Outrageous cleaning fees

[Mark211]

People are killing this platform with their ridiculous cleaning fees. I tried to book a "$55 a night" room for two nights. The total bill came to $274.

 

[Marc13710]

Considering how little a mess I leave when staying at an AirBnB I'm starting to think I should become cleaner - huge pay to barely have to clean anything. 

[Donna1668]

Totally agree!  Last place I stayed charged me a $100 cleaning fee for 3 nights ( which I didn't mind), but then wanted me to strip the sheets and be a super guest, and start a load of towels.  We did take the trash out, washed and put up dishes, put wet towels in the shower, but we refused to take the sheets off the bed and thought it was kinda unsanitary to wash the towels without knowing the proper procedure, if there is one!

[Frances3408]

@Donna1668 . I agree. Airbnb should implement the all up pricing world wide. Here in OZ you cant get away with a cheap nightly rate and huge cleaning fee any more. The pricing takes all fees then averages out over stay to get the quoted nightly price.

I dont have a cleaning fee on a studio listing (even though it takes over an hour to clean) because I know my pricing sits just above motel rates. Where I host full houses there is a cleaning fee as there are many rooms, indoor and outdoor areas that also need to be cleaned. Stays can be anywhere from 2 nights to weeks and Airbnb only permits two different cleaning fees: short stays under longer ones.

My guest end of stay cleaning requests are simply that they hang up wet towels, put out rubbish and dont leave dirty dishes around (attracts creepy crawlies). I definitely dont want them to strip beds, put on loads of washing etc.

[Marc13710]

I think everyone's point is that the prices are no longer acceptable. I'm surprised so many people are willing to pay so much for short stays. I've moved back to using hotels. 

[Adriel44]

This! I am pissed tf off. I’m trying to book an all inclusive girls trip. But it’s so expensive with the cleaning fee at $730.00, minimum two nights stay is $2,000. On top of the airb&b service fee and taxes. $3500. We would have to have 10 people and each pay around $350 a night.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Adriel44 I am fascinated by complaints like this. If a place is too expensive just book somewhere else. If nothing else is available then either don't travel or accept that the price is the price. Hosts are (generally) not stupid. They know what the market will bear and/or the costs of hosting and set prices accordingly. Those that are stupid and do over price their places will get no bookings and soon go out of business.

[Dean43]

Yep! Hotels don't charge a cleaning fee. There should be limits on this. Hosts are getting greedy and offering poor service on top of that. They need to do it right or don't do it at all! What once was disruptive gets destroyed by greedy Hosts and poor property managers. The best way to fight back is destroy their ratings. Be very critical! That's the only way we fight back. Hit them hard where it hurts. Harsh ratings so other guests can see it and criticize their lack of quality amenities and poor service. Push back hard!!! It's the only way!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Dean43 Apologies for the late reply. But I feel the need to ask why you are being so vindictive with a desire to destroy a host's ratings just because hosts charge a cleaning fee. The fair and reasonable approach is just to not book with them.

[Lorna170]

Airbnb SHOULD just take the cleaning fee hosts charge, and then average it out over the number of nights on a guest's stay. They don't offer that option.   

Every time a guest leaves my property it is thoroughly cleaned for the next guest.  Housekeeping spends a minimum of three hours (sometimes as much as 5) conducting the cleaning.  IF it were a single bedroom and bathroom, it would cost a nominal fee for an hour of housekeeping.

BUT, it is a whole house property.  So.... my guests want clean sheets and duvets on two beds in two separate bedrooms.  Bedrooms need dusting, vacuuming and floors washed, especially after animals. Towel sets for 4 guests (with spares) have to be washed / changed out. Bathrooms need wall wipe-down, shower, sink and countertop sanitizing, toilets done and checked for plumbing function.  The living room and dining area require dusting, vacuuming and floors washed.  All electronic equipment (TV, lamps, outlets, etc.) need to verified as working properly. The kitchen...oh, the kitchen... requires inspection and rewashing of pots, pans, utensils, dishes, glassware, coffee makers, knife blocks, scrub out of microwave, refrigerator, dishwasher, oven and cooktop.  Sanitizing of sink and countertops, check plumbing... (unbelievable what people shove down the sink).  The change-out of the hot tub (empty, scrub and refill) takes 2 hours too!

My housekeeper cleans both my house and my rental properties.  She can breeze through my house in a few hours because she is doing bathrooms, vacuuming and dusting.  But cleaning the rental property for a guest who is going to search for dust bunnies, takes pictures of a mark on a wall or the leaves that blew onto the deck and who is determined to find fault with the condition of a rustic cabin is going to take a very long time and is a significant expense.  

My cleaning fee is $100 per rental.  A guest who comes for 2 nights may feel that this is excessive, but those who stay for a week think it is fair.  My actual cost for cleaning, i.e., what I pay as a living wage to my housekeeper is much more than that.