I have a 3 bedroom (1 king, 2 full and 1 twin) two bath 1800 square foot house. I am charging 140 for cleaning. That only includes the house. I pay for yard work separately. Is that a good amount? My housekeeper thinks others are charging more. If you have a similar set up, what are you charging? Update: my location is north Florida , 18 acres on Suwannee River. My price per night is 225 -295 . It takes about 4 hours to clean, sometimes more.
How would we know we have no clue where you are in the world ? 
Just look at what others charge for comparable places in your location .
1 Like
Where are you and also what do you charge per night?
Here in South Florida I can get a whole house cleaned professionally on that size house (ours) for a third less than youâre charging. Sounds like your housekeeper is touting for a raise!
I do my own STR cleaning on our 800 SF Poolside Cabana and charge a $20 cleaning fee. We charge $100 per night in Season and $70 per night off Season. Yardwork is just part of the overhead cost of doing business.
Personally I will never stay in a listing where the cleaning fee is as much or more than a nightâs stay.
1 Like
Iâm at the Jersey Shore and I have a 3 bedroom, 3 queen size beds, and 2 bathrooms (1765 SQ). I recently raised the cleaning fee to $165. Other Airbnbs in my area are charging $200 but their houses sleep 10, whereas mine sleeps 6.
1 Like
Thank you! What is your nightly fee?
How many hours does your housekeeper take to clean. Ours is says 4-5 hours after guests.
We have 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 4 beds and I used to charge 150.00 but recently raised it to 175.00. I charge minimum 249.00 per night but sometimes upwards of 600.00-800.00 depending on demand in my area.
I also do not seek damages for sheets/towels etc that may be missing or destroyed. I feel that the cleaning fee absorbs the replacement costs.
2 Likes
I donât understand. The cleaning fee is normally based on what your cleaner charges per hour (which can vary greatly around the world and even within a country) and how long it takes to clean. What else would you base it on?
So if it takes 4 hours to clean and you charge $140 cleaning fee, your cleaner is earning $35/hr. If thatâs the going rate for cleaners in your area, it seems obvious that is what to charge.
3 Likes
$225 a night, min stay is 5 nights. We block two days in between and do all the cleaning ourselves. Thereâs no yard work because we have rock lanscaping.
It doesnât have to be based on your actual cost of cleaning. Some hosts also use it as a preparation fee, which would include welcome gifts, and such. Some hosts use it as an incentive to encourage longer stays. I.e. if you charge a $100 cleaning fee, it translates to an extra $10/night for a 10-day stay but $100/night for a 1-day stay. Short stays can cost hosts much more due to creating more âorphanâ nights that will never get booked.
I know on my listing, if I had hired a cleaning service, the actual cleaning costs wouldâve been a minimum of $175, which was more than a nightâs stay, but only because the market was so competitive that the price of a nightâs stay was low.
2 Likes
This is exactly what I do. The preparation fee, which varies a little from time to time, includes fresh flowers in the apartments, a bottle of wine, San Pelligrino, arrival snacks (fruit etc), food for their first breakfast (croissants, yogurt, etc.), and various sundries such as disposable slippers and (currently) a Tommy Bahamas sponge bag containing toiletries.
That costs.
Only you know what the cleaning, laundry, and equipping the rental costs.
Well, personally I find it quite odd for a âcleaningâ fee to cover a bunch of extras that I wouldnât be the least bit interested in, would not use, and therefore would resent paying for. Not one of those things, aside from the croissants, and maybe the wine, would I appreciate being charged for, nor use. And if I wanted a bottle of wine, I would prefer to go buy one myself, picking out what I liked.
1 Like
The problem is in my location that I am surrounded by STRs. (Literally, one next door and one in the apartment below).
Thereâs no way I can (or would want to) compete with their pricing but the extras are well-received by guests. All guests and all hosts are different. 
3 Likes
Ok,I get that. And for sure if it works for you, then it works.
I just am a self-sufficient traveler and am only interested in a clean, comfortable accommodation, where I can make a cup of good coffee and prepare a meal. So welcome baskets and other extras, while I might eat a granola bar or something, would be largely wasted on me. And I still find it strange to call something a cleaning fee when it is used to purchase extras.
4 Likes
I donât remember a âbreakoutâ of what the cleaning fee is used for, or the nightly rate.
But, of course, you could always ask the airbnb what was included, and negotiate your rate based on your needs - maybe getting an extra croissant for allowing the airbnb to not clean the hallway, for example? Perhaps asking for a poor quality cleaner who works cheaper than the normal cleaners, or bringing your own mops and soaps for a discount on the feeâŚ
Possibly a ârate cardâ that you can use for deductions?:
chocolates on bed $1/ea
yogurt $2/ea
use of dirty towels $5/ea
lower heat $5/night per 3 degree lowering
Or⌠maybe just let us hosts strive to provide the best accommodation we can for the prices for cleaning, etc we can afford⌠
2 Likes
Donât be ridiculous. A âcleaning feeâ, to me, means it covers the costs involved in cleaning, not that itâs partly used to purchase slippers Iâd never use or a Tommy Bahama bag of toiletries Iâd never use, or food I donât like and wouldnât eat.
And I would never haggle with a host about their fees, I would simply not book something if the fees didnât sit right with me.
1 Like
Ooooh, look at you 
Only bag they get here is slightly perfumed, a delicate shade of purple and fits the kitchen bin.
JF
3 Likes
A perfumed trash bag? How weird.
But you know we donât get to call things what we want to call them unless we jump through annoying hoops with the resolution centre. Easier just to âcallâ your prep fee, or firewood fee, or nice chocolates fee, a cleaning fee because thatâs the only button for it.
4 Likes
Seriously? All of the ones Iâve ever seen are from Mexico.