Cleaning fees in Portland, OR

Cole2716
Level 2
Portland, OR

Cleaning fees in Portland, OR

Hi everyone!

I have been hosting since November and love it. I have a cleaner who does a really great job but even when I tell her to just do a hospitality clean (sheets/floors/trash and wipe down surfaces) she charges me $140! Even if the place is already relatively clean and I only had guests for one night. Any suggestions? This is way too expensive considering the consistent business I give her. I keep the place essentially spotless all the time anyway because I host on short notice.

 

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!!! 

13 Replies 13
Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Cole2716 Even if you've only had a one-nighter, there's a lot more that needs to be done besides sheets, floors and trash, especially in the midst of a pandemic. All surfaces need to be sterilized, the bathroom done, the kitchen, and lots of other things. It doesn't just have to look clean, it has to be clean. And sterilized, unless you are leaving 24 hours between bookings, which it doesn't sound like you are.

 

And does she charge you more if guests stay longer and leave a mess? You can't just look at it in terms of each separate booking, you have to look at the long picture. And decide whether having an excellent, dependable cleaner is worth it, or you want to take your chances on someone else who may not do a good job.

 

Obviously, if her price is out of line with the going rate in your area, or if it means you aren't making any profit, or she's only there cleaning for an hour on average, and wants $140, something needs to change.

 

 

Lisa723
Level 10
Quilcene, WA

@Cole2716 you are getting a 3-bedroom, 2.5-bath house cleaned for $140? Lucky you, hold on to your cleaner and be super-nice to her. And raise your cleaning fee to $140.

 

Your idea that a "hospitality clean" somehow requires less effort than other cleaning is exactly backwards. Cleaning an STR requires cleaning/sanitizing appliances and all surfaces every time, which a person cleaning your house for you typically need not do every time.

 

And you have committed to Airbnb's Enhanced Cleaning Protocol. Have you even glanced at it?

@Lisa723 thank you for the feedback! I typed out a response to this already and then it got deleted. I’m new to this community page too, so bear with me. 

I will increase my cleaning fee! I get great feedback about how clean the place is and obviously that’s what’s most important and that nobody is getting sick.

 

appreciate the reply.

@Cole2716 This forum can be glitchy when writing a long response. If you try to remember to copy it before pressing reply, you can just paste it back into a new message box if it disappears into cyberspace, before hitting reply again.

Lorna170
Level 10
Swannanoa, NC

Here is a sample housekeeping/maintenance charge for one of my 3 bedroom 2.5 bath homes sleeps 6 with a minimum stay of 3 nights:

 

150.00 Housekeeper 5 hours  (cleaning charged to the guest)

From my pocket:

    25.00  Pet Clean (Odoban sanitizer and poo pickup)

    35.00  Hot tub empty, scrub out and refill

    50.00  Yard maintenance (mowing, leaf removal)

    15.00  Trash taken offsite

 

The cleaning rate was established by my physically cleaning the house with the housekeeper and my husband doing the outside maintenance with our guy.   We tracked the time and tasks, and then reached an agreed upon fee.  

Brooke110
Level 2
Salt Lake City, UT

Hey @Cole2716 and others! I have a small team of cleaners in the Portland area. We do a great job and I like to think that we have competitive prices! Please send me a message if you are interested or give me a call at 503-567-9339. Our website is also turnovur.com

 

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

@Brooke110   Please read the terms of this forum before posting - they do confirm you are not allowed to spam this forum by promoting commercial services. 

Cole2716
Level 2
Portland, OR

Update! It turns out I very much misunderstood how much to charge for cleaning fees, and that I am actually getting a really good deal. This is why we have these discussions I guess! Thank you all for your tips and tricks. 

That
being said, can anyone share what they charge for cleaning fees? Like on their listings? Will guests be scared away if I bump it up to $120-$150/stay? I’m thinking I actually might have to. 

Thanks again!!

 

@Lorna170 @Lisa723 @Sarah977 @Brooke110 

@Cole2716 Thanks for tagging me in here, and hopefully the others will chime in, cause my listing is a private room in my home and I don't charge a cleaning fee at all. It takes me about an hour and a half to clean and prepare the room/bath for a new guest, but I have a 3 day minimum, and most of my guests stay at least a week, so averaged out, I don't feel the need to charge a cleaning fee.

 

But of course you definitely need to. And the amount you mention sounds pretty normal to me for the size of your place.

This makes sense, thank you! Yes I’m gathering that I need to raise the price, which I will do now! Appreciate the help.

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

It doesn't matter what we charge as the vast majority of us aren't in your location @Cole2716 

 

Do your homework search for comparable places in your area on Airbnb and see what they charge for cleaning/their day rate . 

Lisa723
Level 10
Quilcene, WA

@Cole2716 my cleaning fees are: $200 for a 3-bedroom house, $150 for 1-bedroom cabin, $60 for a 2-bedroom basement guest suite. And I am not signed up for the enhanced cleaning protocol; if I were they would have to be much higher. All fees go directly to cleaners. You can see the cleaning fees of the listings of any host on this forum. Click on their community profile, then from there click on their airbnb profile, and from there click on any listing.

Thanks @Lisa723 ! That’s really helpful. I checked out your listings - impressive! I changed my minimum stay to 2 nights as well as increased my cleaning fee to $150. I just feel like my house is too big with too many rooms to justify a 1 night stay going forward. 

Thanks for the help everyone!! I think I just dodged a major bullet early on in terms of losing out on some important profit and taking great care of my cleaner!