Cleaning your Airbnb – not the most fun part of owning a vacation rental but someone’s got to do it! The cleaning fee on your listing is an important part that you don’t want to forget. As a new host, you’ll have to determine who will be cleaning and how much to charge for your Airbnb cleaning fee!
So, how should you figure out how much to charge for your cleaning fee? Below I will outline some of my personal opinions and a survey of other Airbnb host’s take on this topic. If done correctly, your cleaning fee on Airbnb should cover the host to pay your cleaning company and stock up on supplies like toilet paper, paper towels, etc.
If you are thinking about becoming a new Airbnb host, the first step is to create your listing on AirBnb. If you haven’t got that far yet, no problem, learn how to start an Airbnb business.
There are a lot of different ways to go about your Airbnb cleaning process. First, I am going to go through some of the questions you should ask yourself before even determining how much your cleaning fee should be. Jump to one of these questions by clicking the links below.
- Question 1: Should You Clean Yourself Or Hire A Cleaning Company?
- Question 2: How do I find a cleaner with the right experience?
- Question 3: Should You Charge The Guest More Than You Pay Your Cleaning Company?
- Question 4: What Is A Reasonable Cleaning Fee?
- Question 5: What is the average cleaning fee on Airbnb?
- Question 6: So, How Do I Add A Cleaning Fee On Airbnb?
Question 1: Should You Clean Yourself Or Hire A Cleaning Company?
This is the first question you want to ask yourself when trying to determine how much to charge for your cleaning fee.
Do you have the time to clean yourself? Some bookings come at the last minute and you’ll need to be available on the fly if you want to take the responsibility of cleaning.
TIP: Save Money And Make Your Own All Purpose Cleaning Spray
If the answer is yes, you’ll need to think about how much your time is worth to determine how much to charge your guest for a cleaning fee. Cleaning yourself could allow you to charge a little less than a company would charge. This could potentially motivate guests to book your listing over others that have a higher cleaning fee!
Question 2: How do I find a cleaner with the right experience?
If You Are Not Going To Clean Yourself, Get Quotes From Local Cleaning Companies
If you are going to hire out your cleaning services and not do the cleaning yourself, make sure to get multiple quotes from cleaning services in the area. That is, if you don’t already have a cleaning company.
One of my favorite places to look for a cleaner is on TurnoverBnb. Their marketplace is an amazing resource that has qualified cleaners that specialize in Airbnb properties.
This is one of my favorite host tools to use to help with the tedious tasks like scheduling cleaners.
You can sign up for a free account and get quotes from multiple cleaners all at once! I recently had to go through a change in cleaning companies (this is not always easy). I put a request on TurnoverBnb and got 5 bids back!
Each company may offer a different level of clean. Some will include doing laundry and some may not. Make sure to get a detailed list of what each company offers to be able to compare the pricing.
I was pretty nervous when trying to go through the process of picking a cleaning. I wound up using a local company that other AirBnb hosts in the area were already using.
One of the things I was really worried about was always having enough supplies. That’s why I gave my chosen cleaning company this Airbnb Cleaners Stock and Supply list.
I have a supply bin outside on our covered patio because there is not enough room in the house. It is a large patio bin with a lock so that guests can’t go in it themselves. Our cleaners set out the appropriate amount of each item when they are doing the check out clean.
Here is my supply check list for reference! You can create one of your own that is specific to your AirBnb.
Question 3: Should You Charge The Guest More Than You Pay Your Cleaning Company?
This is completely up to you and your situation as a host. For me personally, I charge $5-10 more than what I pay my cleaning company. This money goes towards supplies that I provide the guest like toilet paper, paper towels, coffee supplies, and anything else that they may request.
For reference, my Airbnb (The Beach Life Bungalow) is a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom single family home with a backyard. My cleaning company charges me $150 per clean and I charge the guest $160. This includes a complete clean from top to bottom including doing all of the laundry and dishes.
In one of my Facebook Airbnb Host groups, here is what a few others had to say on the topic of cleaning fees on their Airbnb listings…
I find out how much it’s going to cost me plus supplies and taxes, etc. I think I make some on the fee I charge, but sometimes there’s a deep clean and that’s costly too.
$5 over what I’m charged to help pay for toilet paper etc.
We compared our cleaning fee to other similar listings in the area to get a baseline idea. We pay our cleaners a little less than what we charge guests but the difference covers related costs (cleaning supplies and incidentals like replacing ruined sheets from time to time, etc).
Anything you buy related to cleaning can be covered with the cleaning fee. I just bought a steam mop and a diaper pail and so much other stuff, shoveling, driveway plowing, the list goes on and on….. that is definitely considered to be under the cleaning fee. What I pay my cleaner is just a large portion of it.
We clean our selves, but I would go for the break even if we had to hire a cleaner. We have a 1 1/2 bedroom and we charge $49 per stay, seems about right.
I guess we just breakdown our expenses and collect charges differently. We add in cost for electric, heat, water, pools, spas, courts, lawn work , and linen cost, pillows, property tax ……etc. and pass on expenses through those calculations. In our leases it states we will hold their security deposit and bill extra for damages, soiled sheets, neglect, excessive mess. I feel we get our fair due in that breakdown and I do not need to say it is a 150$ cleaning fee and then just pay my cleaners 125$ , or whatever you feel your share of a cleaning fee would be. Some of these cleans are stressful. And some ppl are down right nasty and disrespectful of others property. We charge enough that we don’t need to take our expenses from other services ……
I do not make a profit on cleaning at all! My cleaning cost includes everything related to cleaning including supplies.
I just pass on whatever fee my cleaners charge. The rub comes when the cleaners charge me extra because the guests left the condo in a mess. Usually I just suck it up because I don’t want a bad review.
Question 4: What Is A Reasonable Cleaning Fee?
You want to make sure that your AirBnb cleaning fee is reasonable and in line with the size and space of your house. Obviously a 1 bedroom apartment should not charge the same as a 6 bedroom house.
Take into account how many bedrooms you have, how many beds, how many bathrooms, how many common spaces, and how many people your Airbnb accommodates.
One of the main reasons that bedroom count matters for cleaning prices is that there will be more laundry for each room with linens. Think about the person you’re hiring that took the leap to start an Airbnb cleaning business. You want to make sure things are fair for them too!
So, what is a reasonable rate? Here are my thoughts and what I have seen on other hosts listing! Again, these numbers are dependent on the size of your space and what kind of amenities you provide your guests!
1 bedroom: $50 – $100 per stay
2 bedrooms: $100 – $150 per stay
3 bedrooms: $130 – $170 per stay
4+ bedrooms: $200+ per stay
Question 5: What is the average cleaning fee on Airbnb?
The average cleaning fee is around $150 per reservation.
Question 6: So, How Do I Add A Cleaning Fee On Airbnb?
Once you have your listing created, you want to make sure that you set your cleaning fee before going live and accepting bookings. If you don’t have the fee set in your account, the guest will not be charged.
Here are the detailed steps to take to add a cleaning fee to your listing!
From your main login page, click on Listings on the top bar.
Next, click on the listing you want to edit. If you have more than one, they will display here.
Once you are in the Listing editing mode, you will want to select Pricing.
Finally, scroll down to the section that says Standard Fees and Charges – click EDIT.
In the Cleaning Fee section, change this value to the total you want to charge your guest for the cleaning fee.
Make sure to click SAVE on the bottom!
After these steps, you’re all set – the next guests to book will automatically get charged the cleaning fee. This will get sent to you when the booking is paid by AirBnb. This is typically one day after the guests check in.
I live at the Airbnb, I am the so called house manager, yet I pay rent $750 month and I get paid $45 for 2 of the units and 50 for another one. It takes me anywhere from 2-4 hours for average clean, but when we have guest stay over 2 weeks especially a month, it diffidently requires a deeper clean but my pay is the same. The owner says Airbnb doesn’t have a way to set different fees for extended stay. Help I’m killing myself.
The owners should definitely compensate you accordingly. $45 seems very low for one unit if that includes laundry and everything for a turnover.
@beachlifebliss,
If I’m cleaning an Airbnb last minute… 5 bedroom/3.5 bathroom 3427sq. What would you quote them??? Just curious?
It depends if that includes laundry on-site?? I would say that is in the $300-350 range.
@Paige,
So I clean 1 and 2 bedroom 1 bath sometimes 2 bnbs. I do not do the laundry but clean everything else and obviously swap out all the linens. What do you think is fair pay? Rochester ny area. Thanks.
If laundry is not included in your service, I would think $100 for the 1 bedroom and $120 for the 2 bedroom.
So for a 2bed 2 bath is $60 bucks what i should be getting paid to clean? Because it’s allot of work to do for 60
No, $60 would be really cheap. You should be getting $100-150 depending on the extend of the clean and what it includes. Laundry, outdoor area, etc?
I clean a 3500sq 2 story Airbnb 5 bd 4b I charge $265 but I feel like I’m cheating myself. May I know your feedback
How long does it take you? That does seem a bit low if you’re including laundry. Also, where is the property located?
@Melissa,
Yes it does! Laundry is included and my cleaning time is 11-4 it usually takes me 4.5 to 5 hours cause there’s also a separate mother in law room apart from the house!
If it takes you 5 hours to clean, that’s about $53/hour on average. I would talk to the owners about raising your prices slightly and see what they say if you think you are being underpaid.
@Melissa,
As well as a large pool/grill area
I clean an Airbnb in California for a 2 story, 4 bedroom, 7 beds, sleeps 10 total home. Takes about 4 hours and I have to bag dirty laundry and do drop off and pick up’s at laundromat each time. I’m only getting $200 and I also do outside grill and fire pit emptying. And basically a deep clean inside each time. Two very big bathrooms too. And restock all amenities and snacks. Etc. am I being cheated ?
I would say $200 for that size house and number of beds for laundry is on the low side. You should be asking for ~$250, especially if that includes restocking items.
I am in the process of listing a home as an Airbnb at Smith Lake in Alabama 3/2 bath, includes laundry and everyone has quoted $300 when I look at other listings in that area they are only charging $175 to their customer as a cleaning fee.
Is that reasonable?
$300 seems a bit high for a 3 bedroom / 2 bathroom. I’m paying $170 for my 3 bedrooms and $200 for my 4 bedroom.
Omg! Help……I clean a 2 story 5 bedroom, 3 Full bathrooms house that has 1 king size bed. 2queens,2full,and 3 twins all have duvet covers and I wash,dry,fold, and put away 2 big loads of towels.wash and dry put away dishes, the floor span is huge with wood floors top floor and bottom floor, so all this cleaning and I drop off the sheets at a Laundromat for him. I seen the receipt $65 for 8 beds of sheets without the duvets. I start at 11 and with no breaks none I’m speeding through trying to finish before checkin at 4. I clean it by myself no help. I made $54 I’m not kidding….
That’s definitely not fair! I would talk to the owner and make sure you’re paid fairly for the job you’re doing.
Would it be inappropriate to leave a “TIP JAR FOR THE MAID”. Next to the guest book?
I don’t think so! As long as it’s done tastefully 🙂
I clean for someone that manages 15 airbnb units, all located in a 2 tower condo in Waikiki in Hawaii. All the units, except 1, are considered studios, but some of them have 2 balconies as well as a kitchen area. The 1 unit that isn’t a studio is considered a 1 bedroom but it is setup as if it were 2 bedrooms (2 beds, 2 bathrooms, 2 balconies, 1 kitchen). I’m also required to do the laundry. Some days I have 1 or 2 to clean and some days I’ve experienced having 5 to 6 to clean. Sometimes new guests are checking in that same day and it’s also not unusual for a unit to be instantly booked for the same day. Check out time is 11am and check in time is 3pm which gives me 4 hours. I get $60 per unit and the larger unit i get $100. Is this fair?
$60 per unit seems pretty low. How long does this take you including laundry? If it’s 1.5 hours or less, this may be fair.
Hi I’m currently working for somebody as a independent contractor and I’m making $20 an hour I just found out that she’s making much more money and only paying us a very small fee I am cleaning a studio and I get $30 and I have 2 hours to do it and I have a three bedroom two bath house I’m only getting $65 and I only have 3 hours to do it in I am cleaning a four bedroom two bath house and I’m only getting paid $85 but I found out that she’s getting paid somewhere in the neighborhood of two to 300 for the last two what should I be getting paid if I’m working under her but I pay my own taxes and she does not pay dry time.
Hello! They should be giving you 50% of the job price – in my opinion.