People often ask (and complain!!!) about cleaning fees. Most commonly, they wonder why they need to “clean up after themselves if they are “paying a cleaning fee”? Let me break it down as a long-term host who has pretty much seen it all — from houses left totally trashed to houses that were left as if no one was ever there (except for laundry and sanitizing surfaces).
There is a huge difference between emptying the trash bins….and having pick up shopping tags, bags, empty water bottles, tissues, wrappers…etc. from the floor, table tops, beds, etc.
There is a huge difference between having to do a sink full of dishes……and having to walk around a retrieve plates, cups, silverware from all the rooms (even the rooms where eating is prohibited due to carpeting).
There is a huge difference between having to clean the bathroom….and having to spend hours bleaching the sinks, shower, floor because someone got hair dye all over the place.
There is a huge difference between wiping down the dining room table…..and having to rent a carpet shampooer to clean the carpet under the table because someone spilled a milkshake from a fast food place and didn’t tell you until they were checking out three days later.
There is a huge difference in just vacuuming…..and having to clean mud, dirt, grass clippings from all the carpets/rugs/floors in a house that is listed as “shoe-free”.
There is a huge difference between just cleaning a kitchen….and having to clean up broken glass and burnt pots/pans– or spending hours cleaning the stovetop and oven due to multiple days worth of food spillage, burnt food, crumbs, seasonings, and splashes of sauce all over the top and front.
There is a huge difference between doing a few dishes…..and finding that every single dish, skillet, cup, piece of silverware was used during the five day stay and NONE were washed or even rinsed after use.
There is a huge difference in just cleaning a bathroom….and cleaning up vomit, diarrhea, and tampons on the floor and a vanity covered in hair stubble from electric razors that were just “banged out” on the vanity top without a care in the world as to who has to clean that mess up.
There is a huge difference between the guests who place all their towels in the laundry on the last day………and the guests who leave wet towels on the beds, carpet, hanging over furniture, outside, etc. I mean, at least use the towel racks so I can find them all easily and just go room to room grabbing them!!!
There is a huge difference between just restocking and wiping down the fridge……. and having to take the fridge apart and scrub it because the guests allowed purge (the watery substance with myoglobin and protein from animal flesh) to fill the bottom of the fridge and run down to the floor…spread out under the fridge and soak into the kitchen rugs making the house smell like roadkill.
There is a huge difference between just mopping a bathroom floor ….and finding the floor covered with a pile of “hairballs” from brushes, hair shavings, and shaved hair all over the bathroom in every crack and tracked down the hall.
There is a huge difference between having to sweep the porch…..and finding it covered in cigarette ashes and butts in a NON-SMOKING rental.
Finally, there is a huge difference between respectful and clean guests…………and those that bring to mind “don’t throw pearls before swine”.
Some people have no manners and just belong in a cheap hotel. There are dirty guests who need to be called out for their bad behavior especially to warn other hosts that they don’t follow rules, have any respect for private property and/or are just plain dirty/lazy people.
Low class will always be low class.
At bare minimum — the cleaning fee has to cover cleaning supplies including dish soap, toilet cleaners, household cleaners, and laundry detergent. It also should cover the cost of doing laundry (electric + water). These things costs money even if the guests were neat and clean and created no extra effort beyond regular cleaning. These things are “set costs” regardless of whether someone stays 1 night or 5 nights.
The rest of the fee covers either a cleaning service or the “average” time it generally takes to clean the listing and reset it for the next guest — which is anywhere for 2-5 hours depending on the amount of laundry (bed linens and towels).
If a house normally takes me 3 hours to do laundry and clean and I’m on my fifth or sixth hour (or 7th or 8th) after your family leaves, then you were NOT a great guest. Please do your part — my cleaning fees are REALLY low because I do it all myself….and I don’t want to have to raise them. But, if my normal cleaning times start to get exceeded on a regular basis, then future travelers are going to have to deal with me raising my prices. Don’t do that to them. Be neat and clean! It’s not that hard!