Cleaning meanwhile

[Esteban270]

Hi everybody! I usualy rent my flat for short period - max 1 week. Now I have a reservation for 6 weeks. Do I have to clean the flat gratis or can I charge a fee for additional cleaning (one cleaning is included in the price). Thanks, Esteban

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Esteban270  I would suggest giving just a small discount on monthly stay but to clean it 1x a week or every 2 weeks. It can be just light cleaning bc they will have their stuff all around. The main purpose of cleaning during longer stays is to check if everything OK and to prevent dirt to build up.

For example, I came to clean after 10 days and found out the entrance door is not closing properly and the digital lock is malfunctioning because there was a piece of paper stuck on the doorway. Guests didn't notice it and were unaware the door was unlocked for who knows how many days. There was also a layer of soap and scale residue in the bathtub and sink because guests didn't clean it regularly with detergents.

[Esteban270 · Accepted solution]

Hi Branka and Silvia!

Thank you very much for sharing your view with me. Have a great day!

[Sarah977]

@Esteban270  You do not need to provide cleaning during a stay. 

But many hosts who take longer term reservations recommend doing a quick half-hour clean and linen change once a week so you can make sure the guest isn't living like a pig in there, or trashing the place, rather than being met with a 2 day clean-up after check-out.

Whether you charge for this or not is up to you, but however you decide to do it, it needs to be made clear in your listiing info and reiterated when accepting a long term booking, not simply sprung on the guest after they have booked.

And some hosts have chosen not to do mid-booking cleaning due to Covid precautions.

[Esteban270]

Hi Sarah !

Thank you very much for sharing your view with me. Have a great day!

[Anonymous]

@Esteban270   If you were offering an Entire Home listing, I'd suggest that you make interim cleaning an optional add-on service for an extra fee. But it looks like your listing is a private room in a shared home, which makes the dynamic a bit different. Homestay hosts are generally responsible for keeping the common areas of the home clean throughout the stay anyway, and guests in this situation tend to find it rather uncomfortable for the host to be coming into their bedroom while they're out. Considering your very low room rate, I don't think this is a service worth offering. Perhaps you could offer a weekly service of fresh linens as a luxury service, despite guests having access to a washer/dryer.

For what it's worth, your listing is in urgent need of an update with more thorough descriptions. It's not clear at all which parts of the home are shared and which are exclusively for the use of guests, and if you're not careful about this, you'll get booked by people who mistakenly think they're renting your whole house.

[Esteban270]

Hi Andrew!

Thank you very much for sharing your view with me. Have a great day!

[Matt682]

@Esteban270 I used to charge less than you for rooms in my house, and it’s a similar price now. I don’t charge a separate cleaning fee. All communal areas are cleaned twice a week, and the rooms are cleaned once a week. I pay a professional company to clean.

I’m sensitive about the guests personal space, so I offer to change the towels and linen for them once a week, or they can do it themselves. I launder it for them regardless.

There are factors to consider, such as whether you want to live in other people’s mess, as well as the damage that some people can cause by not cleaning or being careless.

My personal view is that a 6-week booking is worth the “free” cleaning once or twice a week because you get guaranteed income, no cleaning and laundry between guests, no gaps between stays, and no communication with new arrivals etc. Quite simply, it’s easier for you, and better revenue stream. Everyone will have a personal view, but I think the benefits outweigh the uncharged cleaning.

Sorry, errata, you could just not clean and have both benefits. But you risk damage, and a bad review. Would be a shame to damage that perfect 5* reputation!

[Dimitar27]

If you leave the place uncleaned for 6 weeks, at guests check-out it will probably look like a vampire's nest.

Next time, add a reasonable cleaning fee and let your guests know, that the place will be cleaned at least once a week.

And be careful with the price. If you set the price too low, you will have only bottom-line guests. You don't need such a...scary adventure.