Cleaning fee

[Katie56]

A question for those hosts who have 4-6 bedroom properties.

How do you with cleaning fee? Let's say guests used only 2 bedrooms, hence less cleaning and less bed linen to deal with versus using all 5-6 rooms. Do you charge for cleaning per hour or it's a fixed price? I can't figure out what cleaning fee to set up for 5 beds house.... 

[Joan2709 · Accepted solution]

@Katie56 

We do not change the cleaning fee based on the number of guests for the larger properties (16+ guests with 6 bedrooms and 13 beds). 

The only way to ensure the guests don't use ALL the bedrooms (yes, some will do that even if there are only 2 people), is to lock the unused bedrooms so they can't be used. Remote Hosts don't have that option. Even if it appears the beds were not used, you can never be sure of that. Some Hosts ask guests to strip the beds so they know which ones were used, but you can never count on them to do that for sure either. 

Cleaning costs vary by location and the going hourly rate for cleaners. Larger cities the cleaning hourly rate is usually higher. Small, rural areas the hourly rate for cleaners is lower. You can pay a flat rate to your cleaners or a hourly rate. A rule of thumb as far as Airbnb cleaning fee is:

$50/bathroom

$35/bedroom

Add additional if there is a hot tub, pool, etc.

The best way to to gauge what your cleaning fee should be is to check other similar listings in your area. Unfortunately, Airbnb has removed the capability for Hosts in the US by changing to a nightly rate that includes all fees. No way to know what other hosts are charging for a cleaning fee now,

[Katie56]

That's helpfull, thanks Joan

[Deb5175]

@Katie56 Not sure about what is available in your country, but we (USA) have locks installed on the bedrooms and can lock and unlock remotely. Schlage Encode is the brand name. I have their app on my phone that lets me operate them from anywhere. I can also add entry codes, put dates on those codes or assign temporary access codes for someone coming to give me an estimate or a repair. I have one on the front door, cleaning closet, 3 bedrooms and 1 full bathroom. I'm not sure why, but my cleaning fee is published on my listing page. The locks are not cheap, but it allows us to rent it as a 1 or 2 bedroom if the 3 bedroom has not been taken.

[Joan2709]

@Deb5175 

That is definitely an option. As long as it is clearly outlined in the listings what bedrooms/bathrooms are available in each listing and the calendars are synced properly this can work very well. 

Many hosts only offer the smaller listing options midweek and off season & keep the larger listing for weekends and high season.