Charging cleaning fees

[Christopher-And-Nghia0]

Do you charge a cleaning fee or do you add it your listing price ?  Does a guest get turn off by seeing a cleaning fee ?

We included it in the our listing and also comment that our cleaning fee is included.  I hated it when I buy something and see extra fees added on  at check out. 

[Susie5]

Hi @Christopher-And-Nghia0,

I do charge a cleaning fee-- $60.  It is what I pay my cleaner - it takes her about 2 or 2 1/2 hours to clean (depending on how many guests there were, from 1-4, and whether there was a small child!)  In my market (Boston) that is a fair price, I think.

I have had one guest (out of over 120) try to get me to waive the cleaning fee ("we'll be really clean and tidy, I promise" --- NOT!) I turned them down flat.  

I think there is now a place on the Airbnb site where you can mention that you pay a "living wage" to your cleaner - $25 for a self-employed person and $15 for a company which provides benefits.  I meant to track this down but haven't yet. 

I think that charging a cleaning fee means you are serious about cleaning.  I used to charge $45 but paid $60, so I updated that a while ago.  Good luck!

[Lawrene0]

@Christopher-And-Nghia0, there is a thread in this forum that will answer your question: Poll - Do You Charge A Cleaning Fee?

Happy reading!

[Kimberly54]

Hi @Christopher-And-Nghia0, very interesting discussion.  I also went to the POLL to look up the former thread.

I think I am in the 'keep it all in one fee' camp.  Tempting to add on cleaning... I have a housekeeper who has been with me for many years, but of course guests add to the regular schedule.  @Susie5 made the point that if you have a cleaning fee, there is an assumption that you take cleaning seriously.  Good point. 

It seems that to whatever degree you want your guests to tidy up after themselves (huge variable), to what degree you are able to establish trust/respect with your guests (another huge variable)... seems like a cleaning fee is a tiny insurance policy.

Annnnd to what extent this kind of thing aggravates you.  My housekeeper is not full-time at all, but I would rather clean up the kitchen/bathroom/laundry myself than have them misplacing things, breaking things... just awkwardness.  A very good friend of mine was recently in my home... super smart, well-educated, M.D.  Used the restroom.  Toilet seat left up (for me, a toilet, when not in use, is a chair; when in use, it is part of the sewer system, no matter how clean it is.)  The faucet and handle (mine are sculptural elements, not knobs and spigots) were left absolutely out of alignment.  It's not just ignorant strangers; not everyone has your personal level... of anything!  (Haha... next time, I'll ask to see her ID!) ;-))))  KIDDING!

[Willow3]

I also dislike being nickel and dimed - but I've recently added a small cleaning fee after lowering my nightly rate a bit. I host a truckload of single night stays and the laundry is killing me. My water rates double in summer. 

My small cleaning fee plus one night stay nets me a few extra dollars where a two night stay now equals the old highly rate per night. It just covers the extra laundry, wear and tear on linens, and cleaning si

[Willow3]

Grrr... the limits of typing on a mobile device...

additional cleaning supplies etc. 

I often utilize single night stays in my own travels, so I don't want to eliminate them, but they are a lot of work. The small cleaning fee helps a bit. 

[Ben205]

@Christopher-And-Nghia0

I don't separate out the cleaning fee because the price I charge incorporates the income I want to earn from hosting. We have a whole-house property, 2 beds, 1 bath for 4 guests and it takes me 7-8 hours to clean and do the laundry each visit.

We have a 3-night minimum for this reason. Anything less than that, and the 'profit' is not really worth the effort. But, there's no way I could add on a separate fee that would fully cover the amount of work I do to make the house presentable. People just wouldn't look twice! It has to be included in the nightly rate.

People are smart. They can see a low cleaning fee as maybe a trick to get a few more $s. And a high one is frustrating, because the final price isn't what you expected.

[Farah1]

@Christopher-And-Nghia0 I charge a cleaning fee and fortunately, my place is always stay booked. It might be a turn off for some people, but definitely not for everyone. I think it is just personal preference + strategy.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Christopher-And-Nghia0

I don't charge a cleaning fee - just factor in all costs and expenses into the nightly fee. I tend to get a lot of long-term guests staying 1~4 months so a cleaning fee would do little for me anyway and when I do accept short-term guests (during vacation months) I still have a min 3 night requirement because I would not be able to handle back to back check-ins/outs every couple days. I think for listings that allow 1~2 night reservations, the cleaning fee is necessary to offset the cost of frequent turnovers while keeping nightly rates down for guests staying 3~5 nights.

[Lynn315]

I”m a customer, not a host, and found this conversation.  I do think it’s a serious negative to include an extremely high cleaning fee.  I am considering a rental which is reasonably priced, but then the host wanted to add a $404 cleaning fee (for a three night, whole house stay, 5 BD house).  the cleaning fee is more than one night’s lodging!  I have a large house myself and know it just doesn’t take that to clean it.  Maybe they are trying to include a damage deposit or something — but isn’t there a way to do that?   So it feels like gouging and I’m continuing to look around. I may still book, but am bothered by this.  I’d avoid doing something like this, if I were advising a host.