re renting to long-ish term guests without having a policy in place.
Most hosts clean the rental/room themselves (or use their cleaner) around once a week. Remember that your guests are paying you to stay there - keeping the place in good condition is their responsibility but (proper) cleaning to Airbnb hosts’ standards is up to you.
It’s very much to your benefit to do so. It means that you don’t have a massive clean up session after a couple of weeks plus it enables you to keep an eye on the place.
Some hosts charge for the cleaning and some (me included) do it as part of the service. Most hosts also change the beds and provide new towels at the same time.
When you had guests for a month, didn’t you even go in to change the bedding?
I just want to clarify, are you saying that there were no prior cleaning arrangements made and so this hasn’t already been paid for? Are you trying to arrange that type of cleaning now because you feel nervous? And that you’re going to charge them additionally?
Every time I’ve had a long term guest I just had them put the towels and sheets in a laundry basket on my porch on Saturdays. I would wash them and fold them then leave them back on the porch. I also have extra sheets and tons of towels.
No I just want to check the area out every once in awhile to make sure it’s being taken care of…
You’re very trusting 
I prefer to go into the apartments on a very regular basis to make sure that everything’s okay.
What do you say? I want to come in to clean?
Asking to go to do some cleaning etc is no big deal. Unless it was mentioned previously though they may say No that they’d prefer you didn’t. That doesnt mean that theyre messy guys- it may be just the opposite. People tend to like their privacy though.
I’d suggest updating your listing to specify that you enter to clean once a week, and lay out the fee (if you choose to have one). Do it in the house rules so privacy nuts see it and can go elsewhere if it doesn’t suit them.
These guys signed up with perhaps a different understanding of privacy, so will be a situation of asking rather than telling. You can’t charge them anything since it wasn’t part of the deal when they booked. Eating the $15 would be worth it for the peace of mind for me!
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Yes. I usually mention it during the house tour. Just be natural about it and make sure that you give the strong impression that you’re doing to for their benefit.
“Now, what day are we today? Ah yes. Well, by next Thursday, you’ll be wanting the bed changing and some nice clean towels. Some guests like me to do it when they’re out but others prefer it when they’re in. Which would suit you better? I’m thinking about 10 am but can change that if it’s better for you?”
Note the open question - do you want to be there or not? Not ‘do you want me to…?’ but "I’m going to…’
Be sure that you only leave enough towel as to last them until your cleaning session. There’s nothing wrong with giving them the impression that it’s 100% for their benefit.
Then ‘And I’ll have a bit of a clean and tidy while I’m there to make sure everything’s just right for you…’
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Thank you for booking your 3 week stay. Please note the house is serviced on Monday morning. You are scheduled with the cleaning team at 9 am. Please advise if this time is not suitable.
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I host in my own home which is a B&B. If I have people (rarely) staying for longer than 5 days, their bathrooms are cleaned and fresh linen goes on the beds after the fifth day. If I was letting an entire place, I would do the same on a weekly basis. I would reflect this positively in my listing and have a house rule of access for weekly cleaning.
No, tell them. I will be cleaning on Saturdays at X time
RR
I’m having a direct pay client check in tomorrow for 22 uninterrupted days. This will be the longest booking I’ve ever hosted. Thanks to the posts here I know just how to inform him I’ll be cleaning the room weekly. Part of the timing is dictated by me being out of town for 8 days of the booking.
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Jacquo hits the nail on the head! After all, who doesn’t like to come back after a day out to a freshly-made bed and cleaned room? We say that we “offer a room refresh” if they’re staying longer than a week. We’ve had maybe a couple of guests who have said “Oh, you don’t need to do that!” and I breezily answer that it’s no trouble at all and what time should I “pop in”? They’ve then been the guests who say how nice it was to come back to!
Jacquo and I come from the old school Bed & Breakfast era when we cleaned rooms every day. I have to say I don’t miss that at all, but it was a very good way of keeping the mess under control!
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@justine I usually book guests for periods of 1-4 weeks. I have not found that guests who stay longer leave the apartment any less clean and neat than the guests who stay for a week. I don’t clean the apartment during a guest’s stay, however, I leave extra sheets/towels and there is a washer and drier (and I leave pods) so if guests want clean towels or sheets they can do the laundry. I have had a couple of guests who asked about cleaning services and I tell them I can arrange for cleaning for an additional X fee.
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