How much do you pay a cleaner?

[Megan822]

We live in Northeast Massachusetts and have a 2-bedroom apartment that is set to sleep 5. There is a king bed in one room and a queen bed with a twin loft in the other. I request that all bedding, towels, and dishes be washed every time, even if they don't "look" used. Cleaner leaves all the used bedding at the foot of the back stairs and I wash, dry, fold for the next clean. I provide gloves, cleaning products, and masks. 

The entire process, including the dry time on the towels, is greater than 1 hour, but less than 2. 

My husband and I are at odds with how much to pay. Our cleaner is a young adult, this is a second job, and she is brand new to cleaning; but she is eager, trustworthy (worth its weight in gold to me), and dependable. 

Question 1: What do you think is a reasonable fee?

Question 2: What about a bonus incentive if the guest leaves a 5-star review and specifically mentions the cleanliness of the property? 

Question 3: Any other thoughts? 

[Benjamin836]

Every location is different.. I pay between 40.00 to 60.00. The ratings don’t matter because sometimes you’ll get a bad rating even though the place is sparkling clean. 

[Megan822]

thank you!

[Sarah977]

@Megan822  I have a hard time understanding how a thorough cleaning on a 2 bedroom apt that sleeps 5 can be done in less than 2 hours. I spend an hour and a half cleaning my private bedroom/bath listing, not including laundry, and I am fast and efficient.

[Benjamin836]

I think it’s impossible unless you have extra hands. Mine can take up to 8 hrs. to clean 2 bedrooms, bathroom, living room, dining area and kitchen. And don’t forget about the outside if you have landscaping and a pool !!! 

[Megan822]

Haha. Landscaping! I have a postage stamp!!! Lol... I laugh at myself, not you. This is our home, so those are all things I do anyway. Cleaners are only responsible for the inside. 🙂 But you make a great point... if the outside needed to be done. 

[Jennifer2682]

My place takes 3-4 hours to clean and, though I normally clean it myself, when I have to hire it out I pay $30 - $32/hour.   That's a good wage here in Montana where wages are notoriously low.  (For comparison, I work for the school system and, with 10+ years experience and a bachelor's degree, make $13-$20/hr.)  If you find someone good, pay them well! They are worth it!  

And I like your idea about an incentive bonus.! Maybe something quarterly based on consistently good cleaning reviews?  

[Megan822]

Great information, thank you! 

As for the incentive, I can't seem to thresh out the individual reviews- it's only an average of all the reviews together. Plus, I have two people now. I pay $50 for the job with the understanding that the total time to clean is about 1.5-2 hours. I do the laundry and have two sets of linens. They scoop up and leave for me and take the clean set to set up the unit. 

[Inna22]

I don’t like the idea of a bonus. Some guests leave a review, some don’t, some get upset about something else ding stars across-the-board. Your cleaner can work really hard just to find out at that time there was no review . They should be consistent in there cleaning regardless of what to guests say or don’t say.

if you can, come after the cleaner leaves and guests arrive to put on final touches. After all, no one will take care of the space the way you would.

As for the rate, one of the factors is how long it takes your cleaner to get there. If they are nearby, I think $40 will do. If they make a trip to your area just to clean your space at the time of your liking, more money to cover the travel costs would be in order.

[Megan822]

Thanks for the feedback. As for the bonus you make a good point about the reviews. Plus, we can't see what individuals rated us, just the average for all ratings. 

[Mary996]

@Megan822  I think there is a way to look at individual ratings if you go deep into the system. I have sort of accidentally found a way but could not recall for you how I did it (!) or if it's still possible. But have a go. 

[Huma0]

@Megan822 @Mary996 

Yes, you definitely can see the individual category ratings that each guest left you.

I use a browser on my desktop (rather than the App) for anything more complicated than responding to messages the out and about, so the layout might look different for you, but...

Go to:

- Insights (top menu)

- Quality (left menu)

Here you will find your most recent guests reviews. 

- On the summary of the individual review, click Read More

- A box will pop up on the right of the screen. Scroll down and under Feedback, you will see the ratings the guest gave you in the individual categories.

- To see the ratings from earlier guests, click on the button Show X number (whatever number of reviews you have) and repeat the process, only now it says Show Details rather than Read More.

[Mary996]

Fantastic @Huma0  so helpful...! And what lovely reviews too. Bravo. Hope this helps @Megan822 .

Huma are you finding your way around since the update? I'm completely lost. How do I see my own listing (from the outside as a prospective guest would) may I ask? I could put this up as a separate question if you wish.

[Huma0]

@Mary996 

Glad it was of help!

No, I am not finding my way around since the update. It's been a total disaster for me, as for many, many other hosts, as far as I can tell from the comments here on the CC.

To see your own listing from outside (I assume you mean in the search results), you could try deleting your cookies and browsing history, logging in and out, but it might be easier if you can have a look from someone's else's device, e.g. a friend or relative. I got a friend to have a look for me. He did find one of my listings but he was really looking for it and said that although it was there, he had to zoom quite close into my area and then one (not all three) came up. He said it wasn't great. He is experienced (former host) so knows how to search. Less experienced guests might not find it so easy.

Of course, you might not have someone who is able to do the searching for you. Just borrow someone else's device for a few moments so that you can have a look.

[Huma0]

PS @Mary996 

You have glorious reviews too. Congratulations. 

Bear in mind, not all my recent guests have left glowing reviews, hence the loss of my Superhost status after a 5.5 year run (for much of which I maintained a solid 5.0* average), but I am resigned to it. You cannot please everyone. All you can do is try to vet your guests as carefully as possible and trust your instincts to ensure you only host guests who are a good fit for the listing and vice versa.

I ignored some niggling feelings in my gut, which led to me hosting a couple of guests that I never should have accepted. As I host long term stays, every single rating counts a lot, hence why I lost Superhost. 

Never mind. Upwards and onwards. My stats are already showing as qualifying for Superhost in the next assessment as long as I keep it up for the next couple of months. If I don't, well, that's okay too. As long as the majority of my guests are as happy as the ones in the reviews above, I feel like I am doing a good job.

Sounds like you are doing a great job too.