Just to clarify… I started hosting on airbnb a month ago and all it is, is a platform for hosts to advertise their properties and for guests to find a place to stay. Airbnb don’t decide the cleaning fees or put them on there. That’s for the host to decide. All Airbnb do, is take a chunk of the money you are paying (14% which shows as the ‘service charge’… this goes straight to airbnb, not the host) and 3% per booking from the host.
It’s up to the host to decide their nightly rate and whether they will put on a cleaning fee or pet fee or any other type of fee. I haven’t put a cleaning fee on mine but I pay £170 for every clean (4 bed house, but its not just cleaning, its changing beds, possibly cleaning wood burner/bbq, inside fridge, inside oven etc). Most hosts either pay changeover costs or do the changeovers themselves and whether they charge for cleaning usually depends on whether they think it appears more attractive to book if the nightly rate is reduced and there is a separate cleaning fee or whether they just work it into the nightly rate to begin with (which is what I’ve done). I also pay a meet and greet person every booking to make sure the guest is happy and that there is always someone nearby in case there was an issue. But like I say, I just charge a nightly rate as I think its more simple that way.
I’m just saying because lots of people always say “why do airbnb charge these expensive cleaning fees” likes its the company itself that’s deciding that, when it’s not.
With regards to asking for jobs at the end though, I don’t expect guests to strip beds and would never expect it to be spotless as people have lived in it and it IS going to get cleaned anyway! I do ask if they wouldn’t mind taking the bins out (about a 20 second walk), chuck the dishwasher on and put any towels in the baths/showers (as damp smelly towels on beds and the carpet are not great!). I don’t think this is too much to ask as it’s true, it’s not a hotel, there is a lot more space to clean, and there is a tight time between changeovers too (especially when guests want to have early check ins and late check outs).
Before I hosted this place I have stayed in them myself and I didn’t mind doing these things BUT I remember I did resent stripping sheets off the bed as that did feel like hard work when you’re in a rush to get out the door! I wouldn’t have complained though, it was no biggie really. I’ve heard so many horror stories from other hosts about dirty nappies being strewn everywhere, one who let their dog shit and piss all over their decking and left it there, pets (including cats!) being brought into non pet friendly places. I’m just happy if the place is left in tact ready for the clean tbh!!
Also, on prices, yes some are crazy expensive now! I was looking at New York and somewhere half decent was absolutely thousands for 4 nights. I get that if a place sleeps more then it reflects the fact that you would need ‘x’ amount of hotel rooms which may cost more overall (something some people forget as well I think), but even then they seemed very, very expensive so I would look at hotel rooms somewhere like that.