Cleaning for whole property on long term stay

[Kate867]

Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere, but I can’t seem to find an appropriate answer!  I am quite new to Airbnb having only started letting our cottage out at the end of June this year.  We do not charge a cleaning fee and the stays booked up until and including October have varied between two nights to seven nights for the entire cottage which sleeps five guests.  I live some distance away, so my cleaner nips in and and cleans for about four hours after every stay including changing the sheets and towels.  Now, today I got a booking for a family wanting to stay for 28 nights all through December.  So what do I do? Just let them crack on with it and let them do their own cleaning or still send the cleaner in periodically?  All the towels and sheets for several changes are accessible to the guests, and I supply one dishwasher tablet, one washing machine capsule per day and enough firefighters and matches etc to get the fire going.  Help?

[Helen3]

Hello @Kate867 

Personally with long stays I would have it in the house rules that for long stays a weekly cleaning charge will be payable in addition to the accommodation charge.

As you haven't done this, I would just provide two or three changes of bedding and towels and let them change their own bedding and towels (presume you have a washer/dryer on the premises).

In self catering rentals it is pretty standard to do a start up pack of toilet rolls, dishwasher and washing machine powder/tablets, milk, tea, coffee, salt + pepper, oil etc and other basics and for guests to buy products when they run out.

[Kate867]

Thanks Helen, yes there is both washing machine and tumble dryer in property and I also leave cleaning stuff, loo paper etc there as well.  As this stay is also for over the Xmas period I am guessing I will have to leave decorations for them as well.

[Helen3]

Well you don't have to leave anything and they may not be Christian but perhaps a few decorations might be nice @Kate867 

[Sarah977]

@Kate867  Some hosts who take long term bookings have said it's a good idea to go in once a week to clean. If the guests are messy, dirty types, which you have no way of knowing, it's better to keep it at bay, rather than let a month's worth of dirt build up. I've read some horror stories here on the forums about the state hosts found their place in when they just left the guests completely alone, without going in to clean, for a month.

And make sure, if you are going to leave enough bedding and towels in the unit for their entire stay, that they are clear that that is all that is provided. What might be obvious to you or me isn't to many guests. You want to avoid having them use a towel once, throw it on the floor and take a fresh one off the pile every time they have a shower, then asking you for more, or running the washing machine daily. If you decide to have your cleaner go in once a week, yu might want to provide them with enough for a week and have the cleaner bring in fresh stuff then, if that's practical for you. And if you do have it cleaned once a week, it's fair to charge a cleaning fee.