I just saw a post on Twitter from someone who stayed in a shared rental and left dirty dishes and pots in the sink overnight and was angry about a poor review from the host. Then a guy commented that his wife spilled coffee on a rug and he was upset that he was marked down for cleanliness.
Obviously some guests don't have a good idea of what is expected from them when they leave a rental. They think the cleaning fee covers whatever condition they leave the rental in and I'd estimate that about 20% of my guests leave my two rentals in a condition that considerably exceeds what the ample cleaning fees cover.
The two guests above said they wouldn't be using Airbnb again, not because of the rentals themselves but the responses from the hosts afterward. It sounds like the lower reviews and ratings were deserved, but it's still bad for business and maybe could have been avoided if guests were clear on expectations, and I don't think delivering those expectations should rest solely with hosts. Not only is it difficult to get people to read the entire listing (much less a house manual), it's uncomfortable for the host to sound too demanding.
That's why I think Airbnb should have a blanket policy on cleanliness standards that all guests agree to when they sign up and before each booking and that standard should clearly explain the rental should look the same when you leave as when you entered. It should only require a general cleaning. If more guests were aware that it doesn't include washing dirty dishes or scrubbing out stains or picking up garbage or putting all the furniture back, etc. maybe the cleaning fees (or even rental fees) would go down... which would be good for business. It would also be good for hosts to all be on the same page as far as what's expected and can adjust their cleaning fees accordingly.
Does anybody else support this idea?