Cleaning Fees

Chris1587
Level 2
Wells, United Kingdom

Cleaning Fees

As a sometime Airbnb user I would like to make hosts aware of something. I will never ( never ever ) book a place with cleaning fees. I can’t imagine I’m the only so please consider carefully before adding this extra cost to your prices. 

 

1. I would leave the place clean and tidy when I left anyway. 

2. What am I paying you for anyway? I expect you to have to wash towels and vacuum, why would I pay extra for this 

3. Clean is not an ‘optional’ extra. 

 

I pay more perhaps than the advertised fee by this standard I have set but that’s OK, it’s my opinion you’re just adding the fees so your prices seem lower. 

 

For instance advertised at £40 pounds, cleaning fee £17 plus Airbnb fee £15 - total £72 !! Sharp practice. 

 

So please, please have a bit of consideration before adding these fees. 

 

And to to the person who seemed proud of ‘a free basket of logs for the woodburner’.... c’mon. 

 

Rant over. 

175 Replies 175
Gerry-And-Rashid0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Chris1587


Hi Chris - it's up to hosts, not  AirBnB, to add on extras if they so wish. But it is an option that I agree is unusual. Many hosts build the cost into the overall daily rate instead so they appear more expensive - but at least it is the true price, plus a booking fee of course. So it can come as a shock when you actually see the full rate.

 

However, the fact that you leave a place clean and tidy is not good enough. The next guest will expect clean bedding, bathroom scrubbed etc..

 

I also disagree with you on logs - if guests wish to use a log burner it's quite usual for a host to provide a starter pack and then you buy tops up as and when you need it.

@Gerry-And-Rashid0 - not sure if it happens on the UK site, but in the US, if a guest puts in their dates, the cleaning fee is included in the shown nightly price.  So if I list at $40 and someone looks for one night with the actual dates, they will be shown that my price is $55 (to include the $15 cleaning fee). 2-nights shows $47.50.  It does not show the added Airbnb fees or taxes of course.  

It doesn't happen on the UK or European sites. The fee is also masked but that's a fixed cost .

 

I would much rather know a night with you is $55 before booking. The cleaning fee does not appear until I press book which is after I've made an assessment as to whether your listing reflects the value I am looking for.,

@Chris1587 Oh yes, the cleaning fee price is included in the price you see if you add the specific dates you want to book. 

I see that you are correct on the desktop site and that makes life a lot clearer.

Unfortunately this does not happen on the mobile site.

 

It's also interesting that the example I just used less than 50% had a cleaning fee but I could see, again on a desktop, the totals at a glance (including the service fee)

@Chris1587 Airbnb has to show the price including cleaning fees etc. It is an EU law. But of course if you do not select the days you want how should airbnb be able to figure out the exact price?

Sorry Sandra, you're wrong, I've just tried the same search on desktop and mobile, on desktop I can see the headline price, then the total price and, if I click on the ? the breakdown.

 

On mobile I see only the headline price until I press book

 

 

And I did put the dates in as I'm about to book a trip. 

 

 

@Chris1587 It sounds strange because it shows the full price on my mobile app. 

@Chris1587 Also it was quite a big thing in the news a couple of month ago when airbnb was forced/pushed by EU to change the system to include all fees for transparency reasons.

@Chris1587 About what you are saying about adding a cleaning fee. It almost sounds like you feel that we as hosts try to cheat you somehow. I'm not sure I understand that.

I spend around 90 minutes cleaning, washing, ironing and preparing for a new guest. Everything has to be clean the windows, the fridge etc. It doesn't really matter if a guest stays for just 1 night or longer it is the same routine. It is a lot of work if I have 4 one night stays in a week compared to just a single 4 night stay. 

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

I am in the UK @Chris1587 on when I use my mobile to search with dates it shows the total price.

 

I think what is important is that when you see what a listing costs it is the total cost that matters not whether the host has separated out the cleaning fee.

 

I also think you have misunderstood the purpose of the cleaning fee.

 

I can't imagine you truly think that all that is involved in cleaning is to vacum a place and provide clean towels. If you do I can only think you don't do the cleaning in your property 🙂

 

The cleaning fee covers cleaning the bathroom including the shower and bath. Providing toilet rolls, shampoo, conditioner and soap. In my listing I provide a wide variety of teas and coffees, mik and sugar. Water and chocolates. Cleaning the kitchen including fridge, oven, work surfaces. Washing all floors. Providing logs for the fire. Cleaning the living and dining room. Washing bed linens and towels. Preparing the guest room including making beds. Washing the bathrobes I provide. Hoovering. Cleaning all surfaces throughout the house.

 

I also provide a personalised tour of my local area.

 

This is for every guest and takes between two to three hours. If I paid a cleaner it would cost between £30 - 45 for every stay.

 

You cannot add it to the daily rate because you dont know how long a guest is staying for so wouldn't know what rate to include in the nightly rate.

 

 

@Alice-and-Jeff0. Thank you. I am a new host. So the cleaning fee is only charged once no matter how many nights a guest stays. So the $47.50 is the price per night if the person stays 2 nights. This is so good to know.

 

Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

@Chris1587

you will find numerous posts about cleaning fee on this forum but every host will tell you the same thing - you are not paying for cleaning AFTER you but FOR you.

 

My question is - would you pay it if the name of this fee is different? For example: "longer stay discount"? Because our cleaning fee is just that - discount for stay longer than 1 night.  We have it because we prefer longer stays, of course.

 

Example:

Our price is 35 € / night + 10 € cleaning fee so :

1 night    = 35 + 10          =     45€    (45€/night)

2 nights = 35 x 2 + 10   =     80€    (40€/night )

6 nights = 35 x 6 + 10   =   220€    (36,66€/night)

....

As our average stay is just 2 nights we could charge 40€/night without cleaning fee, right? But then 6 nights would cost 240€ instead of 220€.

 

If you want to pay more just because you don't like the name of this fee, no problem, it is your choice 🙂

 

 

 

 

Your example is exactly what I expect; stay a week pay less, stay a night pay more.

 

And you're right, it's my choice and I exercise it. 

 

But.

 

It doesn't appear until the last stage before payment. It is not is the listing or in the profile.