Cleaning fee scams

[Erik-Paul0]

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.  

[Kate867]

@Erik-Paul0   Cleaning fees are usually a one off fee, so cannot realistically be added to the nightly rate.  For example, we charge a nominal £40 fee.  This does not cover all of the cleaning, but about 50% of it, the rest we absorb as part of doing business.  However, if we added that £40 fee onto our nightly rates, then longer staying guests are penalised and paying the same as a guest that stays just one night when the same amount of in depth cleaning and sanitising is carried out only once between guests.  Amounts will also depend on the size of a property.  Our Housekeeper spends about five hours doing a proper in depth clean for a two bedroom cottage between guests.  A larger property will require more time or a team of cleaners.

You always have the choice not to reserve a listing once you have seen the full amount including any extras and service fees.

[Erik-Paul0]

So I guess what you're saying is you can't really compete with hotels and the professional hospitality industry for short stays without using deceptive practices? 

[Helen744]

@Erik-Paul0 the cleaning fee with Airbnb cannot be applied weekly. So if you stay one night or one week it is the same amount for one person or five .You can stay in a three bedroom house for one day on your own ,sleep in every bed and still pay the same fee as a group of five with children who stay for a week.It is not a good rort for a host or as you say for someone who stays one night.Not everyone stays one night and most hosts cannot justify offering one night stays, at all because the cleaning is tremendous especially with disinfecting,and cleaning whole houses for one person. There is an enourmous amount of cleaning involved to clean an entire house and all surfaces every day. Its mind bending. I would suggest that if you are staying in the same place periodically that you engage with each host for any extra discounts they may offer for a periodical booking . the beauty of Airbnb is that the host may be amenable but maybe booking a hotel which is basically one room ,may suit you better.Yes Airbnb does need to offer a fee per week and maybe per night and some hosts cleaning fees are too high but some are not ,so look around.the difference between a fifty dollar cleaning fee and a 200 dollar cleaning fee does need to be justified . most hosts ,who do their own cleaning ,not only do it better but charge the guest less.H

[Erik-Paul0]

So what you're really saying is that AirBnb is not a sustainable business and can only exist by trying to hide the true costs until the last possible second. Transparency and honesty be damned. 

[Helen744]

@Erik-Paul0 the point of an airbnb is to have extra private space, kitchens ,gardens , live like a local ,not a hotel customer but an autonymous being but someone who wishes to use an entire house for themselves as opposed to a hotel room must be prepared to pay for the beautifully clean home which somehow they imagine they leave no impact on .the choice is yours as hotels are owned by a conglomerate wheras airbnbs are not a corporate entity but some poor sucker trying to provide accomodation generally with extras that no one pays for to guests who are often picky ,bad tempered and out of sorts. You at least have a diversity of choices . so if you are not complaining about the current system and trying to acess the listings then you have all types of choices from sharing with hosts to mansions on the beach ,so my suggestion to you is keep looking until you find what you want ,and bin the attitude. all the best H

[Erik-Paul0]

You clearly didn’t read my post. My issue isn’t with the cleaning fee. Its with the lack of transparency and the games that some hosts play with their CUSTOMERS. I know how to compare features and prices and choose what best suits my needs. Its when that information is obscured or hidden intentionally to make a property look like a better value than it is, and the wasting of time to dig through it all. I’m not the one with the attitude, thank you very much. 

[Helen744]

@Erik-Paul0 before booking guests are aware of all costings , you dont have to like it but hosts are not making this system, so saying that we are engaging in deceptive practices is rather insulting . This probably escapes you . We are all individual hosts who use Airbnbs booking system , we do not engage in deceptive practices nor are these our particular issues . People here are kind and try to be helpful , but if you have an issue with Airbnb then take it up with them . 

[John7982]

you are not only engaging in deceptive practices but you're profiting off "cleaning" fee. You're like the person selling on eBay. $100 for the item, $20 shipping and you pay $10 to ship.

It's one thing and one thing only. GREED.

100% GREED

and it's why i no longer use this garbage app, it's a cesspool of greed.

[Sandra856]

@Erik-Paul0 Within the EU in Europe - Airbnb has to show prices including all costs when people search and enter dates/number of guests. It must be extremely annoying having to enter each listing in order to see full prices. Unfortunately it is not always possible to compare Airbnbs with hotels when it comes to cleaning and cleaning cost. For instance the cost to clean a hotel room is much lower as the rooms are usually situated next to each other - no transport for the cleaning crew. In many cases it doesn’t make sense to book Airbnbs for just 1 night. The cost is simply to high for both the guest and the host. If you have to pay someone to clean 100$/stay then you have to pay 100$ - not much to do about that unfortunately. 
Best, Sandra 

[Sudsrung0]

@Helen744 

Wasn't it some kind of trick host were using to get around paying fees to airbnb? seem to remember reading something years ago about it, 

[Helen744]

@Sudsrung0 I dont think I ran across that one . There are a few but for the honest hosts its easy to see generally . H

[Kate867]

@Erik-Paul0  I can assure you that my listing is much cheaper than local hotels… but if I added a cleaning fee  for each night then it might not be.  I only need to charge a fee once.. not for every night.  Currently, my gaff works out at about £17 pppn for four guests based on anything over two nights.  It is a luxury 450 year old cottage with lots of additional amenities not listed.  If guests can get a superior suite at a hotel for less than that I would be extremely surprised.

[John7982]

lol

justifying greed. Hilarious!

[Rob9392]

No she is saying you can see the full price with all of the costs before you book. There are lots of different options out there but from my experience Airbnb gives you more bang for your buck than the professional hospitality industry.....