We've all been there: Hunting for a great Airbnb, finally finding that five-star rental for a bargain, and heading to check out … only to find that a massive cleaning fee nearly doubles the price.
These host-set fees can be one of the most aggravating aspects of the home-sharing platform – and Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky knows it. In response to growing criticism from Airbnb users this week, Chesky called addressing cleaning fees “one of my top priorities.” Skift first caught Chesky's remarks.
You are correct – the cleaning fees were never intentionally designed, which is why we're now playing catch up. This is one of my top priorities – we are redesigning how pricing on Airbnb works
— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) October 10, 2022
Airbnb has taken big steps over the years to evolve with the times and address travelers' concerns. They've launched a top-rated tier of properties called Airbnb Plus, overhauled their search platform, and beefed up Airbnb cancellation policies throughout the pandemic.
It's clear that tackling cleaning fees is the next frontier for Airbnb. And while Airbnb generally does a better job at disclosing these fees at checkout than hotels with their dreaded “resort fees,” it can lead to an even bigger sticker shock.
Cleaning fees on Airbnb are set individually by each property owner, typically a flat fee whether you stay for a full week or just one night. Along with the service fees Airbnb itself collects, they can add up fast. And while there are no independent studies out there to back it up, cleaning fees seem to have grown coming out of the pandemic – perhaps as an easy path for owners to charge more for rentals without upping nightly rates.
Social media has been buzzing in recent months with angry accounts and screenshots, showing exorbitant cleaning fees that approach (or exceed) $200. The Wall Street Journal recently channeled that anger, including an account from a traveler who paid a $375 cleaning fee on top of the $299 nightly rate for an Airbnb in Sedona – and still was required to do several chores at the property.
Airbnb discloses the all-in price in some of the initial results, including all cleaning and service fees. But that's not the price that shows up on Airbnb's map of properties. And when users set a filter for their target price range, it's only including the nightly rate – not fees.
Fixing some of these discrepancies should be easy for Airbnb so they can give travelers an instant, accurate look at their full costs for each rental. Airbnb launched an internal review of all its fees more than a year ago – and while it planned to deliver recommendations by last December, that deadline came and went without a peep.
So exactly what Chesky has planned to crack down on runaway cleaning fees remains up in the air. In follow-ups with disgruntled customers, Chesky laid out a few options, including:
- Tweaking how pricing and fees are displayed for more transparency (including a possible toggle to display the all-in cost)
- A new variable system for cleaning fees, with lower fees for shorter stays
- Working closer with Airbnb hosts to limit cleaning fees in the first place
Whatever shape it takes, this reform is long overdue.
Bottom Line
Cleaning fees on Airbnb have been a thorn in travelers' sides for too long. Finally, it seems Airbnb is taking it seriously.
We're anxious to see how Airbnb tackles this growing issue. While more transparency about these fees on the front-end is a must, the platform needs to limit these fees in the first place.
This is incredibly stupid, like everything Chesky does. The cleaning fees aren’t the issue. The issue is that after putting in your dates and number of guests, the airbnb search results AREN’T THE ORICE YOU’RE GOING TO PAY. Instead, they’re an approximation of the host’s nightly fee, which is totally irrelevant. This should have been fixed 10 years ago, like a lot of stupid issues on airbnb. The search results should just show the final price. So simple and yet airbnb has decided to blame hosts (cleaning fees).
This is ridiculous. Airbnb requested owners to commit to their new cleaning standards after the pandemic, which is several new steps that responsible owners take to disinfect the property after each stay. Basing cleaning fees on the length of stay is also a dumb idea, should the host not wash the bedding or clean the toilet if the guest only stayed one night? Airbnb need to improve the pricing transparency for guests, not blame hosts for the fact that cleaning costs have actually gone up in the past two years.
Totally agree. We only charge what our cleaners charge us. It takes two of them 3 hours to reset and disinfect a 4 bedroom 2,300 square foot space. To ensure you can walk into something sanitary. And because we don’t like shots in the home, our floors are extra cleaned! Some guests love that it feels and smells so clean and others complain about the cleaning fees. Go stay in a hotel. Even the 5 stars we stay at we feel the need to disinfect and wipe. Those people do not have true accountability in flipping hotel rooms. They barely wash the bedspread. We require a white glove clean everything and that’s worth every bit of $100/cleaner per day for a gig the only do every so often. This feeds their families. We make nothing of the cleaning fees
As I know over 5000 Cleaning Business Owners, I personally thank you for taking this perspective. Many hosts do not!! And constantly complain or keep a portion of the cleaning fee which it still below market value.
Hear hear
I would like to add, this lacks consideration that onto of these measures, properties have to be deep cleaned and re-staged within a very short window.
I agree 100000% percent. I do the same work for a weekend guest as I do for a week guest.
have you cake and eat it too…
Airbnb goes running when issues with guests for it’s not their property but they want to interfere with cleaning fee pricing? Get off the fence Brian. Are you a PM Company or a marketplace?
Absolutely!
I’m a cleaner and I find that one night guests leave more disgusting mess than guests that has longer stays. So the cleaning fee should be less for shorter stays is just Ludacris
As a cleaner for several air bnbs I can tell you that I EARN every bit of that money that is charged. I spend 4 hours each time I flip a house for the next guest. Laundry, cleaning, making beds, it all takes time, and unfortunately most guest don’t leave the place as they have found it.
Chrystal,
I so agree, they are redicilous, I am also a cleaner,licensed and insured. They don’t take unto account that some people require that, and we have to turn around and pay our helper as well. It’s alot of work especially when our clients require the 5 star service. They need to look elsewhere!
Totally hear you people have no idea what it takes he’s just wants it to look cosy for Airbnb and blame the hosts and cleaners for help increase in fees not himself
As a Professional cCleaner of the American House Cleaners Association I really need to share some words with you.
Cleaning Fees should be set by PROFESSIONAL and QUALIFIED CLEANERS. The person should be trained in biohazard cleanup and cleaning to prevent Infectious diseases from spreading.
The cleaner has to be knowledgeable on chemicals and type of surfaces. Proper chemical concentration and dwell times. And have enough experience and time management to handle it all timely and a lot of times train and bring a crew to turn over the unit same day and take ALL linen off site for laundering CORRECTLY, not running on rinse and spin.
Cleaning is a Professional Service and deserves to be recognized as that. If you want to pay a lower cleaning fee be prepare to use linen that is rushed through the wash and not sanitized. Touch points and surfaces not properly sanitized. Dust levels severely triggering and not maintained. Probably pest problems And Floors that never receive a true mopping that rinses up all the filth.. enjoy.
The problem is not the cleaning fees.. its the misunderstanding of what detailed services are being provided. While not including the set fees in the rates shown on searches is blindsiding.. not knowing the extent of services Provided is not clarifying.
There should be a way to show if services are being provided by a Professional or owner/uneducated. Then the customer can compare the quality of clean they may be receiving.
Exactly. I rather pay for cleaning fee than the other fees that I have no clue what they are being used for? Service fee? Occupancy fee? The owner probably doesn’t get half of what we end up paying.
This is true. The owner does not get a large portion of what you pay. Keep in mind, you can find established places on airbnb with good reviews and see if I can locate their private website to book directly. This can save you on fees and make the host a better profit as well.
I have a professional cleaner, have had a few over the years. No matter which company they don’t clean and present it as well as I do. It’s my livelihood – it’s more important to me that it’s spotless clean and well presented than it would be to another person or company. Please don’t judge every owner/cleaner as
owner/uneducated
The extra Airbnb fees are the problem not cleaning fees. Guests and AirBnb expect a pristine clean place and Covid protocols require the same cleaning regardless of length of stay. When you look at all that’s involved in a professional clean, there’s no way hosts can or should have to absorb those. I charge exactly what my cleaner charges me and I eat the costs of deep cleans and occasional cleanings of carpets, furniture and drapes, deck, windows, exterior power washing , etc.
Totally agree perhaps he should clean and S lux Airbnb property after 7 guests wash and dry all the linen and see how long it takes him it’s not the the cleaning it’s the fees he charges to the guests. I have never in 8 years had a complaint about cleaning fees it’s only ever been the Airbnb fee Chesky needs to stop blaming hosts and take a big look at himself and the prices he charges the guests.
Excellent reply to an easy fix.
There should be only one nightly fee. Absolutely no add-ons. And for godsakes don’t make me do laundry! I went on vacation to get away from that!
Book a hotel room
People ARE booking hotel rooms because of this. Everyone is leaving Airbnb in droves. Hence why the CEO is getting worried.
People ARE booking hotel rooms because of this. Everyone is leaving Airbnb in droves. Hence why the CEO is getting worried.
So a traveler who brings a pet shouldn’t pay a pet fee to deal with the extra cleaning involved?
Absolutely
Just don’t melt from your indignation. Motel 6 will leave a light on for you.
Lmao!!!
I agree with the laundry, as a professional cleaner I will agree guest should not have to do laundry and actually prefer you not. However you would pay for certain add ons at top hotels. It only seems reasonable to expect some extra charges when host are beyond accomadating.
Not having separate cleaning fee means it is incorporated into the nightly fees. Unfortunately it penalises the longer staying guests who should be actually rewarded.
I used to use Airbnb all the time but since the owners started with the additional fees I have gone back to using hotels. They clean every day if I want and don’t charge extra.
May hide this in their “resort fee” if you haven’t noticed
You make it sound like cleaning fees are a new thing. Cleaning fees have been charged to guests for as long as there have been short-term rentals, 40-50 years. Why do you make it sound like cleaning fees are a new thing?
Yes. I’ve been traveling 40 years and my Hawaiian trips always have very expensive ($240-300) cleaning fees.
Hotels do charge for cleaning. It’s in the price , and if you have a multiple night stay some hotels will credit you for not having your room cleaned.
That may be fine and well when you need a room for 1-2 people, and do not need a kitchen, arcade, pool table, hot tub , foosball, mountain view and firepit. There are a lot of people vacationing in my market with multi-generational families. 10-16 people. They book vacation rentals and they are fine with the cleaning fee. Cleaning a 3-story 3500 sq ft house with a hot tub and 2 kitchens is not the same as cleaning 12X12 hotel room. I will be actually glad if your type of traveler goes back to the hotels. less dealing with nitpicking and buyers remorse. Win-win.
My house is this size and it takes me over 10 hours to clean mine WHEN the guests don’t leave dishes and surprises. Including pumping out, cleaning and refilling the hot tub and making up 2 sets of bunks adds about 3 hours to the rest of the cleaning.
Most people are aware that hotels/motels hire underpaid minorities (mostly women I might add) to clean up your mess. The cleaning fees charged by ‘most’ Airbnb hosts reflect a fair market price for the job. That’s progress in my opinion.
Cleaning expectations need to be disclosed in the listing. If a guest is subsequently asked or required to do any cleaning outside of what was disclosed prior to booking, the entire cleaning fee should be refunded. I hate paying the cleaning fee and then, upon check-in, find a sheet in the rental telling me that I’m actually responsible for quite a bit of the cleaning.
User fees are usually a scam and just a way to bait and switch. They all should be illegal. Just quote the total price including taxes and fees.
IF, however, a cleaning fee is to be allowed, it should not be less for shorter stays. It costs the host the same regardless how many nights. At least, I HOPE they clean as thoroughly after one night as after five!
We have a high-end 1BR ocean-front condo in Hawaii that we rent mostly through the association. Cleaning is not billed separately. When we use the unit, however, we pay a cleaning fee at the end to ready the unit for rental (even if we clean it ourselves). That fee is $55. No where near these crazy $200″ fees discussed in the article.
$55 for a one bedroom, multiple that by a 4 bedroom home that is 3000sqft. $200 is a bargin to clean a home that size.
I’m a super host and frequent guest via the Airbnb system. I agree that Airbnb should show the total cost of a reservation when guests are searching for properties. Cleaning can vary widely depending on the region you are hosting in and paying a living wage is important. My cleaning team are local wage earners and who work with and manage, quite successfully, a random cleaning schedule due to the nature of owning and operating a vacation rental they also clean the house from top to bottom the same way if someone stays a night or a week. Laundry has also become very expensive in recent years due to increased water, energy and cleaning supply costs. I include laundry costs in my total cleaning fee. I feel this issue can be managed by Airbnb showing the total cost of a rental from the get go of a search allowing the host to manage their own cleaning fees.
I agree! As a guest, I absolutely understand the cost and effort that goes into cleaning, even for guests like myself who get fantastic reviews from hosts who comment that it didn’t even look like we were there.
My issue is when I am looking I want to know what the total cost is up front when I am looking.
If the total cost with taxes and fees is $250 then it should not be listed as $100 a night! That is a waste of my time.
Furthermore, I think in the long run, it hurts the host. If I see two fairly similar properties for the same price and on top of that one lists the cleaning fee as $30 and the other one says $150, I am definitely going to feel like the owner of #2 is trying to bait and switch me whether it is true or not.
Truthfully, I am not interested in knowing the cost breakdown. I am interested in knowing the total cost period.
As an owner of two short term rentals and a frequent traveler, I agree the extra fees are a pain. On the cleaning front, the hardest part is that I’m charging guests exactly what the cleaning crew is charging me. The good cleaners who know how to properly clean a vacation rental aren’t cheap. They don’t just surface clean. If you are lucky enough to find a good cleaner that doesn’t charge much, do everything you can to keep them. One of my properties is a 1400 sq ft, 2 bedroom home across from the beach on Kauai. My cleaner for 10 years charged $200 a clean. After the pandemic everything changes. During the pandemic Cleaners had no cleaning jobs and left the profession. After, they started demanding more. I got 3 bids to clean my property and all were over $400 a clean.
Many of us hosts aren’t just arbitrarily pulling a high number out if the air.
Unless Brian Chesky is going to provide a cleaner who will charge less for shorter stays, this is not possible. Owners are subject to the going cleaning rates in our area, and all beds and bathrooms, kitchens and whatnot, must be cleaned the same whether you stay one stay or ten. I think more effort should be put into educating guests. A whole house rental is not the same as a hotel room clean.
Facts
Maybe Airbnb should tackle runaway “service fees”. My entire cleaning fee goes to the cleaners. I even subsidize it. What “service” exactly Airbnb provides – a clunky website? Chesky needs to snap out of homeshare mentality where host rents out a room and cleaning is part of host’s chores. When people rent an oceanfront 6 bd upscale vacation rental, they should not expect the cleaning fee to be $0 or $20. That is just not feasible. I wish Airbnb went back to renting spare rooms and couches and let adults rent on other platforms where both sides understand that renting the whole house is not the same as renting an air mattress and comes with different fees and expectations.
In the time of Covid, there can’t be any difference in the cleaning whether a person stays one night or ten. Cleaning supplies are more expensive, the water and electric bills have gone up, and the cleaners have to fill their tanks to get to the property. I’m getting bored of all of these one sided articles about what owners are doing wrong.
Here’s the big scam—cleaning fees are separated out because airbnb passes them through/doesn’t take a percentage of them. So they can go straight to the cleaner. They want hosts to roll it into the nightly but that’s where they take their percentage from. So that will ultimately get airbnb taking MORE from hosts than they already do and leave the hosts to have less profit to pay their cleaners with.
Also cleaners vary widely in price based on region. I can’t get anyone for less than $150 for a ONE bedroom in a high demand resort area. They act like everyone can get Jenny from down the street in rural Alabama to clean 5 room mansions for $50. Plus short term turnovers are more involved than a standard residential clean. Much more.
Like others have said before—a less fee for a shorter stay doesn’t work. You don’t clean less for a short stay. You’re still vacuuming/dusting/washing/sanitizing all the same surfaces if you’re following a basic protocol of cleanliness.
How about airbnb stop taking such a big chunk in platform fees from the guest and from the host? Guests think hosts get all that money but they get significantly less as well.
If anyone is taking more money than they should and contributing to crazy prices it is airbnb.
Now they COULD institute rules on how much can be asked of guests at check out. Hosts requiring all kinds of laundry, dish washing, vacuuming, etc are ridiculous.
You are wrong Mary!
Airbnb takes commission in the cleaning fee too. Just calculate it.
I agree that archive fees are too high for what Airbnb provides. Airbnb is basically part of a duopoly and can force pricing and rules on hosts and guests.
But Unfortunately, yes. Airbnb charges its service fees based on the guests’ total payment and host payout. Since cleaning fees are part of that, they are, therefore, subject to Airbnb’s service fees.
Ii believe only local TOT taxes are not included in the calcs of abb 14% guest fees.
Actually Airbnb does take their 3% cut from the cleaning fees. They are separated out because they are a fixed cost for host. I pay my cleaner $150 a turn regardless if it is a 2 night day for 2 people or a 2 week stay for 8. VRBO is clunky but they get it right by showing the nightly rate AND the total expected payment. The only thing they add after is tax.
3% is a credit card fee. We are talking about calculating the “service fee” based on rent alone vs on rent + cleaning.
This is bad reporting. I own 4 Airbnb properties and I make no money on cleaning fees. When I charge $225, it goes to pay a crew of 3 people who have 4 hours to clean a 3000+ sq ft home for a same day turnover. Simple math puts that at $19/hr. Wages are actually worse than that because middle of the day cleaning makes it harder for the cleaning crew to book other clients, so its often ALL they make in a given day. You can complain about price transparency from Airbnb, but not the actual price of cleaning a house when paying a living wage.
Facts
Some people (the vocal minority, might I add) need to quit being such snowflakes and look at the final price and go from there. Good grief!
Yeah, I kind of agree (ok, I wouldn’t say they were snowflakes, though, just maybe not experienced w/using Air BnB). It would be nice if the total price, including cleaning, showed up on the map and was included in search results when you limit by price, but when you look at the listing, you can see the total price. 100% in favor of Air BnB changing that part of the platform to make narrowing down your choices easier.
But that is on Airbnb to make those programming changes. Simple, right? Instead, they want to “tackle the runaway cleaning fees” (Translation: strongarm hosts into dropping the cleaning fees so that Airbnb can add even BIGGER “service fee” on top of rates). That is shifting the blame and finger-pointing, and Chesky is so good at it. It is Airbnb fees that are out of control. Some property managers that are actually on the ground and coordinate caring for properties, greeting guests, cleaning, etc charge the same percentage as Airbnb does (which does nothing but run a clunky website and mediocre CS).
The hosts are not the problem, Airbnb is the problem. Airbnb forced their Covid cancellation policy then got sued and lost. Airbnb is a horrible dishonest incompetent unethical company trying to blame hosts for everything.
I rented my luxury home over the summer. It had a minimum 30 day stay per my community CCRs. I paid $150 for cleaning and $200 for weekly yard service. The $200 I charged wasn’t even break even for me. I had a renter complain about something, so I did a mid stay cleaning at no extra cost. My expense was $500 and their expense was $200. It can be very fair.
I, as a CoHost and a cleaner, clean each unit as if they were there for a week. I also charge the same price regardless of the length of stay. I have costs to get to your unit and clean. I also do laundry for said units and that costs more now. I will not adjust my money to where it cost me to work for anyone. The unit is not my investment and neither is it Airbnbs investment. I do not as a cleaner have a list of chores to be done before the guests leave. All I ask is they take out all trash and start the dishwasher. They are just time consuming for me to load and start the washer which in turn will make my cleaning fee higher. I add the cost of the clean and for doing the laundry at my house into my fee. A lot of my units don’t have laundry on site and plus if I do have to stay and wash linens, the price will be higher . It also is more time consuming on quick turn says. It makes delays on check in time and then the guests complain because they can’t get in early because they don’t know how to plan their trip properly. I think Airbnb needs to adjust their prices and leave the hosts alone. I clean units from studios up to 10 bedrooms and do the linens for most.
I clean Airbnb properties.. I have my own rates per residence that are agreed upon with the owners. I have to pay employees, buy supplies, provide equipment and supply the gas to get to these homes. I also use my water and electric to wash all towels and linens. Factor that in sir. A 4 bedroom 3 bath home for $200.00 cleaning fee barely gives me a profit while your lining your pockets with your “service fees”
It’s simple, Supply and demand. Cleaning fees have increased because it’s harder to find good cleaning staff, and therefore, we have to pay more to keep good staff.
This is crazy! I gave up 3 airbnb units bc of the bs. I clean the same at a1 night stay as a 7 night. We work hard to clean and then get told we make too much $$???
Don’t blame cleaning fees try looking at your platform. Smh….
I’m over owners thinking they pay us too. No the owners do not pay us, the guest does. Cleaners set their own rate. How clean do you want your vacation rental to be when you arrive. When we cleaners feel unappreciated we slack, get bad attitudes and get burned out.
This is hard work. All my owners live out of town. I am all they have to give them the 411 on their property, and the 1st to be blamed when something isn’t perfect. That’s some big boots to wear for a few bucks. Geez…..
I have to say this much
I agree that some of the cleaning fees are outrageous
The properties that have realtors are the highest
They get a percentage from the owner on the total bookings and then most of them will jack up the price of the cleaning and put majority of the cleaning fee in their pocket
I agree that the cleaning fees
Example 4 bedroom 3 bath
Realtor charges 400 pays the cleaner 125 to 150 and the realtor keeps 250-275 in their pockets
The cleaning crew I use gave me the price they would charge the realtor but told me that customers who rented via realtor paid $100 but crew got only $80.
The issue with this article is the view of the author on house cleaners. It’s rather disheartening to day the least. The problem here is airbnb hiding these cost until checkout, Not the men and woman who are cleaning these places for next to nothing and expected to get it top notch with little notice and no time. If people don’t see the value in cleaning, they should start to do it themselves
Wow this guy loves to bite the hand that feeds him! We own these properties and he has know Idea what it takes to run them. He wants to take money from the owner and the renter people need to start complaining about the amount of money this guy takes from them! And then charges the owners as well! We don’t keep the housekeeper fee I actually pay her more than I charge the renter! I’ve owned for 15years now and still only break even and some years in the negative. I have finally been able to get a win with equity now but wow 40-50 %booking rate in Tahoe does not net me making a bunch of money, and then this guy takes more!
Yep. They all seem to think that only places that are rented are some sort of spare rooms or tiny homes that take 20 min to clean. They do not think that there are 2-6 bd whole HOUSES being rented. The same people who rent the houses for amenities (space, kitchens, games, theater rooms, hot tubs, decks, grills, etc vs small hotel rooms with just a bed and a bathroom) are acting all indignant that cleaning ALL THAT costs money and not $15. To those I say – go back to the hotels/motels. Will make it easier for the Owners not to have to deal with whiny complainy never happy types. To Airbnb: Chesky in a typical lib hypocritical manner speaks from both sides of his mouth: he wants Owners to pay “living wages” to cleaners and then turns around and says that cleaning fees are too high. So which is it? Last time I checked living wage is not 0. What is TOO HIGH is Airbnb’s so-called “service fees”. For what “service” exactly? Clueless CS and website that feels like it is out of the mid-2000s? They could make programming changes to show full cost inclusive of all fees once the desired dates are entered in the search and let travelers decide, but they chose not to. What Chesky is trying to do is to strong-arm the Owners to drop the cleaning fees so that this big semi-monopoly can add even BIGGER “service fees” on top of Owners’ rates. THAT is what this all is about. Not about actually saving travelers money.
The manage 10 short term rentals. It’s not the cleaning fees people complain about, it’s the Airbnb, VRBO and other platform fees that have increased. We don’t do it but some owners charge additional owners fees that are in addition to nightly rental, taxes and cleaning.
Airbnb tries to dictate social issues (asked hosts if they could monitor their listing for racism), the host’s cancel policy, cleaning protocol that took them way too long to come up with, now cleaning fees. The market will determine pricing. If the fees are too high, the guest won’t pay. If a host’s overhead is increasing, then raise the room rate. The room rate should be based on your expenses, why have a separate item for cleaning? How about utilities? Property taxes? Insurance?
Because utilities are fairly flat for a month. You pay the same for cable or internet whether it is used or not. There is a big difference however between cleaning vs not cleaning. Cleaning my property costs $200 – the whole cleaning fee amount goes to the cleaners, and I actually subsidize the credit card fee on that amount. Cleaning cost the same whether guests stay 2 nights or 3, 4,5, 6, 7. I can predict my cable or internet bills, but cannot predict how many cleanings I will have in a month – reservations are random. For other utility bills, the amount variation per night is not that great (vs $200 variation of cleaning / not cleaning). Only those hosts who rent weekly or monthly can build the cleaning fee into the rate. If the property is rented for a varied number of nights, there is no way to do it. And if we did, someone would complain that rates are too high.
Then the answer is Airbnb need to show the total price per night for a stay. It isn’t the Hosts who are hiding the fees, it is Airbnb. Stop showing a place without including cleaning fees and YOUR service charge, you seem to forget uyou fail to mention your charge in initial prices too.
I clean Airbnb’s many with multiple beds which takes many hours to wash. We wash everything not just the sheets.
We are also expected to supply, dish liquid, laundry soap, dishwasher pellets, trash bags, coffee, tea, toilet paper, paper towels, popcorn, and candy. Not to mention all cleaning supplies and wages for cleaners are now $20 per hour. I’m in the hole on many cleanings. Asking a guest to strip a bed or throw the first load of laundry in the washer is not going to hurt them. I’ve also renting airbnb’s for our family trips for years and every time the houses had these rules to follow. It seems to me everyone wants something for free again. Products have increased up the to 30% in some cases where I’m at. By all rights I should raise the price of cleanings in order to make a profit.
This is great news! Only a few agrees and I truly don’t care. So many AirBnB owners pay cleaning staff trash, but then they charge outrageous fees to their guests. There’s a property manager in Houston that pays $70 total for 3-4 bedroom 3 floors house, not just dust and go…they want you to clean the tubs, toilet, stove, refrigerator, laundry, mop & sweep floors, change sheets, the cleaner is required to provide the cleaning supplies and so on… for $70 per cleaning! I checked how much they charge their guests for cleaning and it was $250. Do the math. That’s crazy, so yeah… I support AirBNB’s decision to start directing cleaning fees. Owners and property managers who lack integrity take advantage of it not being regulated.
well, come to our market. our cleaners charge us $200 for pretty superficial cleaning for a 5 bd, and that is the exact amount we change guests. I actually lose 3% (credit card fees) that I have to cover on that amount.
I eat $50 per cleaning because I pay my cleaners more than I charge my guests. I explain how it all works in my guest book. Maybe a few of them read it.
I do everything possible to encourage repeat bookings and referrals off the AirBnB, VRBO etc. platforms. They are not your friend.
I charge 50$ for cleaning wether your there for one night or 4. Airbnb fees and taxes are what drives the prices up higher. Just had this issue with a guest about cost. And I only charge 25$ for a pet fee, regardless of how many dogs there are. Some cleaning costs are ridiculous and that’s what sends me looking at other places when I travel using Airbnb.
I own/operate a second generation basic weekly summer cottage colony on Cape Cod. My cleaning crew charges me $80-95 and I pass it onto customer. But in return for that lower cost, as typical cost here is at least $125, customers must do a few basic things that would be normally done daily anyway, like washing dishes. Customers supply own linens. And I do about an hour’s work to reset things like putting things back in place, etc.
As others said, cleaning takes about same amount of time if stay was two nights or two weeks.
I have only used Airbnb as customer three times and booked places based on total cost.
For me, I would like the search to have a way to give range for cleaning fee as well as rent.
And show both numbers on map pins so I can see it there as well.
Ummm I see a lot of comments from cleaners upset about this possible price change, but really shouldnt the overall price of managing a business be in the ORIGINAL price. It’s on the owner of these airbnbs to make sure they have enough to pay the cleaners..NOT the people that are staying there. This is on the owners of the places, not on the guests staying.
I would definitely encourage your guests in your responses which can be off platform. An option like VRBO and others. If you think Airbnb protects you as a host, you have another thing coming. Trust me. There is no advantage. A new movement is beginning. Just get your own contract and up your insurance and you’re much better off. And there are a number of websites out there. I started doubting Brian’s judgement when he FORCED all hosts to not only jump through Covid cleaning protocols (oh and btw not honor cancelation policies) but to have to be forced to BUY AirBnB cleaning products, which BTW failed. Anybody remember that? And now shame us as hosts. You still have to lauded and change the same number of bedsheets no matter how long the stay is. And then try to force hosts to not itemize costs so that theAirBNB gouges don’t look so bad to guests. Really?!? Wake up people!. Why don’t you join the rest of healthcare Brian and overcharge and hide your costs? You are noting without hosts. So stop screwing the Pooch that made you famous in the first place. Don’t get me started about the “new”algorithm” I am off the platform. Bran, you don’t want to pay workers what they deserve and then try to pass it off as a host extravaganza?! are you a Nazi?
The cleaning fees are not the main issue. The issue is with hosts who charge a cleaning fee and ask guests to do chores. That is what AirBnb needs to crack down on. They should have an option for ‘full service’ that means – no cleanup, no taking out trash or washing linen! Listings that do not offer full service should be allowed to charge a cleaning fee. BTW, AirBnb also needs to limit their fees that they tag on at the booking time and be transparent with it.
Chesky should look at his own fees that keep going up and up. They are now making close To 20% on every booking between guest and host. This dumb piece of shjt is ruining this industry with these fees and wants to blame it on hosts. Nothing Airbnb does is for hosts. Eventually all hosts need to get off the site.
One of the reasons Airbnb became so big is the fact that it was so much cheaper to rent a house for a small group than a hotel and you got more space. Now that you’re expected to wash dishes, strip beds and towels, sweep, make sure not one piece of trash is left, take out all garbage, and then pay the cleaning fee, it’s WAY easier to stay in a hotel and you usually get a free breakfast. You don’t have to wake up early to clean an entire house spotless before packing up your kids and your car and getting out before 10:00 am so they don’t charge you extra for that. When my husband and I have rented an airbnb for a night, we literally pay as much as a luxury hotel and then have to check in later and leave earlier and be threatened we’ll be charged extra if every chore isn’t done (and we’re a very clean couple). It ends up taking the enjoyment completely out of the exprience. You Airbnb investors will eventually run yourselves into the ground once any real recession hits because people can’t afford these ridiculous rates! I used to love Airbnb and now I can’t stand it.
($150 Airbnb 1 bedroom apartment advertised nightly rate – after fees $298.20) (Choke) (Add in your time to clean)
($120 Hotel with a kitchnette advertised nightly rate – after fees $139.12). Something is off, Airbnb!
Vacation home rentals are just not the same as a hotel. If you want the luxury of a lot of space, rent a hotel suite, do no chores, and pay the huge resort fee.
But if you want a lot of space for less money than a hotel suite, you’re going to have to pay the fees and maybe do a few checkout chores.
It’s a trade-off. Hotel rooms and vacation homes are not the same thing. I think vacation home renters are getting increasingly more entitled and need to stop demonizing owners.
I agree that some of the checkout chores (and fees) are out of control, but as a vacation home owner, there are not a lot of cleaning people options where I live, especially post-pandemic. Due to employee shortages, I can no longer find a cleaning person who offers off-site laundry, so it is either pay her an additional $40/hour to sit while the laundry is running or have the guests do it and reduce the fee. I offer guests the option to either bring their own sheets & towels, or do the laundry when they leave.
As a vacation home guest, even if there is not a huge list of chores to do before departing, I try to treat the vacation rental as my own – often doing laundry before I leave, and leaving the home “broom swept.” It’s just the polite thing to do.
Back in olden times (early 2000s), fees to rent or stay at a vacation home were often flat – and much more reasonable. I remember using vacationhomerental.com, where as an owner I paid $250 per year to list and guests paid a $25 flat fee to rent via the platform. That was it. Everybody got along much better with those rates, before AirBNB and VRBO bought up all of the smaller platforms and hiked up fees all around.
Maybe vacation home rental platforms should consider reducing their exorbitant fees.
VRBO is even worse with their double dipping- charging owners $600 per year to list the home AND taking a portion of the rental from both owners and guests.
There just shouldn’t be a cleaning fee. That’s like going to a hotel and them charging you a cleaning fee. Or Uber charging you for gas or cleaning the car. Are you going to charge me for furnishing your space and maintenance, too? Cleaning should just be a part of your price/investment like anything else. If you hire a cleaning service, that’s on you. Or come and clean it yourself. It should be clean, yes. But don’t make it my responsibility.