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

Check this one out. 

This is ridiculous

 

 

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Ted307
Level 10
Prescott, AZ

@Erik-Paul0 We spent many years as guests before seeing this place and buying it, knowing that we could make a nice rental in the derelict bunkhouse on the property, which was being used by the former owner as a "Man Cave" with a huge pool table and beer frig. We have rented whole houses for the summer on AirBnB, and off. It is less through AirBnB than through a local paper or rental agency which was the way we did it in the 90's. I know, I am old, my kids tell me that all the time!

 

Our place is furnished like it was your grandma's house, because it is. We are great grandparents, not MBAs or computer engineers, which is who runs AirBnB. ABNB is a multi-national corporation, with record profits and stock buy-backs. They are who you ought to take this issue up with. 🙂 You and I are on the same side, exploited by the virtual monopoly that ABNB holds on the short term rental market.

Ted & Chris
Lorna170
Level 10
Swannanoa, NC

@Erik-Paul0   We are hosts, not programmers.  We have no control over how Airbnb chooses to show our properties to guests.

 

I have always been straight forward about the expense of renting my property.  The nightly fee is x dollars. My housekeeper/cleaning fee plus hot tub changeover is x dollars per rental.  Hosting your pet is x dollars per rental.  State and municipality taxes are x percent per rental.  No secrets except for the outrageous fee that you will be charged for finding me on the Air website.

 

My state requires transparency for vacation rentals.  The guest must see the entire cost prior to booking.  It would be wonderful if you could enter your dates, your required number of beds and baths and your desired budget and be able to see the perfect accommodation in your desired geographic location.  Unfortunately, Airbnb employs programming that uses bait and switch algorithms and tactics in order to appear more attractive to guests, show them properties that are above their means, far far away from where they want to go, and for dates that do not match their input.  It’s not us, @Erik-Paul0 , it’s them.

Bethany199
Level 2
Boulder, CO

I just spent an hour looking for affordable places and ended up in tears after not being able to find an affordable place for a 3 day stay.  200 per night, 400 dollar cleaning fee. That. Is. A. Racket.  Include cleaning fees in the original price like a lot of the hosts do on here and you will get your payment.  Also, the woman who has an Airbnb cleaner than a hotel, good on you, you are a minority and very much appreciated! 

You can stay in my place and I wont charge you cleaning fee's @Bethany199 

Awww, thanks! We’ll keep you in mind when we make it over there ❤️

Sudsrung0
Level 10
Rawai, Thailand

I live in Phuket and we dont charge extra for cleaning but it has to be built into the cost, I would rather just have one price and thats what the guest pays dont start adding extras,

If anything I would like to charge extra for electricity and it's just gone up here,

Janet1436
Level 1
Powder Springs, GA

Agreed. In addition, I have had the owner ask that I strip the bed and wash the towels, there are to be no dishes left in the dishwasher, all trash be taken out. I am basically cleaning the entire place, so why am I paying $150? I do leave my rentals spotless, so I think $100 should be top price for a two bedroom. The fee that AirBNB charges is ridiculous as well. There are many times I go to VRBO or a hotel because it is cheaper. Beach and lake homes have become unreasonable. 

Jamie169
Level 2
Seattle, WA

As a cleaning company, you really need to understand the business model before complaining about something you don’t have clear knowledge or a clear understanding of all that goes into cleaning Airbnb’s. It is not 100% profit.  Last summer my cost in gas alone was an average of $700 per month.  I also spend $200-$300 in supplies, and was in traffic an average of 3 hours per day. STR’s are also not a guarantee of income! We only make money when there is a booking and we can only clean so many units in one day, therefore need to have multiple clients and multiple units a day to make a living. It is also a highly skilled labor to be excellent detail oriented cleaner! I often was icing my back on my way to another unit to clean! Rarely do we get the appreciation for all our hard work.  If you think you can make more money as an STR cleaner then stop complaining and go do it!  

** .  You are why i don't use AirBNB. 

 

1. We don't care about your gas consumption - that's your issue from living so far away.

2. Cleaning supplies at Costco or a commercial supply solution would be more cost effective.

3. Your attitude is unbelievable **

 

**[Content removed inline with the Community Center Guidelines- Please be respectful in your discussions  in Community Center]

Paula
Community Manager
Community Manager
Port Moody, Canada

Hello @Amir-Noir0I hope you're well. I just wanted to drop a quick note to let you know that I had to remove some parts of your post. In our Community Center, we value and welcome diverse opinions, but it's also crucial that all interactions adhere to our Community Center Guidelines and maintain a respectful and welcoming tone.


That being said, I would like to invite you to revisit our Community Center Guidelines, which all the new users agree to upon joining our community. These guidelines help us to ensure that all the posts and comments from our community members align with our community standards.

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Please follow the Community Guidelines // Por favor consulta las Normas de la comunidad

Vinnie1
Level 2
Fairfax, VA

Is it just me or has Airbnb recently implemented a change to not show the cleaning fee when making your reservation? It only shows in your receipt after your reservation has been made? On top of that, if you modify a refundable reservation, part of cleaning fee does not get returned, it remains a fixed fee. But oddly if you cancel the reservation, the entire fee is refunded. 

Robbie54
Level 10
North Runcton, United Kingdom

@Vinnie1 that can't be right. You can't not know what you're paying for until you've paid it. It doesn't make sense. 

Pat271
Level 10
Greenville, SC

There is a toggle on the upper-right of the main Airbnb page called “Display total before taxes”. This will show you the total cost of a potential booking before taxes, including any cleaning or other fees. It shows this total for every property displayed and also on the map, so that you can properly compare the bottom-line cost for each property.

 

Is this not working for you?

@Robbie54 @Pat271 the toggle does work for me. These are screenshots of a reservation I just made. When checking out, the breakdown does not show the cleaning fee (first image). It seems like the nightly rates are just extremely high. But after you pay, the receipt and the receipt email shows the cleaning fee (second image).

 

Checking outChecking out

 

ReceiptReceipt