I recently got an enquiry for a crib. As a host, should i pr...
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I recently got an enquiry for a crib. As a host, should i provide a crib or a bassinet for the guests?
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While I do not justify exorbitant cleaning fees, I have come to the realisation through, not just being here on the Airbnb CC but, on other sites I am active with, many guests are unhappy with having to pay a 'cleaning fee' and don't realise why they have to!
I host through Airbnb and I have a $15 per guest stay cleaning fee. As you all know that is not a per night fee it is a once only fee for the duration of the stay. I would say to many guests 'Would you consider that ridiculously high?' But some guests consider that even that fee should not be charged!
The second thing is, there is a difference, hosts don’t expect guests to clean the property, they just don’t want the guest to walk out and leave it like a pig-sty! No host expects a guest to prepare for the next reservation to arrive.
We don’t expect you to wipe down the walls, the counter-tops, attend to those coffee cup rings on the bedside and occasional tables, checking for insects and spider webs.
We don’t expect you to strip the bed and remove those blood, alcohol or makeup stains from the linens, put them through the washing machine, dry them and iron ready for a future guest.
We don’t expect you to wash the towels and provide new face-washers to replace those that were destroyed by nail polish remover, acne treatment cream and fake tan lotion.
We don’t expect you to remake the bed with fresh linens and put out a new set of towels and face washers.
We don’t expect you to vacuum the carpets, rugs and steam mop the floors.
We don’t expect you to clean the toilet, shower alcove, sinks and taps.
We don’t expect that you will wash, dry and put away the dishes, cutlery, saucepans and glassware that you have used.
We don’t expect you to restock the fridge with a cheese plate, milk, eggs and bacon, fruit juice, a beer and a cider and water from the re-stock facilities.
We don’t expect you to test that the TV, the fridge, the hot water, the DVD player, the air conditioning filter, the washing machine, the smoke alarm, the microwave and hotplate, the electric blankets are all working!
This is what we charge a cleaning fee for! To return the property to the state which the guest enters it in.
We just expect you will put your rubbish in the bin, pick up those used nappies and condoms that were left under the bed and dispose of.
Put furniture back the way you found it.
Leave the property in a relatively tidy state.
That’s all we expect!
There are certain overheads that must be covered in order to provide a listing in the first place.
There is a property mortgage to be covered, insurances, council rates and permits, maintenance, breakages, gardening, electricity and gas, water the constant supply of condiments……..This is what you pay for in the listing amount.
It is most unfortunate that many guests do not seem to be able to differentiate between the two!!
The listing amount covers the cost of supplying the property. The cleaning fee covers the cost of continuing to offer it to guests!
Cheers…..Rob
Hello friend! You have a different setup than I, Rob, but I include the cleaning in the room cost. It is less bother for me, and the guest don't fuss about it.
I agree... I upped my fee by $5.00...
For me, this covers cleaning, 2 bottled waters and 2-3 snacks I leave in the room. : )
My cousins would not leave our cabin in the condition we have found it in. I’m new to the rental business but I didn’t think I would need a back-up mattress pad!!!
Lisa I am not sure if you are talking as a guest or a host but, I gather you are new to short term renting and someone has done something unpleasant in your bed!
I am not completely new to this rental business but, in all the 400+ guests I have hosted, only one had an unfortunate occurrence in my listing bed!
We all think that other people will think and act as we do Lisa.....the last thing I would ever do is pee in my own bed, I mean the one I am sleeping in that night! But I am me, I am not a random guest. That incident made me realise, it is no good expecting other people to behave as I would, we are all different.
I made sure that would never happen again. I now use two mattress protectors for each guest and wash and rotate them every few guests!
Lisa, you do need a back-up mattress pad, you do need an abundant supply of towels. You need to make your listing as idiot proof as possible.
If you make allowances for guests foolish behavior, it will probably never happen, If you don't allow for it, trouble will be just around the corner!
Cheers......Rob
Well said! I don't charge a cleaning fee for my small studio apartment but what I hate is when the guest messages and says "We cleaned, it should be all ready for the next people!" One and a half hours later . . . after I've finished cleaning and staging, it's ready. Some people just really have no idea.
I know exactly what you mean. However, I find myself during the clean up resisting planning a bad review for those that leave the room clean & tidy by most people's standards but not "perfect". Leaving the chair turned parallel to the table rather than pushed under ot the tissues on the other bedside table, really is acceptable!
@Nikki39 Oh of course. I always expect to find a place "lived-in" and would never mark someone down on a review because of it. But can you imagine a guest's horror if they walked into a space to find the smallest trace that the toilet was used by the people before them?These are the same people that think they are leaving the place completely spotless for the next guest but in reality they have no idea what still needs to be done.
I was discussing this on another post. I am currently staying in a townhome in Orlando. It is 3 bedroom 2 bath. Nothing too large. It has 180 dollar cleaning fee. While I personally still clean (because I need to clean each room to make sure we have everything..I’m a little OCD) and do the towels, I can see where a lot of people would think 180 dollars justifies not cleaning the property before leaving
Can't argue with a thing you say there Ashley. I would consider a $180 cleaning fee to be completely extravagant in your circumstance, and what that illustrates to me is, the host is 'Robbing Peter to pay Paul'! He is setting an unrealistically low listing amount to attract bookings and then clawing what he should be his listing amount back via the initially hidden cleaning fee. I consider that deceitful and would not support hosts who do that.
Any competent cleaner will turn around a 3 bed 2 bath listing in 2.5 hours, and at cleaners rates of $25 pr hr that should equate to a maximum cleaning fee of around $65-$80. If there was 10 beds obviously that figure would be higher.
When I book as a travelling guest for myself and my wife, if I see a cleaning fee higher than $50, I will simply move on to the next listing.....I will not support inflated cleaning fees!
The reason for my post is, there are many guests who consider any cleaning fee at all is a rip-off and I am just trying to establish that there is a legitimate reason for it being charged.
Cheers.......Rob
re:' initially hidden cleaning fee.'
Cleaning Fees are not hidden!
When one enters dates into Search, for all listings there is an automated calculation one sum which includes Rent, Cleaning Fee (if charged) and Service Fee.
The breakdown of these fees is then shown when one enters dates into a particular listing.
We are all aware of that Alon, but when someone does a property search the only figure they see is the hosts listing amount. They do not see the additional charges until they put in dates.
So during the initial search these extra charges are as I said.....hidden!
Sorry, no.
You cannot make a search of any kind without entering dates.
As soon as you enter dates you see the sum total price!
For example, on my listings.
If a searcher comes across the listing in a general search and wants to book for 1 night,
they will see a price for that 1 night of £ 87.
If the guest then focuses on the listing and enters dates on the listing, the breakdown of price is £ 40 Rent. £ 35 Cleaning Fee. £ 12 Service Fee.
If the searcher enters dates for 1 week
they will see nightly price £ 52 and total £ 364.
(It's not immediately obvious, but what the calculation of the nightly rate is £ 40 rent, £ 5 cleaning fee, £ 7 service fee).
When they focus on the listing they see £ 40 x 7 = £ 280.
Cleaning Fee £ 35.
Service Fee £ 49.
Total £ 364.
So there are no hidden fees. Or if there are Guest should be pleasantly surprised that nightly price is not £ 52, but £ 40!
@Alon1 That is simply not true. You can most certainly peruse listings for a given area without entering any dates.
Sarah,
Indeed, you can peruse, but you will not see prices till you enter dates. At least not as I access the internet in London, UK.
If I type on line the most generic term 'Airbnb London',
the first screen I see - firstly shows 2 boxes with 'Dates' & 'Guests'.
and below it 'Stays, Experiences, Adventures'
Experience appear before Stays.
Scroll down to 'Where to Stay' and click on 'Show all 2000 +'
what you see are the listings with Star Averages & Number of Reviews and 'SuperHost' where applicable.
NO PRICES!
To view prices,
Click on any listing and the prompt appears: 'Add dates for prices'
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Consequently, I'm left to enquire, is it any different where you are?