To cleaning fee or not to cleaning fee...that is my question

[Ned-And-Laura0]

Ok, so I don't charge a cleaning fee right now.  I have been a host for about 6 weeks and I have been booked solid and received 10 reviews, all 5 stars.  So we are pretty happy so far.   We are in a quiet town, not near the beach or any major attractions, no night life and not a tourist destination by any means (we have a pretty amazing view though!).  It's a 450 sq ft studio, attached in-law suite and I feel like we need to keep costs low to attract people. Right now we charge $60 to $65 per night on average, which is pretty close to what others in the area charge for similar spaces.  I am told that it is pretty much standard to charge a cleaning fee.  But we get a lot of 1 to 2 night guests and I am worried we will get lower stars for Value if we charge a fee.   Normally my wife and I clean the space ourselves but we recently hired a cleaning lady to come after guests with longer stays as the place needs more cleaning then we want to deal with.  So that adds $60 to our costs.  (we don't use the cleaner for 1-2 night guests) So now I am thinking of adding a cleaning fee to help offset the cost of the cleaning lady.  Does anybody here NOT charge a fee?    Can you charge a fee just on stays longer then 3 nights?

[Douglas109]

As a guest I prefer flat prices, and as a consumer I dislike the simple presence of fees, for that reason I decided to factor the cost of cleaning into the nightly rate. 

In your case for example, For a 1 week stay, instead of charging +$60 for cleaning, I'd increase my nightly rates +$9 to offset the difference. 

It's just a matter of preference. I've set my hosting account based on what I've wanted as a guest and it seems to be working. My first few reservations had $10 cleaning fees and it didn't seem to matter. 

At this time the cleaning fee is added onto every reservation, the option to charge based on length of stay would be a nice add-on.

[Gillian19]

@Ned-And-Laura0 @Douglas109 There are numerous posts relating to this topic - and there was a poll on this which has over 100 replies/votes - maybe search the community for cleaning fee if you want to see multiple opinions as there is no right answer for everyone (actually, I'm surprised Airbnb haven't started to mandate this along with mandating linen and towels!!). Ultimately it's up to you - I think the final poll result was about 50-50 from memory!

[Douglas109]

50/50 hahah, sounds about right @Gillian19

[Ned-And-Laura0]

I just know as a guest I hated being charged cleaning fees.  It just feels wrong when you are looking for a place and you see the nightly price and then it ends up being more when you go to pay.  At least that's how I felt before I became a host.   Of course now that I am a host I am a bit torn.

[Fred13]

You are in 'Phase #1' of hosting, when you first start, which is usually exemplified by the host doing 'extra' things in order to get bookings and good reviews. Not the time for 'experimentation' (or stiffer policies) if it is working. Soon you will enter 'Phase #2' which is tweaking your price and policies after you get your goal (Superhost?). I made all that 'Phase' stuff up on the fly, but I trust you get the point. >:)

[Ned-And-Laura0]

Phase 1...I like that.  Yes we are doing lots of extras to make sure we get the 5 star reviews...fresh flowers, fruit basket, free k-cups and other little touches.  Even a bottle of wine for couples and we left a bottle of bubbly for some honeymooners.

[Fred13]

The beginning is really a fun stage; what is cool is that the kind of personal touches you are doing are really something you could easily maintain throughout the entire journey, which makes hosting so much more fun.  

[Sandra126]

If you ever should get so jaded that you stop wanting to do nice things for guests, have a holiday.

Don't do it for the reviews, do it because you want to! The reviews will follow.

FYI: I don't charge cleaning fee, it is baked in. Don't like hidden costs and I try to run the kind of place I would be happy to stay in. I charge what I feel it is worth. I sometimes put in things like wine, depends on how much they have paid! A one night stay for two on a last minute discount doesn't get the same as a four night booking for four. But sometimes I surprise myself and do something extra anyway. I used to make simple biscuits, had to stop because I ate most of them.

Sometimes I feel a little tired of the endless effort with cleaning and gardening but then I check in lovely guests, who see it all afresh, and the place comes alive again for me. Makes me want to do more, give more.

Happy hosting.

[Elizabeth429]

Hello @Ned-And-Laura0,

I personally do not charge any extras regarding cleaning, but because I live in the flat I too rent at weekends.

I do it to get some extra cash at the end of the month to buy pretty things for myself ;))

It is obviously a business for you, so charge! Good potential guests would appreciate it better than others. Maybe start with a moderated rate and see how people react. Reliable guests wont mind paying an extra 10/15$ fee to make sure their rental is up to their standars.

PS: I do not know what a fair fee would be for an hour cleaning in the US or Europe for that matter, but here in Spain charges goes from 15 to 20 euros per hour.

[Denise415]

Hi Ned and Laura,

I started out as a new host not charging a cleaning fee as well. My home is in a popular summer vacation spot and I have many bookings throughout the summer and now starting into September as well. I planned at first to do the cleaning myself but I live a couple of hours drive away from the home so it got old fast driving back and forth as the bookings rolled in faster than I had expected. So I did end up adding a cleaning fee to at least cover the cost of my gas. I did look into getting someone to clean for me to do the cleaning I charge a $50 fee but that fell through as she cancelled on me last minute 3 times so I had to drive there anyways. Tried to get a professional in there but they wanted $125 to clean the place and wash the linens. Takes 2 hours tops to clean the place it is a small 2 bedroom cottage so that works out the $62.50 an hour! I don't know anyone that makes that wage per hour! The one thing I do not like is that potential guests don't see the cleaning fee until they are booking. I am thinking about adding a blurb about the cleaning fee somewhere in my listing so that potential guests will be aware of it before committing but for the most part no one has said boo about the cleaning fee. Only one person asked  if I charged for cleaning and that was when I wasn't charging a fee. So to answer your question I think charging a cleaning fee is a good idea at least to pay the lady you have cleaning for you so you are not taking out of your profit. Just mention it in your listing so guests are aware.For me all 5 star reviews so far even with the cleaning fees. By the way yes I am still cleaning it myself lol. Hope my this helped somewhat.

Denise

[Matthew285]

@Ned-And-Laura0

There are a lot of good arguments both for and against cleaning fees. Eventually you will decide what is best for your listing and your situation.

For our listings, we have always had a cleaning fee. It does make a one night stay quite expensive. But it has two great benefits:

1. It keeps our revenue in line with our costs. If you have a cleaning fee, there are few situations where a booking will be unprofitable. (Unprofitable bookings are usually the result of not having a cleaning fee, low-season rates, and short stays.)
2. Some guests are willing to pay for an expensive one night stay. This lets them do so. If a guest cannot afford to pay you for the room and a cleaning, why should you be providing a room at a loss?

[Paul154]

I charge a cleaning fee so that I can offer one day stays.

One small perk is that if I have a last minute cancellation, I can freely rebate the cleaning fee, without any effort or loss.

[Sarah977]

I don't charge a cleaning fee- I think it depends on a few factors. If a host is just renting out a room in their home to one person or a couple, which is my situation, I just factor it in to my booking fee. Also I have a 3 night minimum stay, and most of my guests stay for at least a week, maximum 2 weeks, so it's not like I'm having to turn it around quickly and clean daily for 1 nighters. 

If I had a self-contained unit for larger groups, I might charge a separate cleaning fee. It would be more palatable, I think, for a group to split that charge. Some groups may leave it really clean and tidy, some may leave a big mess, it'll average out. 

I've also read here that many guests consider that if they are charged a separate cleaning fee, that is license to leave the place a mess, so there's that to consider as well.

[Fred13]

I hear you @Sarah977. Based on 4-day minimum I charge $50 now, but took me years to do so; does goes to the cleaning lady since now she has 3 separate places to clean/prepare.