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
