I guess because I don’t fall for marketing ploys, and only the total price would be of interest to me, I wouldn’t care that the nightly price was a bit more to cover whatever extras the host likes to provide, and the cleaning fee show as actually being the cost of cleaning.
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Well sure. I don’t charge any extra fees, as it all works out for me in the end, but I’m not in a highly competitive market either. There’s just me here for miles. I completely get, though, that hosts have to do what they have to do. I’m all on board with that as a guest.
It’s just that there is no flexibility to call things what you want to call them.
“Why would you call it a cleaning fee?”
“Because that’s all I can call it.”
I have a bedroom, bath and kitchenette for max two peeps. I don’t charge a cleaning fee as I’m the cleaner.
My former STR in AZ was much larger, full kitchen and could take 3 peeps, didn’t charge a cleaning fee there either.
Compared to my first one, this one is so much easier.
Since I left AZ 3 1/2 years ago it now has a 2nd owner. Both did the same as me with the divided house, separate entrance for guests. Those two owners lucked out as I did the work to make the rental and transformed a yard with dirt and a few trees into a real garden. Wonder if they’re thanking me.
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Yes, they love perfumed stuff here, for sure. Hard to find toilet paper without “aroma”. But I never buy garbage bags, except occasionally singley (you can buy so much as singles in the little stores in Mexico, from single cigatettes, to single disposable diapers, to garbage bags), so couldn’t say if they have perfumed ones. The garbage bags the stuffing I buy for my upholstery work comes in, and which I reuse as garbage bags, aren’t perfumed, nor are the single ones I sometimes buy.
I just think any perfumed product is weird and unappealing.
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It’s just a few extra dollars in the pot, that’s all. 
But most of my guests want to feel that they’re being pampered a little.
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This is a different perspective. My place is huge and my cleaning costs commensurate. I asked my husband how he felt about cleaning fees when he went looking to book and he said he hated to see them at all. I decided to just meld the cost into my nightly rate. I’m not sure about the math, but it simplifies things and it looks good in the listing. I’m going to be raising my rates, soon, due to upgrades. It has never made a bit of difference, I could be fully booked year round it seems, even if I raise the rates a bit.
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ah yes i was feeling the same way. if you’re providing Sav Blanc that could go straight down the sink! 
(actually i’d probably take it and save it to give to my mum). We are in a wine region and sometimes we also provide wine (we get a good deal from the local winery) but i’ve had few guests actually thank us for it, so it’s difficult to know if it’s a good idea or not. My daughter made rockyroad this xmas as a guest treat and that was a big hit!
We provide fresh flowers but these are picked off the property so the only cost is time. Sometimes if I get fresh produce (like seasonal cherries, plums etc from local growers) I will put a small bowl in the fridge for guests, but this is only when I know it’s amazing local food that will wow my guests.
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yes, i’d rather do this too! up the nightly price by $10-20 and keep the cleaning fee low. I’m lucky we don’t have a lot of competition, maybe 12 places in the region, but we are all different enough that no one is in direct competition.
What about 1$/10 sq feet?
$15 to spend an hour and a half cleaning my small guest room and their bathroom? I don’t work that cheap.
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First of all if you feel that $140.00 is too high clean it yourself!!! Unbelievable some people are messy some ate not some come with children and dirty hands some are adults that are just nasty! Every once in a while you may get lucky!!! Look at prices anywhere no one cleans 1800 sq ft house for $140.00
“Anywhere” encompasses the world. While it would be considered a fair wage in some areas, I can assure you that it would be exhorbitant in others. The going rate for a cleaner in my Mexican town, where wages are considered fairly high compared to other areas of the country, is $5/ hr.
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You are correct anywhere in the USA
I still feel that someone anyone cleaning a place that is 1800 sq ft, deserves a fair rate! No matter where you are 1890 sq feet is still 1800 square feet. Sometimes you may have 2 guest sometimes it can be 6. The size is still the same the only difference now is your cleaning after 6 people which will be more of a mess!!! I’m sure charges are based on the number of guest? But the cleaner does get to charge by the guest or sq footage! Don’t be upset I’m just making a point how some people don’t look at the whole picture and only have one view. To have good service you should reward them well and you will find that they in return will go above and beyond! Win / Win
And I’m done not going to share any further. I simply wanted to point out people like being appreciated and I’m return they will respond equally $
Every market is different and we all have to do the best we can to accommodate it.
Personally, I won’t stay at an ABB with a cleaning fee and I have stayed in the U.S. and Italy many times. I would rather just have that incorporated into the nightly fee, if it’s necessary. We have carried this over to our own rental and let people know that we do not charge one because we don’t like care for them either. We ask them, but do not require them, to pitch in by stripping their bed(s) and throwing used towels on the floor. We do charge an extra fee for over 3 people because that is extra linens, etc. Every guest has seemed very appreciative of the policy. It’s not much but it helps.
Something I do that has been crazy successful is to bake chocolate chip cookies (the ones from the freezer section) and/or blueberry muffins. You would not believe how many comments we receive about this inexpensive but “homey” touch. This, of course, might not be appropriate in every area but it has been really nice in our situation.
Hi @2unreal4me,
I found your posts interesting and good input. I hope you continue to voice your opinion.
I agree that people deserve to be paid appropriately for the work they do. If it takes longer for a cleaner based on there being more guests, then they should be compensated accordingly. We base our rates on a certain number of guests. After that there is an extra guest fee to cover things like additional cleaning, more hot water use, etc. If there are LESS guests then the cleaner basically gets a bonus.
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I have a very similar house … 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1800 sq. feet. My cleaning company charges $205.00, but they added a $50 “extra fee” last Summer due to labor shortage and wage increase. I had to absorb these extra costs since I couldn’t change my existing bookings. Now I raised my Airbnb clean charge to $225, so I’m covered in case the cleaning company pulls a surprise on me again. $225 seems high to me, but my bookings just keep coming. Doesn’t seem to faze my guests.
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We only charge an extra $5 on top of what we pay our cleaner. It’s meant to cover some of the cleaning supplies. We also include small extras like fresh flowers, a bottle of wine, or chocolate and sparkling water, etc but just roll that into our operating costs and keep the cleaning fee separate. Where we are, $30 an hour for a cleaner is a good rate, but when I lived in NYC and SF it was definitely more.
The only reason I charge a cleaning fee is to get a higher rate for short stays. Since the pandemic I’ve gone to a 5 night minimum, so it isn’t necessary any more, but I started out with 1 night minimum, then went to 2, and airbnb only allows discounts for 1 week or 1 month. I block out a day before and after each stay. If I could, I would charge a graduated rate based on how many days they booked, and a cleaning fee is a way of doing that.
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