Paying a cleaner

[Rachel-And-Sam1]

We have been hosting our small studio apartment at the beach (on the east coast of Australia) for about 1 year. We have had the same reliable cleaner for about 8 months. Our agreement has been we pay her $60/ clean (this includes the care of the linens as well). We charge our guests $50 a clean and pay her $10 out of our pocket. All of a sudden she has invoiced us $90 for a clean because it was a public holiday, with no prior discussion. After some discussion she has told us she is selling herself short and not happy with what we are paying her. 

Regardless of if we find a new cleaner, we are just wondering....

Are we not paying enough for a 45 min clean and the care of linens ($60)?

What % of your income do you spend on cleaning?

Do you charge your guests the same about of cleaning fee as you pay your cleaner? Or do you take a cut from your income?

Thanks so much fellow hostees!!! 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Rachel-And-Sam1 Our cleaning fee covers the professional laundering of all the bedding with a few £ left over. Our cleaners then wash towels etc themselves and clean the apartments for nothing. As a result we are having to move toward only allowing weekly rentals as the cleaners are getting annoyed by the amount of cleaning required.

[Helen3]

Your cleaners clean your place for nothing - are they mad? @Mike-And-Jane0 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Helen3 Yes we are slightly mad but hey ho.

[Brian1613]

I would just put on a cleaning fee, and get people to do the job well. Clients who want very clean rooms, very popular in this pandemic, expect that. You can turn around faster by simply employing someone, and passing along the cost.

Your cleaners work for nothing? I’m thinking that the cleaners are relatives, as indentured servitude was abolished in the UK in 1917. Haha!

Exiting COVID short-stays are the name of the game.

We upped our rate from $75 to $95 to cover the extra time that it takes to sanitize the place from top to bottom. People have reacted positively to the COVID cleaning protocols. We intend to keep that going, moving forward.

Better to find help to keep to your rental levels, where the guest pays, than lose income and good will, to me.

[Jennifer2670]

I'm taking it that they,  themselves,  are the cleaners and they were being just a bit lighthearted cheeky.

[Fred13]

   Hard to make an educated guess what is fair in different localities, but one thing we do follow - we do as much as possible ourselves not to put up with the whining (aka drama) of others. Besides my Mrs. has ran small hotels and knows what real cleaning is.

   ~~IF~~ you are sure you are being more than fair and she is not, time for a new direction. Good luck.

[Dale711]

Hi @Rachel-And-Sam1,

Thank you for sharing your questions.

[Dale711]

@Rachel-And-Sam1 

Thank you for sharing your questions,

Here is some points you have need to know,

The average cleaning fee on Airbnb is between $50 – $80, however, this average is somewhat misleading.

The best way to find a workable average is to study the cleaning fees of comparable listings within your area, and generate an average from that.

The cleaning fee is the same regardless of how many guests book your listing or for how long (you can’t increase it for additional guests or additional nights).

Cleaning fees help hosts account for extra expenses they have getting their listing ready for new guests.

Some of the costs that you could consider in your cleaning fee are:

• Cleaning products
• Washing/drying towels and linen
• Toilet roll
• Shampoo, soap, etc.
• Cost of cleaning (e.g. hiring a cleaning service)

In the search results, guests will see a nightly rate that includes the cleaning fee divided by the total number of nights in the reservation.

Because of that, you don’t have to be afraid that your cleaning fee will give your potential guests a nasty surprise.

Also, when guests submit a reservation request, the nightly rate and the cleaning fee will be listed separately in the price breakdown. It’s all very transparent.

The cleaning fee you should charge will depend entirely on the competitive environment that your listing is in.

Your cleaning fee (alongside your nightly fee) needs to be competitive in order to entice people to book.

To work out how much you should charge for your cleaning fee, do the following:

Option 1.

• Find 10 – 20 listings that are similar to yours within your area.
• Take note of their cleaning fees.
• Also, take note of their nightly fees (as the cleaning fees get added to the overall booking price).
• Find the average cleaning fee from your competition.
• Price your cleaning fee as competitively as you can (making sure you’re covering all of your costs).
• If there is a margin for you to cover all of your costs and make a little extra on top (whilst still being competitive), reflect this in the price that you charge.

Option 2.

• Get in contact with two or three cleaning services in your area
• Request quotes from each for the price of a full changeover (including linen).
• Calculate the average of these fees, and set this as the price for your cleaning fee.

Test, and re-test

It’s going to be difficult to hit the sweet spot with your cleaning fee first swing.

So, play around a little and test to see if increasing your cleaning fee affects your booking rate over time.

The more you test, the better your fee structure will be, and the more competitive/enticing your listing

What does an Airbnb cleaning fee cover?

The cleaning fee is entirely at the host’s discretion. It should be used to cover the costs associated with cleaning the property and getting it ready for the next guests.

Even though it’s an optional fee, it’s meant to be used by the host to cover the cost of things like cleaning products, washing linen, paying cleaners, and replacing amenities

.

Do I have to charge a cleaning fee?

It is up to the discretion of each host to determine whether or not to charge a cleaning fee, although it is worth noting that the charging of a cleaning fee is a common practice on Airbnb.

However, some hosts prefer not to charge a cleaning fee and instead add the fee to their overall nightly price.

Cleaning fees are automatically added when a guest makes a booking. However, it’s not uncommon for guests to reach out to a host prior to booking, asking for special discounts or to request the removal of the cleaning fees.

I have few studios in Paris,In my experience, it’s best to avoid negotiating cleaning fees with guests on Airbnb as these types of guests tend to be the ones that are the pickiest, and often cause more hassle than they’re worth.

When asked to negotiate fees like this, I respond with a simple reply like this:

“Hey. Thanks for reaching out.

Unfortunately, it’s not possible to reduce/remove the cleaning fee as the fees are already at their absolute minimum to cover expenses already. So, as much as I’d love to offer you a discount, I’m afraid it’s not possible.

If you have any other questions though please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thanks,

Dale”

*Cleaning fees are not automatically added to Special Offers. So, if you decide to make a special offer, be sure to factor that in when setting an all-inclusive price.

Personally, I don’t recommend not charging a cleaning fee as this can leave you vulnerable and out of pocket if you get a lot of short 1-2 night minimum stays.

But if you rent out a small studio apartment, you can’t charge the same cleaning fee as a host who rents out a five-bedroom mansion. Your fee should be reasonable.

Airbnb Enhanced Clean

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2809/what-is-airbnbs-5step-enhanced-cleaning-process

[Brian1613]

Hi @Rachel-And-Sam1!

You already got some great advice. I would add a couple of things:

1. Yes, charge a bit more than what it costs you to to the actual day-to-day cleaning. You’ll certainly want to do deep cleanings that sometimes involve someone steam cleaning a couch, or maybe a  repaint, or touch-up of things that look run down.  You may have minor damages that aren’t worth going to war with the guests over, because that’s reputation cancer. Those are usually baked into your room-night costs, but some of the more “Call the carpet cleaner ones”  can be figured out over the cost of a year, and added into your maintenance fees.
   
   
   
2. Cleaning rates go by market conditions. If you want a good cleaner, and you do enough of your own to make it great, then you might pay a bit less to someone to just do pickup work.  Just remember that guests really like things PERFECT. They may put up with a bit of this and that, for a lower price, but that leads to my last thought
   
   
   
3. Cleaning, and service to the guests, make you money.  If you make your best effort to make sure that the space is spotless, especially during COVID-19, but in general, and you include a few minor things that can show you to be thoughtful, exceptional hosts, you can look forward to being able to improve what you earn with your stays, by way of your excellent reviews, that make mention of how you go above and beyond.  So find someone who is very OCD, but, if they end up having to interact with guests at all, even when you’re away, and you need someone to cover, is very service friendly 🙂

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Rachel-And-Sam1 Things you might consider

1) what would a laundry charge to do the linens etc. ie How much does that really leave the cleaner to clean

2) It might only take 45 mins to clean but what is a reasonable travelling time to and from the listing? This could easily add another 45 mins which is a big effect on a small cleaning time.

3) By taking your job they may be giving up a 3 or 4 hour changeover elsewhere. I suspect small jobs are a bit of a pain for some cleaners

4) What is a typical hourly rate in your area? Having worked out the above timings the cleaner may be being fair (or they may not)

[Brian1613]

I know that it’s different in the UK, but here, in the US, we can bring in 1099 Independent Contractors. If we know, for example, that we’re 80% rented, we can usually make a deal with them for a rate, and project a certain number of hours.  We also set up time and preference rules. If we post that one of our bookings is on a Saturday, at least 48 hours out, they’re expected to cover it. 

[Ann72]

@Rachel-And-Sam1  It's annoying to be blindsided like that.  But if you like your cleaner and find her to be reliable, talk to her about the surprise increase and discuss a new rate with her.  Then charge that to guests.  For a 3-hour cleaning of a cabin, I pay my cleaner $105, but I charge guests $110 to cover the 3% that Airbnb takes from the cleaning fee.

@Brian1613 all of your advice is incredibly sound.  I love this statement:  "Cleaning, and service to the guests, make you money."  Too few hosts understand that.

[Brian1613]

Thank you!  I don’t know about where @Rachel-And-Sam1 are, but here, I can throw a rock, and here forty house cleaners cry “OW!” as it skips over them. Stability is very important. We have a system, protocols, and a very high standard in place. That is not going to be what any housekeeper can do. We expect a turnaround in 2 hours of a suite. We pay $90 for that turn. We take $10.00 from the guest for supplies and normal wear and tear of our space.  Mostly that has gone towards enhanced cleaning protocols of late. We moved things like shrinkage (Stuff taken), and minor damage (hair dye on towels, etc.) into our rate structure.  People hate to be nickled-and-dimed. The best thing that you can do is know your costs, and adjust your rate so that you can have every day of every stay pay for it.  Lowers the combat over the little stuff, and your blood pressure, all at the same time!

Going rates vary a lot. The market, however, in COVID, is bigger, as many people in the housekeeping game were sidelined  by people not wanting others in and out of the house.  

If someone tries to hijack me on rate? I’m perfectly capable and willing to do every job on this property. I just let them go, do it myself, and then train someone new. Screening for the right kind of person can take time.  Don’t hire anyone without a provisional period with reviews. Thirty days. Sixty days. Ninety days.

It is really a good idea to work up a checklist, and/or a work schedule. What is done on every turnaround? What is done for routine maintenance, or cleaning? How often. If you set up those benchmarks, it makes it SO much easier to lower everyone’s frustration levels. Expectations are either met, or not.

Last thing, which protects YOU, and keeps your staff accountable: SLACK.com It’s a great way to work with house cleaning and maintenance people. Have them take photos when they walk into the room. It documents the state of the place, in case you have a big problem that you DO have to address with a guest. If they see things that need fixed, they can put it on a #maintenance thread that your maintenance guy (or you) have, with photos, to show you what needs done. Have an #ordering thread, so if you’re out of something, they can take a picture  of the item, and tell you it needs re-ordered.  

The process has two other bonuses: It protects them, in that it’s clear that they notified you about anything.  It protects you, in that you are “on the record” with your instructions in a clear, concise way. The second thing is that it provides a history of your business, including a way for new staff to pick up where the old ones left off.  People move on, sometimes, just for other reasons. It’s nice, for the new handyman, to see how the last one took care of things. For the housekeeper to see what is expected of them, in terms of your comments about past service issues.

This is a lot of fun, but it’s also a business. When I read so much about the communication snafus, and drama that can swirl around operating any business, doing things that bring clarity, simplicity, and mutual accountability seem to be kind of helpful!

[Sarah977]

@Rachel-And-Sam1  45 minutes to clean a one bedroom studio? That's not nearly enough time to do a thorough cleaning job. It takes me an hour and a half to clean and prepare my one private room/bath and I work fast. That doesn't include doing the laundry.

I have.no idea what the going rate for cleaning is where you live, but that shouldn't be hard to find out. Don't stiff your cleaner- if she cleans well, a good employee is worth hanging onto.

And don't think that 45 minutes is enough time to do a good job. That's a superficial clean.