How to handle cleaning fees for extended stays?

[Jennifer976]

I typically don't let guests stay longer than a couple of weeks but have had some guests request a 1 month stay that I have agreed to and with my new suite there is the possibility of 3 month stays from guests that are recieving hospital treatments near by.

How would you handle the cleaning fees?  For my shared rooms I was thinking of telling guests that if they stay for an extra 2 weeks they will be charged another $40 cleaning fee.

But I was wondering how to approach the suite, which is completely seperate from the rest of the house.  Do I charge another $50 for each 2 weeks or do I expect that the guest is taking care of my space how they should and leave the fee as it is?

Also open to other suggestions to handle in a tactful way that will both protect my property and not offend or put off potential guests.

Thank you!

[Linda108]

@Jennifer976  One way I have read on this site that hosts deal with short term vs long term reservations is to have different listings.  So the same physical space could have two listings.  The short term listing could have a maximum of 28 days and the appropriate cleaning fee while the long term 29+ days would have a different cleaning fee.  Also, the rules about cleaning, either by the guest or the host could be different.  Think this might work?

[Lisa723]

We have in our house rules that stays over two weeks require mid-stay cleanings-- this allows us to make sure it stays clean and detect any problems with the house's condition. Definitely recommend this for separate spaces.

[Alex893]

@Jennifer976

will you be cleaning every two weeks? Remember, you will be cleaning after the guest and setting a precedent of expectation of you cleaning up after them if they make a major mess or just would like it cleaned. Do you want to be a hired housekeeper for them? If you do- no shame in that, just offer them your rates as an add on service. This is different from cleaning after one guest in anticipation of another's arrival. You (hopefully) have a security deposit in case there is a major problem after guest leaves. Otherwise, it is cleaning after they leave as per usual. And if it is a little dirtier- you just had a long continues stay and made money on that to make up for an extra hour of cleaning.

[Jennifer976]

@Alex893 

With my guests who are in shared accomodation rooms in my house I clean the house once a week and offer to wash the sheets and vacuum and dust thier room while i'm at it and I of course do an extensive clean of the room and shared bath when they leave.  

But it will be different for the space in the basement especially for those 3 month bookings.  3 months of sheets not getting washed can damage expensive linens that are a part of what i'm providing so they will need to be replaced.  Also, I prefer to wash the sheets and towels myself now as I had 1 guest wash her sheets and towels herself and put dark blue towels in with white sheets.  She was trying to help me out and that was nice but not everyone has common sense and again those sheets were expensive.  And another bleached the white sheets but missed removing a blue facecloth and it was ruined.

I have no problem cleaning for an extra hour if things are just a little bit dirtier but long periods of not cleaning can damage things and good intentions but not having the common sense to do it properly can also damage them.

[Sarah977]

@Jennifer976@Alex893  I've read quite a few hosts on this forum who take long term stays do recommend going in to clean once a week or two weeks (and of course making this clear to the guest when they book, and arranging a mutually acceptable time to do this when they are actually there), as this gives you a chance to make sure the guest isn't trashing the place out, keep the place in good knick, additionally if the guest knows you are going to be coming in to clean, they are more likely to make sure they aren't caught out living like pigs.

And the cleaning fees tied to a 2 week period sound perfectly reasonable.

It's your home, you have a right to create ways to minimize possible damage and dirty habits of a stranger. If a guest can't afford it, they can choose another listing.

If you see that a 3 month guest is actually very clean and tidy, you could always decide not to charge them for cleaning and let them attend to that themselves if they wish, after the initial 2 weeks or a month goes by, but let that be a pleasant surprise, rather than mentioning it beforehand.

[Fred13]

We don't tend to have stays of more than one week, but when we do we emphasize coming to do cleaning at least once a week and do charge for it, and  such a timetable happens to fit perfectly for guests to come into the mainland to re-supply anyway. Leads me to think every place is unigue and will inevitably have a different cleaning timetable, applicable fee and considerations.

In our case, we do it because a place like an island needs to be exceptionably clean (no open foods) not to have any rodents, usually has a limited amount of bedding, and besides my mrs. happens to a worrying clean-freak.