Not charging a cleaning fee

[Gary-And-Rose0]

I dont see a reason for charging a cleaning fee. Cost of doing business. I find people tend to clean themselves. 

If I paid a cleaning fee when i stayed at a place I would tend not to be so neat and tidy Im thinking. 

What are your thoughts on this?

[Kristen31]

I just started hosting and had the same feelings as you; I did not add a cleaning fee. Cost of going business, just like providing necessities and treats. 

[Clare0]

@Gary-And-Rose0 and @Kristen31 Probably 98% of Airbnb hosts charge a cleaning fee, but I'm with you guys.  I don't charge one either and have never understood the rationale except to get more money.   If I were to rent a place, I would expect it to be clean.  If I left a mess that made the host incur extra cleaning charges, they could make a Security Deposit claim. 

[Gary-And-Rose0]

Interesting I didnt know it was that prevalent to charge one. For me its once bitten twice shy. If i see the trend is they leave a mess w/o charging one. Ill start charging one. 

I have a note in my house guide that in order to keep costs down for all to enjoy low prices we dont charge a cleaning fee. Please  help us keep the place lookong great

[Luis-Felipe0]

Humm it really depends on the type of rental. For exemple, I rent a place near the beach and people tend to bring sand inside the apartment, even if they are carefull, therefore I need to make sure it is clean in the end and sand is a pain to clean from every corner.

In another property I use it to increse de minimun price of stay, meaning that if the person books one night it will be expensive, but if they book two or more, then the price per night will fall considerably.

[David409]

I think the cleaning fee is actually a great way to make one-night stays more worthwhile for the hosts. Because a lot of the work/time involved in hosting has to do with preparing the room, this makes 1-day stay a little more competitive with longer stays, from a financial point of view. Totally up to the host, but that's the reason in my mind for charging it.

[Myranda0]

Yup! Great to help in the slow season and perfect extra offset for for overnight stays. 🙂 

[Clare0]

@Myranda0 Yours is an interesting point of view.  I clean myself but I would consider adding a cleaning fee if I had to hire someone else to do the job. 

I also have to pay Occupancy Taxes so I incorporate it into my nightly price, however, I have to stay competitive.  With my Super Host status, I'm thinking of just upping my prices next Spring.

[Myranda0]

I didn't charge one at first, but added $10 soon after - and haven't seen it negatively effect my bookings, and have never heard a guest complain about it. Now in the slow season - I get a lot of same day, instant book, one night travelers. They are always clean, but it's extra costs for washing the sheets each night. Plus, here in Idaho I have to pay 13% sales taxes after the payment from Airbnb - so I see it as a small way to offset those costs. 

When I co-hosted at my client's this summer who was pet friendly, I charged $20 cleaning fee - pets = more mess, more liability (no pet fee). I received as part of my income for cleaning in addition to my commission as onsite and online guest host / co-host. 

When you outsource, you should charge a cleaning fee. And when you do it yourself, you should charge for it, even if it's $10-$20 extra. 

I view it as getting paid to be a housekeeper in my own home, a part-time job. 

I now view cleaning as a "money making task". I work from home so I have to put a value on my time to clean and prep a room for new guest as it takes away from my other ventures.  But I love it to be clean and used to pay a housekeeper. And it's a great workout 🙂 

Do you ladies outsource your cleaning? Is Airbnb your only source of income or a bonus? Do you pay for housekeeping weekly? Do taxes get collected by Airbnb and paid in your area? 

It only really adds up for me on the overnight stays which is what I get in the slow season - so it's helpful and doesn't hurt me at all. 

[Bradley8]

I charge one, and couldn't do it otherwise.  I don't live in the same city as my property and pay a cleaner to clean it.  The nightly rate is only $100 more than what I pay the cleaner, so if I dint charge it, I would only make $100 per night for 1 night stays. Charging it has not been an issue, in fact I am 80% booked out for the next 3 months

[Annette33]

 @Gary-And-Rose0, you are so right, cleaning fees should be absorbed into the overall price, but most hosts actually tack it on as a way to make a bit more money while the visible base price is lower. I gave it considerable thought, and I tack on $25 cleaning fee for a $98.00 nightly rental, with two nights minimum, that makes it 12%.   It has never hurt my bookings, people do expect it actually, and they also leave my place spotlessly clean , every time! I do have quite a few goodies fir my guests, such as a nice bottle of wine and then some - and my place is sparkling clean when they get here, so maybe they sense all that and perceive good value. 

As I am also a Airbnb guest, yes, when the cleaning fee seems disproportionately high to the rental price, it makes me cringe, and i look elsewhere...I think to tack on 10-15% is okay, no more.

[Jennifer19]

I do have a housekeeper help me.  The fee does not even always pay what my housekeeper charges.  And I work with her, doing half the work at least.  Charging a fee stresses to guests that keeping the place clean is important.  

[Gary-And-Rose0]

Thanks all as always for the great advice. 

[Andrea9]

@Gary-And-Rose0

There is no way for hosts to adapt a higher fee for a minimum stay of one or two nights for. ex. as apposed to more nights. And since the costs of prepping work (not just cleaning, but laundry or any food...) cannot be recuperated any other way and there is no other way to add a cost by default, the cleaning fee it is then.

I have mentioned this in my description.

Expecting guests to clean up after themselves will work in a number of cases, yet from my experience in cabin or other such clean-it-yourself accommodations it really doesn't compare to the efficiency  of a proper cleaning done by the host or cleaner.

[Brett25]

We charge a small cleaning fee ($15) to cover the extra cost of washing and drying sheets/towels etc when we have single night bookings. That way we are able to cover these costs without raising the price for guests that stay multiple days, where we only need to dry the towels. We have no complaints and have 100% of our guests ratings for value, so it appears they are fine with it too.