We have just returned from a week's stay in an Airbnb holiday house in France, and have received a requst from the owner to send money to pay for a cleaner because he feels that we did not clean the accommodation at the end of our stay. What to do!?
We were never asked to clean in the first place! There is no mention of us needing to clean anywhere in the airbnb listing / handbook, there is no 'guest manual' at the property and we were not told to clean at the end of our stay when we were shown the property by the owner upon arrival. Having said that, we did leave the property in a really clean state anyway (as we are good and respectful guests with great Airbnb reviews from all previous stays) - we removed all bed linen and put it in the washing machine, cleaned the kitchen (cooker/surfaces wiped, fridge empty/clean, dishwasher on), we emptied all the bins throughout property, swept the floors, tidied up, cleaned the bath and wiped bathroom surfaces. What should we do?
The owner says were hairs and marks on the floors and other basic things like this. I do not feel there were hairs on the floor... but I do feel that it is unreasonable to expect a pristine house after 3 people (inc a 4 year old child) have stayed there on a beach holiday for a week. We suspect a cultural misunderstanding - perhaps in France people always clean holiday houses top to bottom.... but in the UK that is not the "unwritten rule". In the UK guests are expected to leave the place tidy UNLESS a perfect clean is specifically requested (which it never would be in a holiday rental). I think it is unreasonable to be expected to pay this fee when [a] he could have included a cleaning fee in the booking price from the outset and [2] we were never asked to clean the accommodation in the first place! May offer half for goodwill?! What is the general view on this please? Thank you.