GIVING GUESTS CLEANING EXPECTATIONS

[Lorena16]

Hi, just joined and about to have our first guest. When we leased privately we employed a cleaner after each guest, but had specific requirements for our guets to avoid additional cleaning fees. I want to have the sane arrangement with my guests through AIRBNB.

1. Where do I list these expectations?

2. I assume there are no restrictions with airbnb as to what my expectations are??

3. What is seen as acceptable of how guests should leave a self conatined place? I dont want to deter future quests by my list, but dont want to be paying moer than basic cleaning fees either..

[Mark445]

thats ridiculous maam. its your home, NOT a hotel. just because guests pay to stay there doesnt mean they can trash your home. its not a hotel with a cleaning staff on standby. i worked hard to clean my home for their comfort and guests should strive to leave it that way.

[Juanita16]

Hello I agree with your comment. My business partner and I have a vacation rental which we just started renting out last season. I live on the premises and do the cleaning with help from family. I don't expect my guests to clean just ick up after themselves so far most have been great. We are outside Watkins Glen NY 

[Ms-Pau0]

@Iulia3 Please stay in hotel next time, okay!

[Ken28]

I appreciate if my guests clean up after themselves... regardless of whether they are Airbnb guests or personal guests. I always clean up meals immediately, and most pitch in when they see things need done.

In my family, it’s expected that if you go to ANYONE’s house, you make sure you help clean up the messes you contributed to. Adults rinse and/or wash and dry dishes after meals and kids are expected to pick up their toys before leaving. It’s just common courtesy in return for someone’s hospitality. 

But it maybe that’s a ‘southern hospitality’ thing. Around here, it’s disrespectful to leave someone’s house messier than when you arrived.

[Lucy332]

They are not doing 'free cleaning' i.e. cleaning your home for you they are cleaning up their own mess!

For short term guests I just expect them to leave the place room tidy- I don't expect them to strip the beds and a small amount of trash is fine (if there is a lot i would expect them to wash it out). I expect them to wash up as we live in the place too and it is not our job to wash their plates.

For longer term  (week plus) I give them spare sheets but expect them to make their own bed, keep the room tidy generally, clean down the kitchen after use (which means wash up and wipe up spills, crumbs etc), and ideally if staying up to a month freshen up the room (pass round the hoover, cloth- its for their own benefit and I don't go into their room.). Something that really bothers me is guests not opening windows in in the room (which leads to smell/stuffiness) and most of all TRASH. the last two guests (both teenagers) have been keeping food trash in their room including takeaway cartons boxes directly on the NEW pale carpet (despite the fact there is a coffee table and desk in the room). I found this behaviour really odd (there are trash cans in the kitchen and outside the flat), why would you put a chinese takeaway on a carpet. One guest I asked several times to not keep trash in the room (also because it attracts mice) but she ignored me and we had to charge her for stains all over the carpet. We've also taken to going into the room to remove some of these items until they get the hint.

Generally i think this cleaning fee = entitlemenet is such a wrong attitute. In a hotel the cleaning is priced in, but as stated on this thread we are pressured to make nightly rate so low it does not compensate for the time spent preparing for guests (including laundry which is relentless) therefore there is a fee. It doesn't mean you can make a mess.

[Dan743]

When the guest pays $31 per night, spends the entire day in the room with the A/C system running 24 hours, the use of the laundry and dryer machine, expects breakfast every morning, brand new bed comforters, neat bedroom decoration, good location in town, GUESTS MUST clean the room. End of discussion.

[Ange2]

@Bill47  I don't expect people to clean but I don't call washing their dirty dishes and picking up after oneself cleaning - I thought that was a given for most people.  I don't charge a cleaning fee on top of a nightly fee but I always have it professionally cleaned when they leave even if they do clean,  just helps not to have a mountain of dirty dishes caked with dried food and trash everywhere to get out of the way first.

[Ange2]

What I forgot to add is:

1. the more mess guests leave
2. the more hours need to be spent on cleaning = more expense
3. more expense =  higher nightly fee for guest

If guests are looking for relatively cheap places to stay then it is in their interest to help keep the overhead, and thus the price, down  i.e. wash their own dishes, clean up after themselves.

[Alison146]

I understand where you're coming from, however, from a host's perspective things are a bit more complicated. I'm sure we'd all love to welcome every guest to a pristine, deep-cleaned, not a speck of dust listing and allow our guests to relax completely and not have to even tidy up. However, given the fact that we either have to do it ouselves or hire someone, this is often not possible. We would either have to raise our rates very high, or only accept guests when we didn't have any plans the following day, etc. I don't mean to be argumentative, but the fact remains that these are not hotels. Most of us list one property or room. It generally supplements our salary, and therefore it can't become a full time job. We also can't save on hiring a cleaning "staff" the way a hotel or b&b can. We pay premium prices for cleaning, and cleaners usually charge by the hour. Even with a cleaning fee, I often end up paying my cleaner close to the cost of a one night stay, and extra for laundry. I understand your frustration with being asked to clean, but I assure you we're not doing it to swindle anyone, but just because the reality of the situation is that it wouldn't be economically feasible to rent our places otherwise. 

[Huma0]

@Bill0

Interesting article. I can understand the writer's perspective. However, she is referring to a two bed apartment that cost $400 a night with a $130 cleaning fee. For that I would also not expect to be given a long list of things to do on check out.

However, not all Airbnbs are the same and the prices normally reflect this. If you are paying a fraction of the cost of a hotel, you do not get the same facilities as a hotel. You have not paid for housekeeping/maid service, 24 hour reception, a concierge and porters so don't expect them!

Personally, I don't charge that much for my rooms by London standards, I don't charge a cleaning fee and I don't ask the guests to do anything on check out other than leave the key. However, I do expect my guests to show a bit of consideration while staying in my home and that includes putting their dishes in the dishwasher (they don't have to put it on, empty it or anything like that), wipe up spills if they make them and put their rubbish in bins rather than leave it scattered all over the floor or furniture and not eat greasy, messy food in the bedrooms getting it on my fabrics and furniture. I would also like it if they didn't leave my sparkly clean bathrooms covered in hair and splattered with product and the toilets smeared with poo. I do not leave a hotel bathroom looking like that, let alone a home which I am paying very little to stay in. It's just disrepectful.

For the money my guests pay, they get a lot already. They get a beautiful, spotlessly clean room with a beautifully made up bed with ironed linens and plenty of towels. They arrive to a very clean kitchen and sparkling bathrooms. I try to keep things presentable during the stay which does mean I am cleaning up after them. They are therefore already getting more than they have paid for.

They are not paying me to be their maid and wash their dishes or pick up their trash from the floor. Last week a guest left chewing gum stuck on the floor and ruined several pans by repeatedly using them without washing them properly. I literally had to scrub anything she touched everytime she touched it, even the handles on the fridge doors. This week guests used a very expensive antique dressing table to eat their meals on. I am still trying to get whatever sticky gunky they spilt all over it off. Another guest used the same dressing table to chop up a watermelon and scratched it. She hid the scratch under towels and then claimed that my cat did it!

Just because a guest is paying a nightly rate, it does not entitle them to treat the place however they want. There have to be rules and guidelines because otherwise some guests (and they are the minority) will create so much work and expense for the host that it becomes unfeasible to continue hosting at those rates.

[Song6]

Well for me it is not 2 cents. I and a paid scrub. launder, vacum, and polish the spaces my guests use prior to, during and after my guests leave. That is hot water, soap and two people working for at least 6 hours. The very low price you pay includes an accountant fee, utility bills, income taxes, and upkeep of the space, and furniture. I am thankful that only a very, very few people are like you who disrespect me and my home my by leaving it like a pig sty. Please, please, please do stay where you can get your 2 cents worth, and can be yourself, and pray not at my place.

My home is not a hotel. I could say more but you wouldn't understand. Song

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

I'm a new host and I don't charge a cleaning fee - I think providing a clean place with fresh sheets are mandatory regardless of whether you have a paying guest at your home or a family member. With that said, my home isn't a hotel either. Sure, I'm paid to provide a room with a bed and bath but I'm not paid enough to provide housekeeping or maid service. It's my home, so as a host I'll scrub the bath every 7~10 days, provide clean sheets every 2 weeks or so (I change the sheets personally), and because my listing is a room in my home, I might do a quick vaccum of the floors when I'm cleaning up. I don't think cleaning up after yourself should be considered house work. If you spill something, you wipe it. If you used cups and plates, you rinse them and (at least) place them in the sink or dishwasher. If you don't want to do the dishes, that's fine with me - but then, don't make a mess in my kitchen. I don't mind doing the occasional cup or plate but I'm not doing pots and pans and utensils and plates and bowls that you used to cook and eat an entire meal. Get takeout and throw away the boxes. I don't see anything wrong with asking guests to place used towels in the laundry basket, but asking the guest strip the bed linens is just wrong. I wouldn't expect my own sister to change the bed linens or strip the bed before she leaves after a visit. 

I consider my guests as somewhere between a guest and housemate and try to explain expectations as clearly as possible. But I try to be open to guest requests and expectations as well. 

[Lisa7]

@Jessica-and-Henry0 Sounds like you're being reasonable, though some guests might expect the place to be cleaner than you have it when they get there. It's really just up to you setting expectations. If you say at the outset in a message to guests coming in something like, I'm happy to have you in my home. You'll have fresh sheets, etc etc (whatever you offer), and we do a thorough clean of the common areas weekly (or whatever), then I think your guests will be happy. That said, you might want to experiment with charging a cleaning fee, especially if the competition in your area does so.

@Tim26 You also sound like you're doing it right. I'm sure your guests are appreciative. I charge £30 (in London) and many of my guests leave the place super clean. It still needs a proper, professional clean before a guest checks in. But I've been very impressed with how 90% of guests behave.

[Tim26]

For my little 2 bed apartment - probably 700 square feet - I charge a £15 cleaning fee, but my cleaner who works for up to 3 hours to clean, iron and get everything ready gets paid £30.  I think it's reasonable to expect guests to leave it in a state that they'd be happy to continue living in - so washing up done (dishwasher is provided, mind), stuff put away and towels in a pile for example.

The only reason I charge a cleaning fee really is for the number of one night bookings I get - it really dents profitability if they stay for one night at ~£75 and I pay £30 of that straight out to the cleaner (not to mention other expenses and tax!).

I'd hate to think a guest thought they could be a slob just because they were paying £15!  That's a troubling thought!!

[Linda664]

GI Tim. Re 1 night bookings...I think Airbnb sgoiuld add an extra charge for one night only.. As you say it hardly covers costs to rent it for 1 night. In my case it helps pay the bills but very little profit in it