Should Guest be Expected to Clean when Host Charges a Cleaning Fee?

[Rob183]

Hi there, 

Curious on this one as a guest and a host.   My wife/friendsand I have been on opposite sides of the argument both as hosts and guests.

If a host charges a guest a cleaning fee (not small at $200 here in SF), what is the cleaning expectation of guests?

Some in our circles have argued guests should do the dishes and leave the place tidy.  Others have argued their paying a sizeable cleaning fee so why should they have to clean.

Curious what the community thinks and if there is a clear answer or it depends.

Thanks in Advance!

[Bob143]

How about this picture?  Is this ok?  No absolutely not!  Clean up after yourselves and put dishes in the dishwasher.  Have some common courtesy for christ sake - you are renting my house so treat it like it is your house.  The cleaning fee is for the bathrooms, changing out all the linens and a general wipe down of the house (vacuum, dust, etc).  Anything extra like this crap is not right and it costs me more than the cleaning fee to clean up after bums like this.

[Ann72]

@Rob183 Good question!  When guests message me and ask if they need to do anything before they leave, I say absolutely not.  I charge a very healthy cleaning fee to cover the cost of my $35-per-hour housekeeper, and I want guests to feel that everything is taken care of for them.  

That said, they almost always at least tidy up and I appreciate that as does my cleaner.  I think the mutual review system keeps everyone on their toes.

[Sheila584]

Absolutely... Renters  should know that everything is taken care of and that in itself gifts the renter with stress-free down time and probably repeat customer and more customers by that happy customer sharing your business by word of mouth 👌

[Amaury76]

I used to not ask guests to do dishes or take out trash, then I got a few guest that left the place like this so I added these chores to the house rules. If people don't have the self respect to leave a space like civilized humans stayed there without being prompted, I'm afraid I'm going to have to explicitly ask them. 

[Debra300]

@Sheila584,

We all manage our properties individually and often differently because they are not universally the same, nor can/should they all provide the same types of services.  A host that caters to primarily to holiday stays and getaways may market their services differently than a place that accepts only long-term stays without housekeeping.

Hosts are obligated to clearly state in listing description their expectations of what a guest should do during their stay to provide guests an opportunity to assess if the place is a good fit.  The booking consistency and guest feedback will let them know if changes are necessary.

[Tracey207]

As a host...

I charge $130 for a 2,500 sqft house with 7 beds sleeping 10 people. 

I never ask my guests to clean or tidy before they leave. And they tell me all the time, unprompted, how nice it was to sleep in before leaving...instead of having to wake earlier to do what one guest referred to as “vacation chores”. Then his wife chimed in “vacation chores that WE PAID IN ADVANCE for the privilege to do”. lol

My checkout note/list asks guests NOT to...

strip beds

set dishwasher off

start laundry

etc...

It DOES ask them to turn off the heat/AC, all small appliances and all lights. It also asks them to lock all windows and doors.

It signs off with how much we appreciate guests who drop their trash into the outside bin on their way out to their cars. And 100% of guests do so 🙂

As a guest...

I leave the place immaculate, knowing how much I appreciate my guests who do that for me. But that’s because I’m a host.

That aside...I get irked when I pay a cleaning fee and then I’m asked to clean. I’d rather you increase your cleaning fee and charge me a few bucks more at booking...then NOT ask me to waste my last morning doing dishes, stripping beds, starting laundry AS WELL AS packing up my stuff, loading the car, wrangling the kids....

[Jessica3430]

It all depends on the nightly rate.  I’m only charging an average of $200 a night and I need for a maid to come twice.  I’m  losing money if I don’t charge $150-175 cleaning fee for a 2 night stay.  My  payout is only $130-150/night and cleaning fee for me is a minimum $200 for two cleanings (before and after). I do like the idea of building that cleaning fee into the nightly rate so that guests don’t have a bunch of unaccounted for fees at the end of booking, but in my area there is a lot of competition and with competitive pricing, It can be difficult to do so. 

[Lorina14]

I think you may have the wrong idea about calculations regarding a cleaning fee. While it is true you need to clean before and after a stay, only one cleaning fee applies to the stay as the before cleaning fee was covered by the previous guest’s cleaning fee.

For example for 10 stays you need 11 cleanings and the total cleaning fees are divided by 11. 

There is also the cost of doing business. Most people who start an airbnb figure all cleaning costs should be covered by the guest stay from the start. While this is ideal, when starting up there are always more costs and it may not be possible to fully be compensated for the cleaning fee. Most businesses factor in the cost of doing business into their actual customer fees and increase it as they need to if their own operating costs increase.

Over time you will need to make sure your Airbnb business is profiting to see if it is advisable to continue and one cannot decide this immediately but usually over the course of a year to see how each quarter and month performs.

You will also need to keep track of how you earn and how much you spend on maintaining the rental (replacing sheets, consumables like toilet paper, paper towels, soap, toiletries, towels, rugs, taxes, any snacks/drinks provided, fixing scruffs or dings on the wall, unexpected damage (we had some guests who didn’t close the shower curtain well and it caused some water damage to the wall - we’ve since put magnetic closures on the curtain and weights to help the curtain from opening as we have a low lip for the shower to step into and put better silicone caulking in the shower), another guest broke a plank in the bed frame), upgrades to the space (shelving, painting an accent wall, furniture, decor, a washer/dryer, a/c, ceiling fan, TV, more pots/pans or kitchenware), etc.

Just some thoughts to help others out. It’s also advisable to have a separate bank account for running your Airbnb and ideally an LLC for tax purposes (although you could run it through your own SSN for a while depending on how much you profit - please ask an accountant or tax advisor on this). Many people I’ve spoken to sometimes don’t think of these things when starting this adventure.

Happy hosting!

[Helen3]

Actually @Tracey207 you don't charge £98 you actually charge £168 plus a £99 cleaning fee for 10 people to stay (converted to sterling). Which is a great price for a lovely space.

But what you charge isn't the point.

All hosts host in different ways and just because you don't ask guests to have a  tidying up  check out routine at your place, doesn't mean other hosts shouldn't.

I don't know any hosts who asks guests to actually clean. Doing dishes and stripping beds is not cleaning. I haven't had any guests who haven't cleaned their dishes as they go along. 

In terms of check out, unless  you are a slob and have weeks worth of dishes, oven top and other appliances etc that needs cleaning, stacking a few breakfast dishes in the dishwasher and turning it on, is a matter of minutes. As is stripping beds and putting bedding in a laundry bin or washing machine.

Most hosts clearly outline expectations in their house rules, so you can avoid hosts with house rules that don't work for you.

[Denis377]

Seems reasonable to me charge 130$ for such a big space. 

[Miranda147]

So I rented a condo for one night and was charged $330 that included a $75 cleaning fee. I was literally at the condo for 16 including to sleep but the owners expected that I not only take the trash out and wash any dishes I used, but also wash the bed linens and towels.  I’m on a getaway and I paid a cleaning fee. Why I’m I expected to do laundry? 

[Sarah977]

@Miranda147  That does sound like unreasonable expectations for the price you paid and the amount of time you were there. Were these requirements stated in the listing description anywhere? If you read through all the listing info thoroughly, and nowhere was this stated, only told to you when you arrived, then I think you have a very legitimate beef. 

If, on the other hand, it is in the listing info and you just failed to read it, or booked anyway, then the host is not to blame. 

There are many places that charge a cleaning fee and expect guests to put a load of wash in before they leave, take out the trash, etc. But those are most often places that host larger groups (how many of you were there?) and are large and require extensive cleaning. There can easily be $75 worth of cleaning time apart from the laundry if a host has to change out several beds, and thoroughly clean after a party of guests. You may be super clean and not leave any mess behind you, but not all guests are like that, so hosts have to average out cleaning time, plus hosts or their cleaners have to clean and sterilize the bathroom, vacuum, replenish amenities, and many other cleaning tasks,  regardless if you only stayed for 16 hours or a week.

If it was only you, or you and your husband, I can understand where it feels unfair. My son-in-law travels a lot on business, would never leave a mess behind him, and also resents being asked to do laundry or take trash out to the dumpster if he's paid a large cleaning fee. 

Bottom line- if the host states that in the listing, it was your choice to book it anyway and you can't really complain. If they don't, you have every right to feel like they expected too much and you should let the host know and review accordingly.

[Petra327]

@Miranda147  That sounds like a bit much.  I would have either picked a different place or simply not do the laundry and I probably would have mentioned it in the private or public review.

[Laura2592]

Campsite rule applies to Airbnb. Leave it as good or better than you found it. No wet towels and soiled sheets in piles on the floor. No sink full of dirty dishes. No mystery smells. No dog poo or unflushed toilets. 

We charge a minimal cleaning fee and guests STILL complain. We can certainly raise our nightly fee to cover it but then we have heard people say "if you don't charge at least something guests think you either don't clean or clean yourself so they react accordingly."

I expect my place to be at least reasonably tidy when I get there after a guest leaves. Families  with small kids tend to require the most deep cleaning and de-sticking of surfaces that aren't normally sticky . But I don't expects to act as their own maid service. If they do they get a very nice review.

[Denis377]

What is the minimal charge that you charge? And why do I have to leave place in even better conditions that I found? I've seen Hosts charge as much as 200$ cleaning fees for ONE night stand, you should not expect gussets to do anything for this price, even cleaning there own dishes