Do they actually do this? Charge a cleaning fee and expect you to clean?
I’ve literally never been at an Airbnb so this concept is foreign to me.
At least with hotel chains I know what the expectations are.
Depends on each individual “host”. You’ll usually find a binder with checkout instructions.
These range from things I would consider reasonable like take out trash, load the dishwasher, and reset the thermostat to absolutely insane demands like scrub the toilet, wash all linens, wash the towels, make the beds, etc.
I’ve only ever encountered the more reasonable requests. Some would consider that unreasonable, but these particular places charged a very reasonable cleaning fee so it didn’t bother me. If someone wants $200 then any request becomes unreasonable imo
I think one of the issues is you don’t know about these insane cleaning rituals until AFTER you’ve booked the place. At least that was my impression. Correct me if I’m mistakes.
No, the expectations are in the listing. If the in-binder expectations are different, then that’s not part of the deal and you don’t do them and/or leave a bad review.
Don’t tell that to a USA company otherwise you will get banned.
Hotels don’t charge an extra fee and I still don’t clean.
in your defense, the hershey stains in the sheets will never come out. they’re going to need to get new sheets.
AirBnB take a cut of the accommodation charge. They do not take a cut of a cleaning charge.
“Airbnb is sending you outside to clean! Why won’t you obey?”
Does the same apply to VRBO? Because it looked to me like it did not.
If you’re charging a cleaning fee
I’m not going to cleanI’m going to book a hotel instead.Yep. I gave up on Airbnb years ago. So many memorably bad experiences and they rarely even save you money, and that’s been true a long time.
Why do people keep paying extra when 90% of the appeal used to be saving money?
Moreover, I feel like at this day and age Airbnb is the less moral way as you both support technofacists and support using buildings which were made to use as apartments for leisure, while ignoring the scarcity of them
Agreed
I haven’t touched an airbnb in close to a decade. It was great in the early days when it legitimately was cheaper than a hotel room. But with a hotel room…
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You don’t have to pay cleaning surcharges upfront (at least not yet)
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…on top of being required to put all towels & bedding in the wash, take out the trash and leave the place spotless otherwise you’ll get hit with additional fees and negative reviews impacting your ability to use all hotels ever again
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You don’t have to worry about hidden cameras and recording devices
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You don’t get 4+ texts a day telling you to leave them 5 stars
Yeah all of that is true. Also in a hotel room if you have a problem you can ask for a new room or for other help. At Airbnbs I have had several issues and then not gotten a response from the host, for hours. Sometimes even happened preventing checkin. Saw some crazy filth and had my car broken into at Airbnbs, been told a parking spot was included then basically told to get over it when that wasn’t true (and this was in a city with very expensive parking). It’s just way too unreliable. I agree, long ago it was a good service but a lot of the reason I liked it then was the price and now that’s not even good.
The last maybe 3 airbnbs I stayed in, the bathrooms had black mold and rotten wood trim around the tubs toilets and sinks. I wish I was making that up.
I’ve seen stuff like that too. I saw the biggest cockroach of my life in one as well.
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For me, it’s never about saving money but finding an interesting place to stay. My wife and I spent one anniversary in a treehouse, it was super cool. To me, it’s always felt like a luxury vs a way to save money.
That’s fair. Unique stays are cool.
Same. I booked an Airbnb for a boys meet-up a few years back and it was terrible. The owner was such a nosy prick, and I resolved to leave the property as spotless as when we first arrived and I still got dinged with a cleaning fee.
From that point on I said never again. I would rather get a hotel that’s strictly regulated than contribute to this Airbnb nonsense killing local real estate.
Because when you’re with a group of friends, it’s not the same to share a house or apartment than to be in some hotel rooms? At least that’s a reason for me.
True. The last time I remember doing that, though, the house rules literally required us to bring our own towels and sheets.
I found that ridiculous.
Don’t let them get involved
