Cleaning fee scams

Erik-Paul0
Level 2
Oakland, CA

Cleaning fee scams

The cleaning fee scam is getting out of control. I just did a search, and the majority of the listing, the cleaning, and Airbnb fees were near or more than 100% of the accommodation nightly price. It really costs a host $100 to clean a $150 room for a one-night stay. Your cleaning crew makes more per hour than I do. This is getting out of control.  You need an option to sort by ACTUAL price per night. Not the bait and switch low listing price. I can't believe this is legal. I will be cc'ing the California Attorney General's office about this.  

55 Replies 55
Mike-And-Jane0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

@Erik-Paul0 in Europe Airbnb are required to show the full cost of a stay so that guests are not caught out by 'extra' fees at the end.

We keep our cleaning fees low (just the laundry cost ) but it does allow guests to benefit from a cheaper place if they stay longer.

I have stayed in three AirBNBs in Europe and all much better cost than the USA. In addition, the places have been cleaner. The US homeowners charge ridiculous rates because the US is about greed. 

100% GREED!

 

AirBnb is a cesspool of GREED

Gwen386
Level 10
Lusby, MD

@Erik-Paul0 I have an 815 SF apt that I do not charge a cleaning fee for exactly the reason you say. Guests are annoyed about the final price because they don’t see it until he/she sees it once rental is reserved. 

 

However, I do want to say that I don’t blame my fellow hosts for charging a cleaning fee. Cleaning my space is a lot of work—it’s no joke! It’s not just vacuuming, sweeping/mopping, washing/drying/ changing bed linen and bath towels, and  cleaning/sanitizing bathroom and kitchen. It is also about cleaning baseboards, wiping blinds/ radiators vents, dusting everything including blinds, blades on fans, corners for cobwebs, washing dishes and pots/pans whether they’ve been used or not, cleaning out refrigerator, polishing furniture, vacuuming furniture cushions. The list goes on and on. 

This really takes a toll when I have one-night reservation. Presently, I have a 2-month guest and it is so refreshing not to continuously be cleaning the rental. I just may just start doing minimum 3-day rentals. 

Just want you to know that cleaning a rental is a ton of work for a single host. A hotel has many housekeepers to assist with cleaning; and I can truthfully say, I haven't stayed in a hotel room that is cleaner than my rental. 

I recently stayed in a hotel for $150 for the night and it seemed like they didn't even clean the place, gross! In an airbnb you can get the entire main floor of a house for $150.....fully kitchen, two bedroom, two baths, yard, gas bbq....

Rob Hart

@Erik-Paul0 ever thought about joining cleaning crews? Better pay and work hours

@David8879 Got a kick out of your response. 😁

Let them eat cake Marie

I actually have. with the rise in wages for  front line workers, my Cleaning costs are up about 30% -

I charge between 135 and 170 for cleaning depending on length of stay and size of house (2-3 bedrooms) - and I almost never make enough from cleaning fee to. cover what I pay out. And I typically also clean for 2-4 hours myself.

When you have a full house, 2-5 beds, pool, spa, patio and 2 porches to clean it takes awhile. 

In my area, the minimum it costs to hire a cleaner is 25/hr if you book direct, or 32/hr via a cleaning company.

 

 

Ted307
Level 10
Prescott, AZ

@Erik-Paul0 

Hi! Welcome to the community center, where you can chat directly with us hosts! We really are no more AirBnB than you are.

Ted & I charge a cleaning fee in our listing. It is balanced out by a 10% discount if someone rents our place 4 days or more. I look at it as a "short stay" penalty, it is not enough to pay a cleaner, I do the cleaning. We had a cleaning company come for the first couple of times we had guests, and I had to clean anyway. They left hair in the shower drain! There was a crew of 3 women, they stayed 45 minutes, and charged $75.00. for our 700 sq ft little guesthouse. That was 2 years ago, I am sure it has gone up. I have a $30 "cleaning" fee for short stays, $40 for a longer stay. Us hosts have complained here for a while about the wording that AirBnB uses for this fee, we have no control of the terminology that this web site uses. Shorter stays block us from having a more profitable week or longer stay, and this fee helps to compensate us for that fact.

Ted & Chris

Got to do your research to find a good cleaning company...  

Rob Hart

Oh thank you! I am doing my best to keep my mouth shut - I was Don Rickles in my prior life

Erik-Paul0
Level 2
Oakland, CA

I'm not complaining about cleaning fees per se. I'm complaining about bait and switch and transparency. 

 

You search for a room in the $300 range and you find a listing you like. But once you dig into the AirBnb and cleaning fees the real price is $550. This is a deceptive scam. There should be some way to search and filter on ACTUAL price. This has gotten out of control. I found one listing that had a $500 cleaning fee for a one night stay. 

 

The auto industry does the same thing. They advertise a low price and when you show up at the lot they start adding "mandatory" accessories. The FTC is about to come down on dealerships hard. I wonder if they should do the same to Airbnb. 

I agree with you, @Erik-Paul0 .

As hosts, we are shown below those with the low nightly rate and outrageous cleaning fee by AirBnB. any guests will book with those hosts, rewarding them at my expense! This is what Air makes hosts do to get booked, by rewarding those hosts practicing deceptive pricing.

Ted & Chris

@Erik-Paul0 if you search with dates and number of people are you not given the full price for the stay at each property?