Poll - Do you charge a cleaning fee?

Kirstie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Poll - Do you charge a cleaning fee?

Polls.png

 

Hi all,

 

We are starting a new type of topic here in the Community Center - polls! It will be a really interesting way to compare your methods of hosting and how you use Airbnb with other hosts. As well as seeing the statistics, you will also be able to discuss your answers and share ideas and experience about each topic here in the thread.

 

In order to participate in this poll, simply choose 'yes' or 'no' in the box below in answer to the question 'Do you charge a cleaning fee?' and then click 'submit'. Then write a comment below in the thread telling us more about your choice and your experience of the two options - e.g. I charge a cleaning fee to cover the cost of my hired cleaner etc. The answers will be able to help new hosts and more experienced hosts as well!

 

 

 

You can see the current results of the poll here!

 

Please give any suggestions about topics of polls that you would like to see in the future! We welcome your ideas 🙂

 

Happy polling!

 

Kirstie

142 Replies 142
Lisa723
Level 10
Quilcene, WA

We do, because it is the simplest way to cover our actual costs, but we find that short-term guests are unpleasantly surprised by what they see as an unexpected fee sometimes exceeding their actual rent. It would be very helpful if Airbnb displayed *all fees* with listing summaries, *including their own service fee* and lodging taxes. Then guests could get a more accurate comparison.

Danny21
Level 5
Manchester, United Kingdom

No cleaning fee here.

 

I live in a very competitive area as it is and my prices haven't changed since starting Hosting. If I was to put even a nominal cleaning fee on the price it would push my fees up beyond the average in the area.

Not currently, but just because we haven't been doing this that long, and the person who advised us in getting the doors open didn't charge one. This poll was helpful, we have been wondering about it.

Becky244
Level 2
Plymouth, MN

We don’t charge a cleaning fee and in our welcome letter I say I don’t charge a cleaning fee because I don’t like to pay them.  I don't like to pay them because I always leave a place as nice as I found it.  ALL of our guests had left our cabin neat and tidy and I don’t think they would if I charged a fee!

Willene1
Level 9
Kaleden, Canada

I do not charge a cleaning fee.  I state in my Welcome book that I don't charge a cleaning fee to keep my fees down and would hope they would keep our place neat and tidy so we are able to continue to  maintain a clean and tidy suite for guests.  So far most people have left our place spotless.  We have only been hosting for 3 months but has gone fairly well so far. 

 

I was also concerned that some people may feel it's okay to leave a mess behind if they are having to pay $100 cleaning fee anyway.   So far this seems to work for me. 

In the future if I do need to hire help, I will reconsider this.   For now I like to see what to expect. I'm also the only one that would notice things damaged when a cleaning person may not. We had 2 new spoons disappear. I think I know who took them but cannot prove 100%. Now I check the cutlery and all the drawers and cupboards.  Cuts in the new counter, Knicks in the wall, cracks in the guitar, missing items, etc.  - would a hired person note these things?  I sure do. 

 

 

Mike-And-Helen0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

I can't see the results of the poll.

 

I'm not sure why I started with a cleaning fee. It is nominal (£5) and I've been wondering whether to drop it.

@Kirstie We have only been hosting for about two weeks but set it up with no cleaning fee, at the recommendation of our house managers (who are also Superhosts and who supervise the cleaning when we're not in country). Their theory--and this is based on their own firsthand experience--is that when you charge a cleaning fee, guests are more likely to leave the place a mess. However, if you don't charge a cleaning fee, and then you remind your guests that you're not doing so and ask them to please leave the place tidy (being sure as well to leave them all of the necessary tools and cleaners to do so), then they will clean up after themselves.

 

We are currently hosting only our second set of guests, and so we have no idea if this will be prove true or not. But the first family did leave the place quite clean overall. Let's hope this little experiment continues to work.

Susan1028
Level 10
Oregon, US

I charge market rates/living wage because that’s what it costs.

 

None of my guests have left messes except one, and if you could see inside the car they arrived in, your understand it’s how they roll lol.