Cleaning Requests and Cleaning Fees

Peter1
Host Advisory Board Alumni
SF, CA

Cleaning Requests and Cleaning Fees

A Guest recently complained on TikTok that her Host asked her to do some cleaning duties before checking out, even though the Host charged her a cleaning fee. 

 

What are your thoughts about this?

 

"'It does have a $125 cleaning fee as most Airbnb’s do, and I don’t have a problem with that, but this is what I do have a problem with: in addition to that $125 cleaning fee, we ask that you remove garbage, fine, remove bed linens, fine, start the dishwasher and a load of laundry,' she says in the video. 'Now, maybe this is entitlement, or privilege talking, however, if I’m paying $225 a night to stay somewhere plus $125 cleaning fee, I’m not doing any **bleep**ing laundry. Full stop. I know it’s like one load of laundry, it will take me like two minutes to do, but it’s the principle that bothers me.'"

 

https://www.dailydot.com/debug/airbnb-guests-clean-fee-tiktok/

31 Replies 31
Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Peter1  Well, first off, that guest is portraying what she was asked to do misleadingly. Throwing the sheets and towels in the washing machine and turning it on before leaving is not "doing laundry". And it requires all of about 3 minutes time. It still will have to removed and dried, folded, etc.

 

That said, I have always thought it strange for hosts to ask guests to strip beds and start a load of wash. I can fully understand that would seem like the host's job, and I think it is, too.

 

Asking guests to collect and bag up their garbage and wash their dishes is standard and is just expecting them to tidy up their own personal mess. Most guests have no issue with that. But laundry seems like housework, which shouldn't be a guest's responsibilty, IMO.

@Sarah977 I totally agree.  Most people will say that you don't have to do laundry at a hotel.  What is the purpose of having them start the laundry?  I would assume this should be done while the house is being cleaned by the cleaning company

Lorna170
Level 10
Swannanoa, NC

@Peter1   Guests should expect to pick up and bag their trash, wash their dishes or load the dishwasher and put away the cleaned pots and pans and other cooking equipment.  They should not have to do laundry, as you or your housekeeper may need to pre-soak or pre-treat for stains on the linens and towels.  I tell my guests to leave the linens on the beds and the used towels in the shower.   

@Lorna170 I agree.  Leave the bedding and I have a basket in the bathrooms for the used towels.

Kim866
Level 7
Puryear, TN

@Peter1 

The only thing I ask my guests to do is leave any used beds unmade.  Most (98%) of our guests clean up their dishes and take out the garbage on their own.  I personally do not expect or want guests to do laundry--that is how I ended up with a lot of light blue towels that were previously white! 

I have had three different guests tell me that when they are presented with a check out list they find it irritating.  One told me that because I had a "light hand" regarding requests it made her want to be a better guest so she made sure to clean up after herself!

@Kim866  Same here. Although my listing is a private room/ensuite bath in my home, and guests may tend to be more respectful when in a host's home than left on their own, all but one (young and from a well-off family who grew up with maids) have left their space clean and tidy with zero " rules" from me.

 

One young man left the place so immaculate, even making the bed perfectly, as if I wasn't going to remake it with clean bedding, that aside from the used towels neatly hung on the rod, it didn't look like anyone had been in there since I had cleaned 4 days previous.

Pat271
Level 10
Greenville, SC

I think the main reason that hosts would like guests to start a load of laundry is that it takes a long time to wash everything, and this gives the cleaner a head start.  Granted, this is not the guest’s problem, but I think this may be the main motivation behind the request.

 

My housecleaner would like me to tell my guests to start a load of towels, since those take the longest to dry. Instead, I list starting a load of towels as a favor that would be greatly appreciated, but only if it isn’t too much trouble, as I appreciate that guests have a lot to think about and prepare for on checkout day.

 

Otherwise, I tell them I don’t expect them to do any housework at all, but that cleaning up their own trash, messes and spills would be appreciated. I also ask them to load the dishwasher to prevent bugs feasting on the dirty dishes.

 

That’s it. I do recognize that this is a touchy subject for some guests. Even I was a little taken aback years ago when I saw my first “todo” list in a vacation rental.

Karla533
Level 10
Santa Fe, NM

@Peter1  I am 100% with the guest on this. I hate this behavior by hosts.

 

If I get to the point where I have to tell guests to do laundry I'm going back to being a long term landlord.

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Pat271   "I think the main reason that hosts would like guests to start a load of laundry is that it takes a long time to wash everything, and this gives the cleaner a head start."

 

I see this differently. If a host chooses to have a guest count that requires mounds of laundry to be done during a cleaning/turnover,  then I think their pricing should account for the cleaner staying long enough to get the laundry done. Or have enough extra sheets and towels that those can simply be changed out and the laundry taken away to do elsewhere, or for a linen service to pick up. 

 

It shouldn't be the guest's responsibility to deal with laundry simply because the host wants to take back-to-back bookings or doesn't want to pay for an extra hour for the cleaner to be there, or purchase enough bedding and towels so that there's no rush to get all the laundry done between bookings.

@Sarah977  I did highlight that making the cleaner’s life easier should not be the guest’s problem. What I’m saying that the hosts who do ask the guests to start a load of laundry are asking mainly for time considerations.

 

What I do in terms of a solution is have 3 sets of linens and towels available. If the guest does start a load and the cleaner can get the laundry done on time, she does, otherwise she switches in already-cleaned sets.

 

 

@Pat271  Yes, I did understand it was a matter of time constraints. That's what I meant by the host paying for more cleaning time or not taking back to back bookings.

 

You do it in a way I see as no issue. You have enough bedding so there isn't a mad panic to get it all washed, you suggest to guests that it would be appreciated, but not required. 

 

As I just have a private room home share, I have no check-out expectations for guests, but I don't want them to strip the bed. Both to check if anything needs pre-treating, and also because I don't do same-day turnovers, and between the dust and bugs and gecko poo here, I prefer to leave the used bedding on the bed until I am ready to remake the bed with clean linens for an incoming guest. 

 

But sometimes I forget to tell guests to just leave the bed as is. So it's been interesting. Some strip the bed, fold up the used linen and leave it neatly on the bed, some strip it and ball it up and leave it on the bed or floor, some leave the bed as is, and one guest remade the bed perfectly, as if I wouldn't put on clean stuff for the next guest.  🙂  (Actually I think he was just trying to be respectful and earn a good review- the entire bedroom and bathroom were left immaculate)

@Sarah977  Yes, we have the same feeling about not stripping the beds, so that stains can be located and pretreated easily.

 

What we have noticed is that guests who strip the beds and wad up the linens are usually hoping we won’t see whatever they’ve left there. 🙂 It’s a hassle for my cleaner, who has to flatten them out again to check them.

 

Gecko poo?! Yech!

@Pat271  Yes, geckos are ubiquitous here. I actually love them, they are so cute and fun to watch running around the walks and ceilings at night catching bugs. But they do leave little mouse-like droppings, unfortunately.

 

My neighbor told me at one point that he had started killing the geckos in his house, as he was tired of wiping up gecko poo every morning. Then a week later he asked me if the mosquitoes were really bad at my place,  because they were at his. I said not all- because I don't kill the geckos.

@Sarah977  We have tons of geckos on Maui. Right outside the door, they jump across the path in front of you as you pass by. A guest in another unit even found one on his pillow one day and had a conniption fit.

 

I don’t typically find their droppings in the house, though. Maybe they are a different kind of gecko that prefers to do their business elsewhere.🤷🏻‍♀️