When to ask for extra money for cleaning

[Geoff22]

Our guests that left today cooked some rice cereal on high, the cereal overflowed into the burner pan, left a cooked on mess and the heat was so high it discolored the metal underneath.  I took a picture of it before it was cleaned.  We ask that guests leave things the way they found them as our cleaning fees run from zero to $15.00, depending on rates I'm getting.

Anyway I think he owes me at least $10 for the bother of extra cleaning and/or replacing that pan.  Not sure the best way to proceed:  Request funds that may or may not be sent?  Go to airbnb and ask for damages?   And if I was to request money from the guest I'm thinking after reviews would be better timing but have not done this before, so looking for some advice.

PS: they didn't do the best job of "leaving it as you found it" elsewhere with empty water bottles, small bits of trash, and the towels and pillows scattered all over the place.  Not horrible but just more time than usual putting things back where they belong.

[Ben551]

@Geoff22  I recommend approaching this like a business problem for a moment. 

The odds of guests being clean clean and tidy are up and down. You win some, you lose some. What you are better off doing is working out how much you should be charging to cover all these ups and downs as a fixed price, rather than each individual guest based on how messy they are.

Yes, it means the cleaner guests will pay very slightly more to cover you against possible messy ones. But doing it this way will prevent you from being in the situation where you have to ask for $10 here and there. Not only does it make hard work for you, but it isn’t a great business model from a guest management perspective. A less stressful and time robbing model (for these minor messes) is to charge enough as you go.

So I’m going to suggest that you do get that $10... but from your future guests after you increase your cleaning fee by (say) $2 per stay. You will put that extra $2 aside as an insurance account, to draw from when you need to buy extra cleaning products for those occasional messy guests.

Now, if you were talking about a much bigger $$ amount in cleaning costs, I’d say go for it through resolution center etc. But this is trivial and will cost you more in time than is worth it.

PS: Bar Keepers Friend (the metal tin) will fix that stove better than new in less than 10 minutes, for a matter of cents.

[Emiel1]

@Geoff22 

As you have a security deposit on your listing, you can follow this procedure:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/264/what-do-i-do-if-my-guest-breaks-something-in-my-place

Best regards,

Emiel

[John1080]

@Geoff22, you can try to request money from the guest via the resolution center and see how the guest responds. However, it has been the experience of most posters on here that most will not cooperate. At that point, you can elevate it to Airbnb, but typically they will side with the guest. Moreover, although I have never tried to request money for extra cleaning, several others on these threads have stated that receiving any money for cleaning vs say something broken, is extremely difficult. 

The one time I had to request money is when a guest broke the damper on my wood stove. He told me about it after I left his review, so I requested payment via the resolution center and to my pleasant surprise he agreed after only a little back and forth.

In this case, if you're planning to request $10 or so, I probably would let it go, as it could result in a retaliatory review if the reviews have not already been left. If reviews have not yet been left, you could leave your negative review first, then await the guest's review. After both reviews have been submitted, you could then initiate the request, if it is within the required timeframe. Also note, you must initiate such a request before the next group of guests check in.

[Sarah977]

@Geoff22  I agree with others that this kind of thing just has to be chalked up to the cost of doing business. It's not worth risking a bad review, or antagonizing the guests (who might have recommended your place to friends or family, but then will do the opposite) by making a claim for some extra cleaning or a $10 item. The clean and tidy guests balance out the messy ones. 

My internet is cell-based and metered, so I can't let guests stream movies or that kind of thing, otherwise I'd have to significantly raise my prices. While I don't often get guests who need to do hours of work online every day, I have had a couple who do. They use up more of my metered data than the majority of my guests who might just use it to check their email, or surf the web a bit. So it just kind of balances out and I don't fret about it. Some guests shower twice a day or take longer showers than others, using more hot water. That too balances out with the ones who are eco-conscious and don't waste or over-use.

As Ben suggests, just raising your price a couple of bucks to cover extras like this won't put guests off booking, but will make you feel you don't need to sweat the small stuff, especially if you set that extra couple bucks aside to a special fund to be used for small replacements and a bit of extra cleaning.

[Sarah977]

@Geoff22  And Ben is right- Barkeepers Friend is great for cleaning up stuff like that. If that doesn't do the trick, oven cleaner will.

I'm the master of burning food- I dislike cooking and wander off to do something else when I should be paying attention to what's on the stove. My stovetop can look like that on a regular basis 🙂 

[Kelly149]

@Geoff22 I'm with everyone else that I'd never risk a bad review in order to pickup $10 from a guest, but I'd feel free to torch 😉 them on their review

"guests made ample use of the kitchen as was evident from the burned on messes & crumbs left scattered throughout the house...."

[Geoff22]

you have the best comments.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Geoff22 

I agree with other hosts....... make sure you are charging enough to cover for the effort needed when you end up with those more than average messy guests. It really is a numbers game. Some guests are just naturally messy with splatters, stains, smudges, crumbs all over the place, others clean up so well you can barely tell someone had stayed. 

Fyi, I've had guests who barely left the house and cooked all meals at home during their entire stay.....but there were also plenty of guests who left home at 7~8am and would come back home around 9 or 10pm for 5~6 days out of 7. 

[Geoff22]

I just gave him some pointed and direct private feedback and 4 stars on cleanliness and following house rules, and encouraged him to "do better next time".

It came mostly clean, although the metal is blue on the bottom it got so hot.  I have spares, and will keep it as an emergency backup.

[Paul154]

@Geoff22 

I would take this as an opportunity to take my anger and demand reward.

I would  not waste my  time begging guest for payment, I would raise my cleaning fee AND rates.

Dude, you only charge a $15 cleaning fee for a 2 bedroom apartment! The going rate is $50-75!

Looking at your calendar, you are booked well out. Yield management suggests raising your pricing.

Neighboring Seattle just added a 7% tax to all Airbnbs. At a minimum, you can add 7% and still be just as competitive. 

[Mark116]

It isn't worth it.  I agree it is very annoying, I would definitely mention it in the private feedback, and give them a 3 or lower on cleaning stars.  But, for $10 all of the hassle, the low chance you will even get the money and the exponential chance it will cause a negative review, I think are not worth it.

[Lynnette3]

Ammonia with item in a ziploc bag overnight will often work miracles, AND ammonia is a hugely overlooked excellent cleaner for everything, put it in a squirt bottle and be careful breathing in ! But it is amazing........