I own 2 properties, one is a 2 bedroom rented as one listing, the other is a 4 bedroom house listed as 4 separate listings. I offered to pay $25/room in the 4 bedroom house, and $40/turnover in the 2 bedroom house. But the cleaner will also be doing the laundry, some at her house and some at my property. Should I pay extra for laundry? How much? Any advice on some kind of way to fairly rate these services would be greatly appreciated!
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This probably depends on where you live and the going rates of cleaners. I personally paid my cleaners by the hour (back when I could afford this luxury). I as I recall, it was around $200 for 6 hours? You may be able to find cheaper, but I would pay hourly for her for her time/products/utilities while doing laundry, especially at her home.
I would have thought for the laundry an agreed amount per load. At my local launderette I think a service wash is in the region of ÂŁ10, including tumble drying. You can go around the listing determining how many loads per room. My machine comfortably takes a double duvet set and two bath towels.
Whatâs Airbnbâs Living Wage Pledge?
The Living Wage Pledge is a commitment from our U.S. hosts to pay their cleaners fairly. A living wage is the minimum income necessary for someone to meet their basic needs and participate in their community.
We recognize that these women and men provide essential support to many of our hosts, and make it possible for hosts to provide excellent and dependable hospitality to their guests. To return this support, join us in committing to make Airbnb a place where cleaners are recognized as valuable members of our community and are treated with dignity and respect.
When cleaners are paid a living wage, theyâre better able to:
Support themselves and their family
Perform consistent, high-quality work
Take time off to care for themselves or a family member
Determining a living wage in the United States
We used the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) standards to understand what it means to pay cleaners a living wage. NDWA is the leading association for cleaners, nannies, and domestic workers across the country. Below are some guidelines for hosts to ensure cleaners are paid a living wage.
When figuring out how much to pay your cleaner, we recommend hosts ask these questions:
Is the cleaner self-employed? For cleaners who are self-employed, a minimum of $25 per hour is considered to be a living wage. Self-employed cleaners are typically paid a higher hourly wage than cleaners who work for a company because they pay for their own higher income taxes, days off, cleaning supplies, and travel to and from work.
Is the cleaner employed by a cleaning company? A minimum of $15 per hour is considered to be a living wage for cleaners who are employed by a company, as they may receive employee benefits like health, dental, and vision insurance, paid time off, and paid family leave.
What are the cleanerâs real-life circumstances? Cost of living in oneâs region or city, number of dependents, and other factors will impact how much a cleaner needs to earn to cover their basic needs.
What is the cleanerâs level of experience? Cleaners have different levels of skill and expertise. When deciding what to pay a self-employed cleaner, take into account how long theyâve worked as a professional cleaner, and whether they provide any specialized services, such as green cleaning.
In addition to the living wage, NDWA has suggested three other factorsâclear expectations, health and safety, and access to a professional associationâthat are important to making your home a great place to work for cleaners. For more guidance and to connect your cleaner to the NDWA, visit the NDWA website.
To take the Living Wage Pledge on Airbnb, follow these instructions to show other hosts and guests that you pay your cleaner fairly.
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What youâre going to pay depends on where you live. Here in South Florida I couldnât get a cleaner to come for less that $80 USD. Cleaners here do not want to work to the wacky schedule of guests coming in and out; they want to work every Tuesday or every other Monday. Same thing for Cleaning Companies, they are gonna send someone out âevery once in awhileâ.
I pay $50/cleaning of a 3-room space that takes right around 2 hours (~440sf/40sm). Thatâs with all the linens ready for them to swap out. Iâd expect to pay at least $5/load if they did the laundry also. Two other companies bid the same space at $70.
@KenH makes a good point about cleaners preferring a regular gig. I split my flips between one cleaner who works M/Th and another who is more flexible, but less available.
Rather than wonder what to pay a cleaner, Iâd try to find out what they charge! Have a look on the local âfor saleâ site, see if any cleaners are advertising their services. Donât forget, a private cleaner will charge nearly half of what a cleaning company will charge for the same service. But there are advantages with a company, theyâll cover with another cleaner when your regular cleaner is on holiday, and they probably to criminal checks on all their staff.
Ideally, youâll have a neighbour who doesnât really want all the fuss of working, but is happy to do random hours for you, here and there.
All very helpful replies! What about dealing with short term frequent turnovers vs long term stays. Should I pay more for my property that has long term bookings since they will use more of the community areas like the kitchen and cooking ware?
Here in Hawaii the going rate is $25 to 30 an hour. If I have to pay someone to clean my apartment I will pay them 85, which is what I charge the guest.
What do you mean, the cleaning person does some laundry at her house? That seems odd to me. I think you should compensate her more for the hassle of that, plus utilities.
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