Extended stay cleaning

[Jorge2801]

Hello,

I just started hosting last month so I'm not to sure if I did the right thing.

The current group I'm hosting initially booked for only a week. I'm hosting 6 men that travel for some type of labor work.

Before their stay was over they requested another 7 day stay and I agreed. They are due to leave this Friday and I was told they may stay for another 7 days again. They are asking if anyone would be over to clean. I replied saying that if they would like a cleaning I could have someone out to clean but it would be an additional cleaning fee since the initial cleaning fee charge was for the initial booking and didn't take into consideration the long term stay. 

Does this seem like the right move or what would you guys do in this situation?

Thanks in advance 

[Shelley159]

Hi @Jorge2801 

Your suggestion seems fair, but when you quote, keep in mind that having a reliable cleaner come in at this point may be just as much to your own advantage. It can potentially be a very big job to clean after an extended stay by a large group, so you may be doing yourself a favour by getting some of the work done before check-out (especially if you have more guests on the way!).

[Hazel184]

Hello @Jorge2801 ,

Since it is the Guest who is asking for a cleaning fee mid-stay, yes you may charge them an extra cleaning fee.  The cleaning fee they paid during the booking process is supposed to be the payment for the cleaning services after they leave to prepare the listing for the next guest.  

It is also advisable to put a disclosure on your house rule and/or listing description under "other things to note",  an extra cleaning fee clause,  which can either be optional or mandatory.  

For example,  you may write that short-term bookings (less than 28 days) have an optional mid-stay cleaning with a fee of $XX while long-term bookings (28 days or more) have a mandatory mid-stay cleaning of $XX every month.  

This will inform your future guest and manage their expectations when it comes to cleaning the listing and its related fees.  

All the best.  🙂

[Marie8425]

@Jorge2801 

Your answer is reasonable.  So is the answer about you are doing yourself a favor, I get a lot of extensions and shared house not everyone washes their sheets regularly haha sometimes I volunteer mid cleaning.

The other thing I have done because contract workers will do extensions often.  They have an idea already of probably two months but just in case they don't want to pay long term and extensions have less fees than a new reservation.  Just prior to the next extension I raise my nightly price not a lot a few dollars.  If they ask why, I am completely honest I didn't expect a long term booking and I have a few minor additional expenses to pay for.