Is it prudent to charge utilities and cleaning fees for extended stays?

Verlean1
Level 3
Dallas, TX

Is it prudent to charge utilities and cleaning fees for extended stays?

I have guest request to book for college semesters. I have found that guest that book for more than 4-5 days run the utilities continuously. My utilities generally quadruple.  Do you think I should add a utility fee and cleaning fee for extended stays? If so how can you do this on the app? 

1 Reply 1

@Verlean1  Airbnb's optional discount structure nudges hosts to do the opposite: apply discounts for longer stays, and  the Cleaning Fee acts as a supplement for shorter stays - which you could also think of as a discount on longer stays.  There's not a way to automatically build in extra fees for extended stays  into your pricing, and I wouldn't recommend trying to - don't forget, those long-term guests are already paying an astronomical service fee to Airbnb, and I think they'd bristle at being penalized for giving you solid business and filling your calendar.

 

It is true, though, that long term guests use your facilities more heavily than weekender tourists, who spend more time out doing stuff than hanging around the house. And of course the utilities are lower when you have more days that the house is vacant. What you can do is set a nightly rate based on the higher level of utility usage, and apply no cleaning fees or weekly/monthly discounts. That way, everybody wins.

 

If you're satisfied with the occupancy rate that you can get with short-term guests, of course you can also set a shorter Maximum Stay.