Cleaning Fees should be based on Length of Stay

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Susan1404
Level 10
Covington, GA

Cleaning Fees should be based on Length of Stay

I normally have guests that stay no longer than 6 nights and usually less than that.  However I just had my longest occupancy since joining Airbnb.  They arrived 12/1 and stayed until 12/21.  Although they were decent guests (2 people), they were pretty messy.  It didn't warrant a less than stellar, 5 star review, because they were very good guests in all other facets of their stay.  When they checked out, I did a brief walk-thru of the cabin and because it was daytime, I didn't turn on the lights.  As a result, I missed the fact that the kitchen counters were covered in sticky food substances, the floor needed to be not just be mopped, but actually needed scrubbing to remove a lot of smears, and the bathroom - suffice to say it needed extra scrubbing too.  I wish Airbnb had a way to charge varied cleaning fees contingent on the length of stay.  I wondered if anyone had a work-around that would allow me to charge something more appropriate for people staying longer than a week.  I typically charge a measly $15 cleaning fee, but that is just fine for short stays.  It was definitely not fine for this extended length of time. 

1 Best Answer
Rowena29
Level 10
Australia

@Susan1404 

Have you considered NOT charging a "cleaning fee" and just adding the very small cost you ARE charging to your nightly rate? That way the amount you are collecting for cleaning accumulates nightly.  You can fiddle about with your discount settings -for stays of 3 days, 5 days etc to minimise /offset the extra costs if you want.   I do this and then state in my checkout procedures that because I don't charge a cleaning fee I expect guests to do the following basic things ( and list them).

It's purely pyschological but it seems to work - for me anyhow.   I have a group of 9  - including an infant - who are staying for 11 nights over xmas/ new year.   steeling myself for the workload when they check out on 3/1.  But then again, it was great money ( for once) so I'll grin an bear it. And it MAY be ok  - they messaged me and asked if I would like them to water the garden and verandah plants so they're considerate.

 

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22 Replies 22

 

Your physchological approach is a great suggestion.

I'm a new virtual host, and will have to hire someone to clean my place. Based on my research, It could be pretty pricy for a 1700 sqft home, so I'm still trying to decide. 

 

Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

@Susan1404 

1x week light cleaning and sheets / towels change is something we do. Instead of charging more cleaning fees we just don't offer any weekly discount.

 

Naz275
Level 3
London, GB

Some great comments here but the only disadvantage with removing the cleaning fees and increasing the daily rate is that your listing will appear more expensive by a daily rate. However on the positive I think guests prefer it when there are no additional charges when seeing the final price. It is psychology. 

Alison416
Level 2
Prescott, AZ

I agree. My guests stay 3-6 months and I like to have the place cleaned monthly to keep my place nice. This is difficult to navigate because of the difference in the length of stays. This being said my cleaning fee in high for my guests staying 3 months and I loose money on my guests who stay 6 months.

Alison browning

@Alison416  yes, it is difficult to do a “one size fits all” for cleaning!

I wish Airbnb would allow us to charge a “step up” cleaning fee. For example: 1-3 nights $30, 4-7 nights $50, 7-14 $70, leads than 30 days $100. 
Booking allows us to apply a % of sales as a cleaning fee. But 15% is too low for a 1 night stay and too high for a 2 week stay. 

@Connie412  That doesn't make much sense to me. It's a one time cleaning fee, regardless of length of stay. Why would you want to charge more to clean after a week-long stay than after a 3 night stay? Most hosts feel the opposite- it's less work to clean once in a week than to clean 3 times a week.

 

And you can never know ahead of time how a guest will leave it. There are guests who can create and leave a huge mess in a 1 or 2 night stay, while others may stay for 2 weeks and leave it spotless.

Colleen28
Level 4
Johnstown, CO

Any guest staying longer than 6 days at our place gets a quick visit from me. I send a text telling them I will be there to empty the trash and deliver fresh linens. Gives me a chance to check things over. I always take an extra bottle of cleaner “to put in the bathroom”. That way I have done a quick and complete tour of the place.