How much do I pay my cleaning person?

[Donna1249]

Hello,

I am new to hosting and am trying to determine a fair amount to pay a cleaning person to clean our place. It is a small camp, 1 BR, 1 Bath, about 700 sq. ft not including the basement which probably won't need to be cleaned. We are limiting the # of guests to 4 (currently have 2-3 for most reservations). My neighbor has offered to clean for me as we live 3 hours away. I would actually prefer to do it myself but it just wouldn't make sense given the distance and current price of gas! She will also be doing a small load of laundry. The camp is located in Indian Lake, NY. I checked through a service like Angie's List just to get some ideas and they would charge me $86 to clean on a weekly basis, not including laundry. Does this sound reasonable? Do most cleaners charge per hour? I'm guessing some jobs will be easier than others, so it might make sense to offer to pay per hour versus a flat fee? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Donna 

[Annie1372]

@Donna1249 

I love the look of your rustic cabin 

For your question, it is so hard to say as it depends on each specific location and availability of staff.

For me, trust in a cleaning person worths a lot of money for my precious house.

i would prefer to pay a bit more and having a trustworthy person cleaning my house and especially great to report any breakage specifically and all other issues, small or big.

Dealing with family members or neighbours can be tricky as if there is an issue; a guest stating that you cabin was not spotless or even yourself noticing some miss spot in the cleaning. How confortable would you be to tell that person.

and if the situation repeats, how would you fell towards that person ?

as for the price, for my house I requested 6 persons or company, 4 came, I got 3 quotes and I selected 2 persons, in order to never be in trouble if one cannot make it, as like you, I live 2hours away.

and the cheapest one was not selected as my inner felling did not trusted her.

[Donna1249]

Hi Annie,

Thanks so much for your helpful response. You make some great points! I will keep all of this in mind when making my decisions.

Kind regards,

Donna

[Annie1372]

@Donna1249 

I’m glad I could help !!

And when you respond to someone here, please ensure to add the « @ » before it’s name in order for that person to receive the notification.

have a great day

[Donna1249]

@Annie9 

Hi again,

Thanks for the tip on adding the "@" before the name. And sorry for the delay in responding. 

Cheers,

Donna

[Annie1372]

Thanks @Donna1249 ,

now just Watch the name after the « @ »,

as I am Annie1372 and not Annie9 😉

no worry, I just did not get the notification but found you back anyway 😂

enjoy the CC - Community Center !!

[Donna1249]

@Annie1372 

Hi again, sorry about that. I actually typed in your whole name and it kept changing it to Annie9. This time after I typed in your name the correct icon popped up. Ugh, sometimes I really dislike computers.  Have a great night! 

Donna

[Annie1372]

@Donna1249 

👍🏻😇

[Ted307]

@Donna1249 

When we first started, I had a cleaning company that charged $75.00. They sent a car with 3 cleaners who spent 45 minutes at our 700 sq ft bunkhouse. The bid was for 3 hours of cleaning, so 3 people x 45 minutes is what they give for that price. They left hair in the shower drain, and did not get the stove clean, either. I live on the same lot as our rental, so now I do it. I do spend over 3 hours, not counting laundry. Our wages in AZ are much lower than yours, I am sure!

Chris

[Donna1249]

@Ted307 

Thank you Ted & Chris, and so sorry for the delay in responding. I believe I have found someone that I can trust and have negotiated a fair wage. But honestly, I do wish I lived closer so I could do it myself. Part of that is that I'm just a control freak! lol But I also would like to look everything over after guests leave. But I will be sure to be in communication with my cleaner. 

Have a great day! 

Donna

[Ann72]

Assume 3 hours @Donna1249 for the posted cleaning fee (bearing in mind that Airbnb takes 3% of that), and pay by the hour.  Sometimes she might only need 2 hours and sometimes more than 3, so it all washes out in the end (so to speak!).  

@Annie1372 makes the best points about showing your cleaning person you value her and about needing someone you can ask more of.  My previous cleaner could not adapt when I switched to Airbnb from just using my vacation home myself, so I put an ad in the paper and interviewed 10 people.  I chose two, like Annie, with the second one as back-up.  I pay mine more than the nearby rental agency pays their cleaners because she is my rock and my right arm (I live 9 hours from my listings).  No one has ever complained about the cleaning fee, so ignore those who are against it, or factor it into your nightly price if you don't want to list a separate fee.  Communication will be super important so be sure you find someone who's comfortable with texting, asking questions, telling you everything you need to know.

[Donna1249]

@Ann72 

Thanks so much for your input! Wow, you're 9 hours away from your listing! I guess you really can't clean yourself. I agree that showing how much I value my cleaning person AND clear communication is key. I believe I have found someone that I can trust and who is very responsive.

Have a great week!

Cheers,

Donna

[Mikki0]

@Donna1249  Whatever cleaning person you get, they have to understand that they're turning over a rental. Hourly doesn't work as @Ted307  pointed out.

I would create a checklist of items you want done, then talk it over with your cleaner. Some stuff you want done very time, some you don't need every time. I did this with my cleaning person. At first, it would take 60-90 mins to clean my place, and that's with me providing a fresh set of everything to turn over the apartment: clean sheets, bedspread, towels, dish mats, etc. ready to go, and no requirement for the cleaner to do the laundry. I also supplied all the cleaning product, and cleaning tools.

As they learned the place better, they were able to clean in 30-60 mins. Because most of my stays were 1-2 guests for an average 1-2 days per stay with an average of 25 stays a month, there was a lot of cleaning. The depth of the cleaning varied.

[Donna1249]

@Mikki0 

Thanks for your input and so sorry for my delay in responding. All of this info has been tremendously helpful! I especially agree with the checklist. I'm all about lists! lol

I believe I have found someone that I can trust so fingers crossed this all works out!

Have a great week!

Donna

[Richard531]

@Donna1249 Cute spot!  And a lot of folks already gave you some great advice above. Take it all to heart!

If you look at my listings, it kinda reminds me of "Cottage on the Rock" a little bit.  

To me, turning this place feels like $50-$75 easily.  Hitting up the guest for $50 (like you are now) is too low.  You should be hitting them for $75-$100.  Gives yourself a buffer for fees/sundries.  It will also dissuade shorter stays when the cleaning fee is a little higher for guests.   

And 3 hours is a LONG way away!  6 hours in a car is the problem.  Plus the actual cleaning, that's a full day!  The problem isn't that 2 years ago it cost $40 in gas for that trip and now it costs $80. . .