Anyone else charges for using the washing machine?

Daniel1127
Level 3
Boston, MA

Anyone else charges for using the washing machine?

I have cheap booking prices, so therefore I charge multiple extra services on the side and I charge $5 for using our washing machine and I don’t include detergent. Should I include it and charge more or less or not include it? And is the price too high? What are people’s opinions? 

 

PS. My listing is based in Honduras not USA.

18 Replies 18

@Jessica-and-Henry0  Yes!  I had a 20 something guy up from L.A. for four nights who did a load of laundry every single night and each load had two pairs of socks, a couple pairs of underwear and one t-shirt.  He used the full cycle option (one hour!).  I wanted to strangle him.  

@Michael956

I know exactly what you mean..... I had one of those for 4 months. Henry nearly went crazy every time he saw the laundry. Who raises these ogres?!?!?!?! 

@Jessica-and-Henry0  I recently had a guest message me pre-stay to see if I provided washing machine use for guests (I don't list this in amenities). She was staying in another airbnb in my town for a week previous to her booking with me , and only spending the last 3 days of her trip at my place. Sure sounded to me like she hoped to wash all the dirty clothes she would have accumulated after the week where she currently was. I replied that I don't offer laundry facilities, but that if I was doing a load I would certainly not object to her adding a few things and told her where there was a laundromat located a block from where she was staying, so she could get that taken care of before arriving here if necessary.

And I once had a house sitter (not a paying guest) email me saying she couldn't fit a load of clothes on my clothesline. I told her if that was the case, she was either overloading the machine, or didn't understand how the clothesline worked. She emailed me again 2 weeks before my return to say the machine wasn't draining. I told her to stop trying to use it- wash her clothes by hand or take to laundromat. When I got back and tackled the washing machine problem, I found the drain hose plugged SOLID with dirt, sand and dog hair, and when I removed the back filter,  a couple gallons of skanky water that had been stuck in there for 2 weeks came gushing out, with another 3 cups of sand.

Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

I own a very old (alsmost 35 years, but excellent working) washing machine. It's only operated by me and i do not allow any other detergent used then the one i provide. Unless specific personal reasons, only guests staying minimal 1 week can do laundry, only once a week. I never has been a problem, even Asian guests (like @Marzena4  points out are indeed obsessive when it comes to laundry) stick to the rules. And with respect to the environment, washing machine runs only when reasonable loaded and offcourse laundry dries on a laundry rack. I do not charge for it, it's just a service, and no guests complained ever about it. They even wondered how can such an old washing machine produce such good results !