Do you charge a cleaning fee?

[Sybe]

Hi everyone,

Cleaning is a big part of being a Host. Whether you do it yourself or you hire cleaners the cost of a standard cleaning needs to be accounted for. I’ve already seen Hosts discussing whether to charge a cleaning fee or include it in the nightly price, so I was curious to find out a bit more!

How do you charge your guests for cleaning? Why did you choose to do it this way, and what do you think are the pros and cons of this and other ways?

You can answer the poll above, and tell us your thoughts in the comments below. I can’t wait to hear from you!

Thanks.

Sybe

[Kirsten266]

I don't use the cleaning fee because I don't like additional costs when I book a accommodation for myself. 

And I think people wouldn't clean up their mess when they pay for a cleaning fee. 

I clean the house myself 

[Helen744]

@Kirsten266, I suggest you figure out how much time and money that is costing you.The problem is that cleaning between guests can vary in both time spent ,products used,general wear and tear,winter or summer,. Guests who spend a week drinking alchohol with three mates and cooking up a storm having constant showers, carrying blankets around,eating in bed ,carrying food everywhere,as in little children,cooking curries, stinking up the microwave,breaking glasses ,turning out cupboards ,leaving bits of food stuck in the dishwasher,finger prints on glass, bloody sheets ,bits in the chairs and couch are standard plus the bathroom looking like who knows what just walk out and close the door. Yes they used the dishwasher and put wet towels in the basket and recycled a bit of an old pizza box but seriously that is not'doing your own cleaning' and beyond the call of duty, so of course there is a cleaning fee. Sheesh H

[Kirsten266]

@Helen744 My listing is a Tiny House. 

The  only difference in cleaning is when I receive 2 or 4 people because I need to change extra sheets upstairs 😉

The average stay is 3/4 nights. I don't see a difference in cleaning between a 2 night stay and a week stay in my Tiny House.  

[Helen744]

@Kirsten266 Hi Kirsten,logic tells us that cleaning is cumulative,hence extra person fees are built in especially where the accommodation takes five people but can be rented by one as an entire house.A family of five for two nights makes more mess over a week .But that is not factored in and does not need to be if you use an extra person fee after two people or even after one.That is why we dont like our houses being booked by one person as this is often when others are given free overnight stays. On the other hand a family of five for two weeks or up to three weeks start to accumulate some serious grime this is really when a weekly fee option for linen changeover needs to be available,currently it is not.I do not allow people to bring their own linen and messes on the floors and cupboards or dirty tea towels etcetera  all accumulate.I am talking about the necessity for a weekly clean and cleaning fee. A flat fee same as the final cleaning fee. This is an added service but also a necessity H

[Helen744]

P.s My other daily fee is low enough to compete with others but I take fees for cleaning seriously and people get what they pay for H. This means soap and extra toilet paper and general household products do not run out ,this is not a second thought. Broken things are fixed quickly. Lawns are mown,windows are washed,the house is aired.light bulbs are changed and available, art works vary, flowers bloom,hallways are clean ,blinds work ,. people do not have to worry about if  there is a torch or a fire extinguisher  or an umbrella My house looks old but it works,like me H

[Sarah977]

@Kirsten266  I only host one guest at a time in a private room/ private bathroom listing. I find the same- it doesn't take me any longer to clean after a 3 day booking than a 2 week booking. Even if the guest left some garbage strewn around and was generally messy, it only takes a few minutes to gather it up. And the vast majority of my guests leave the space clean and tidy. 

[Sybe]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your input so far, there are some great discussions going on here! 😃

I thought it time to share an update on where we stand so far. It seems to be a nice divide of roughly one third voting no and two thirds yes.

 The poll is still open so if you haven't yet, give us your vote and let us know whether you charge a cleaning fee or not! 

[Sarah977]

@Sybe  I think the poll would be more useful if it was linked to the type of listing, the minimum night booking setting, etc. - in other words it has little value without context.

Seems like hosts who have a private room listing and do their own cleaning are the most likely to just factor cleaning time into the nightly rate.

Whereas that seems pretty hard to do for hosts with entire place listings who pay a cleaner (or themselves) for several hours of cleaning time.

[Gordon0]

Like some others, having additional charges added to the base price for cleaning irks me a little and, subsequently, I don't charge a fee. My expectation of a hotel room is a clean one, and I don't expect to pay extra for that. 

I recall staying at a NYC Airbnb for which we'd paid a $150 cleaning fee (when in Rome and all that...) which was far from sparkling. The host argued that - like tipping there - it was a given the fee would be paid, pretty much regardless of quality on the basis that it wasn't filthy. 

[Gillian166]

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@Gordon0 wrote:

The host argued that - like tipping there - it was a given the fee would be paid, pretty much regardless of quality ...

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omg, I HATE tipping when in the USA, as you wrote: it's just expected, regardless of quality.  I don't know if I see the cleaning fee the same way, but it's certainly curious that ABB launched with this as an extra free. 

[Helen744]

@Gillian166  I also think not paying people a living wage and expecting them to live on tips is very de classe. also a left over of old bad policies connected with old bad times when people were taken advantage of .I would be very nervous about how to do this correctly because in Australia tipping is something you may do at a restaurant for good waiter/waitress service or a taxi driver who is pleasant and helpful but that is not expected either. H

[Gillian166]

yes @Helen744  it's a curious system they implemented, like their healthcare, possibly too deeply embedded systematically to change it. Mind you, our minimum wage and penalty rates are killers for small business. A "one rule fits all" doesn't quite work for a small cafe in Dalby Vs a cafe at Bondi Beach. 

At least with ABB we get to set the cleaning fee ourselves. I'm glad we have this "new" system of short-term V long term, so we can set different rates, but again it doesn't suit everyone. If only a couple stay in my 3-bedroom cottage I can't adjust the cleaning for that, and they might think i'm being unfair with the cleaning rate, whereas a group of 6 probably won't mind. As always, guests are unaware of the lack of customisation we have. 

[Marie7084]

I have always charged a cleaning fee and am proud to say I pay my cleaners a living wage.  It is a remote area and employees are hard to come by.  I have found with cleaning you get what you pay for.  I get charged a seperate fee for hot tub maintenance between each guest.  So, for my six bedroom, four bath that sleeps 18 guests, the cleaning company charges me $395 for the home and from $80-$120 for hot tub depending on how guests left it.  On every booking, that is alot for me to pay out of my own pocket as a host.  Last year, on my three properties I paid over $42,000 for cleaning.   I do not charge guests my entire cleaning fee,  I charge them about half of what I actually pay.   I think this is fair.