What cleaning is normally expected when leaving an Airbnb?

[MilkyRen]

Keen for reviews on staying in airbnbs and what’s ‘normal’. My friends aren’t wanting to go and stay in an air BnB as they feel you need to clean them from top to bottom including the bathroom. I was baffled by this as I genuinely have never thought to clean a whole place before. I empty bins, clean up kitchen, do dishes and put away etc but Ive never cleaned the place as if it was my own house. They say we would need to hoover the place including the stairs? Surely that’s what the cleaning fee is for

I think it depends. If there’s no cleaning fee I’ll make a better job of cleaning up. If I’m paying, I do the basics - quick wipe round and dishes in the dishwasher. The most I ever paid was €600 for the cleaning a villa in Italy on a family holiday. Plus they left a long list of instructions including to wash and dry the bedding and towels (6 bedrooms) between getting up and 10am check out!

I’ve never cleaned an Airbnb! We leave them
tidy, beds stripped and dishes in dishwasher etc but certainly wouldn’t be cleaning loos and hoovering etc if I’m paying a cleaning fee.

Most hosts provide guidance or make requests about cleaning; I do what they say.
I'd also get rid of obvious toilet skid marks, floor spills, wipe the counters, do the dishes, only that level. not mop or put items in a washing machine unless asked.

I think this is rather country specific as to self catering expectations.

In the UK I would remove all rubbish to bins, wash up or set off dishwasher, would wipe up any obvious mess (eg toothpaste smear on a sink, crumbs on a kitchen surface) and anything excessive (eg we’ve managed to walk loads of sand into the place I would brush it up) but no otherwise I am absolutely not cleaning.

Check the listings and reviews carefully as there are some unrealistic hosts out there who give this model a bad name.

We were leaving a holiday let in France and the cleaning instructions covered two sides of A4, including hoovering/sweeping under the beds.
Owner, whom we had thought was a nice chap, arrived as we were finishing off and immediately kicked off that we had not polished the leather sofa with the special leather cleaner…. Who does that in a hoIiday let???
We finished up and left and DH retrieved the (very good) bottle of single malt that we were going to leave for him.

I would pretty much do the same as other posters. Put the dishwasher on, strip the beds, tidy anything away, make sure bathrooms were reasonable but I wouldn’t be cleaning anything.

In one Airbnb in Belgium we had some very specific instructions on the recycling but I was happy to do it as it was literally just putting a bag on the kerb one morning.

As standard I would expect to pull used bedding off the bed rolled up as a bundle, used towels in the shower or bath.

Dishes, cutlery etc washed (we may load the dishwasher and leave it running but usually have washed so only the mornings is to be done so rarely worth a machine)
Ideally returning things to the cupboards, but the last batch drip drying by the sink

Fridge etc will be checked to take out leftovers.

Rubbish & recycling bagged and either dropped to the outside bins or bags tied up beside the kitchen bin (based on instructions)
The first up on the last day will take bin bags out of kitchen bins, the last person to leave will tie them up and dispose

Any furniture moved will be returned
(such as side tables)

Make sure things are turned off, windows shut, doors locked

We would not do “cleaning” other than clearing up our own mess

Our stays are typically a weekend or one night and are in the Airbnb for the evenings only

This is why DP prefers premier inns and Travelodge to air bnbs.

In short:

1. If cleaning fee has been charged, then I fret less about floors (but have done a cursory mop before)
2. If there is any kind of deposit, I fret more
3. I try and leave an Airbnb as it was when I found it
4. I take photos at the start of all and any imperfections and to remind me of how we found it
5. I follow the host's instructions to the letter

But if they are like some I know, your friends will leave it gleaming/better than how you found it and it can ruin a holiday.

Baseline - I make sure all washing up is done and put away, all bins are emptied and slooshed, all kitchen surfaces are clean. I put towels in the bath. I sometimes strip beds.

I do clean loos as it's the right thing to do. I would pick up the odd crumb but wouldn't usually hoover.
But I can totally see both sides x

This is why I stay at hotels.
I am on holiday. I can clean in my own house.

This is why I don't use air b and b anymore. Someone gave me a bad review as a guest. Never had a bad review before. I always leave it tidy and give it a quick clean. They didn't specify the issue..I'm thinking it was cause I left the outside bin full. However there weren't any street bins nearby to get rid of the rubbish. I stayed with my 2 kids for a week. What was I supposed to do with it?

We have an Airbnb and we don’t expect anyone to clean. We would just ask that people leave it tidy, wash up or put the dishwasher on and empty the bins.
We have a cleaner who cleans the house, washes the sheets and towels etc.

We also stayed in a holiday let in S France. We are not white, and felt the owner of the place didn't 'expect' that, let's say....

We paid a 500 Euro deposit and wanted it all back, so we scrubbed that place for dear life. It truly was left better than we found it.

She kept the deposit anyway.

This was now 5 ish years ago, but I still feel a sting when I think about it. I had wondered whether it was racism as we'd experienced quite a bit while out there (walked into an empty restaurant for example, and the waitress was about to seat us until the owner walked up interrupted and said 'No, we're fully booked' then the white people behind us asked the same and they were seated!!!). Poor waitress looked shocked and embarrassed.

Now that I read your post, maybe it was all just very French and not racism.

I have seen 2 page lists of things the guest has to do so they can pay the cleaner less money. Air bnb is a total rip off to guests and cleaners. Owners and the company itself are the only ones who benefit.

We try and leave it clean and well presented. Not all cleaning, but beds stripped, rubbish out, and floors and surfaces etc clean.

I have stayed in loads of air b and bs and have never felt expected to clean. I always strip beds and leave used towels in the bathroom in a pile. Always wash all dirty dishes or put the dishwasher on. Most will ask you to put your rubbish out and things but that’s just common sense.

French holiday lets are the worst for ridiculous expectations. We stayed in a chalet on a campsite and there were pages of instructions for how it had to be left, which included setting out all the kitchen and dining equipment on the table for inspection as per the photo they provided. It was like an exam!
We stay in Airbnbs quite a bit and usually just leave it clean and tidy, and have had no bad reviews of us apart from once where we left bagged rubbish as there were no instructions about where/when it had to be put out. Apparently being Naples you just chucked it in the street and hoped for the best.

I stay in hotels so I don't have to clean up after myself. I always leave the room tidy and any rubbish placed in or by the bin.

I never stayed in an Air B&B but If I had paid a cleaning fee I would not do anything other than a quick wipe down, I would not be stripping beds or hoovering.

Most people do not realise that under UK (and EU) consumer law all conditions and terms have to be available no more than one click away from the main page. This is so consumers can browse them before they hit the PAY button. Those tacky little laminated lists of tasks which were not made clear at the time of booking are ILLIGAL and do not have to be complied with.

ALWAYS pay with a credit card in case the owner tried to keep your deposit because you did not comply with some minor requirement on their list. You can do a charge back.

I put all used towels over the side of the bath, wash up, dry and put away, wipe the kitchen surfaces and empty the bins, no more. The last 4 air BnB reviews have said we are very clean and tidy guests, two were with DH and ds and two with a bigger group of female friends, one of the larger ones asked us to strip the beds and leave the bedding in a pile in the utility room which we did.

We just clear the fridge, empty the bins, and leave the towels wherever they've asked. If owners expect anything else in the Airbnb listing, then we wouldn't book it. We're not on holiday to be cleaners.

I would make sure dishes are washed and put away all surfaces clean, toilets are not a disgrace. Towel are in the machine or bath depending on request, I will turn the beds down to air and straighten up and give the place a quick hoover and put bins out. I also clean as I go along as I would at home so its never that much by the end of the trip.

I've never cleaned a holiday rental unless we'd been there long enough to need a quick hoover round midweek or made a mess (absolutely not looking at the person who emptied sand out of their shoes in the hall!). Usually put the bins out, strip the beds if asked, wash up and put dishes away or leave the dishwasher on and wipe counter tops, used towels in the bath/shower and leave the place as we found it.

I agree, France demands a lot more than the UK.

I would put all dirty stuff in dishwasher and switch on, empty bins, wipe over surfaces etc. I would make beds and put towels, if provided in bathtub or shower. I may run a hoover over.

I’m an Airbnb host. The only thing I ask guests to do is to set the dishwasher running before they leave (otherwise if the cleaner has to do it the cycle may not be finished before she is). I don’t actually like guests stripping beds. It makes it much harder to spot and treat any stains before they go in the wash (and I actually assume the guests are trying to hide stains - which they often are!!)

As pp have said, French holiday lets are the worst for cleaning expectations even with a cleaning fee. I don't go on holiday to be rated on my cleaning skills.

It varies from place to place. They leave instructions and I have never been asked to do more than empty bins, take towels to the bathroom and load dishwasher. I have stayed in around 30 places in the UK, EU and USA. The last one said, 'if you have time, please sort the recycling,' and another recent one said something along the lines of they have cleaners so please don't do anything.

I always wipe surfaces and sweep the floor of the kitchen because it feels right to me to do that and takes minutes. It's not like a hotel where you can leave it in a state but that's the difference between sc and hotels, not Airbnb per se.

I never understand on here when people say Airbnbs expect so much cleaning but perhaps I have been lucky.