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

Beds stripped, dishes washed & put away, and all general litter from all rooms put in the bin. That's pretty much it from me if you are paying for a cleaning fee.

Make sure all dirty utensils are washed and put away

Wipe inside microwave / oven / grill IF I’ve used them plus any spillages in fridge
Empty fridge (although if there are full bottles/cans of water, pop, beer etc if I don’t have a car to take them home I’ll leave them behind. Likewise anything long life that hasn’t been opened.

Wipe over surfaces in the kitchen.

Take rubbish and recycling out - unless all rubbish fits in the kitchen bin and there are no instructions as to where to take it, in which case I’ll leave it.

I would hoover only if we’d made an exceptional amount of mess (unlikely nowadays) or in the event we’ve stayed somewhere for two weeks or more, in which case I’ve probably cleaned a bit earlier. And in the case of a longer term let we have changed the beds and washed towels.

Leave dirty towels in the bath.

Ive never been anywhere which asked you to do anything more than that apart from over Covid period where we were asked to strip beds, and in one place to leave the windows open!

It would make no difference to me whether a separate cleaning fee was shown or not, as all properties are going to be cleaned between users, it just depends on how they do the listing.

Ours is an annexe in the garden and I always say to guests not to bother washing up as it all goes into our dishwasher anyway. We do not have a cleaning fee either. It is supposed to be a holiday / break for our guests, why would we want them to be cleaning the place ?

How does the not washing up work if someone is there for a week? Do you pop in and collect their dirty crockery every day ? Or do you just mean at the end of the stay.

Just at the end of the stay. Because it’s a small accommodation with no cooking facilities (just kettle, toaster, fridge) so stays are quite short. If guests wish to wash up while they are staying of course that’s up to them but we really don’t expect them to do much when they leave.

The last one we used I just followed instructions left by the host: empty bins, put the recycling out if bin day falls during the stay, and wash up.
We didn’t cook so it was pretty quick to do a sweep of the place, empty the fridge, wipe sinks, bleach loos etc. I could see from labels in the linen cupboard they used a laundry service.
I aim to leave it as we found it.

Only stayed in UK airBnB. I always strip the beds we’ve used, leave sheets towels etc in one place, make sure any dishes used are washed & put away, empty the bins and ensure the place is generally tidy.
I wouldn’t hoover unless I have spilled something or tracked in some dirt and only then if there is a hoover obviously there somewhere.

Never stripped beds. Used towels in the bath. Rubbish taken out. Dishwasher turned on. I’ve always had really lovely hosts. My dog once pissed on a the living room floor in an air b&b - I messaged the host and fully expected an additional cleaning fee but they said it was fine and they know accidents happen. As long as the house is relatively mess free and no lasting damage to the property I think it’s fine. You’re on holiday, they have cleaners coming in, it’s unrealistic to expect a fully cleaned house when you check out.

There is absolutely no way I would clean to this extent.

I only choose Airbnb if I’m on the type of trip (alone) where I’m using the place only to sleep and shower, and the rest of the time out sightseeing or whatever. I never use it if I have an early airport transfer, if I’m taking kids, or if I want to travel with friends and cook/ eat in the accommodation.
I just find the cleaning expectations really inconsistent, in that some places expect the whole place scrubbed within an inch of its life before releasing deposits or whatever .
Those ones also gross me out a bit because you know they’re scrimping on cleaners and you’re relying on the last guest having adhered to ‘the list’ . It’s like the Ryanair of accommodation options for me. By the time you’ve paid all the little extras you wish you’d just booked BA, or in this case, a nice hotel with cleaning staff and a minibar.

Stripping the beds as a guest always sounds grim to me

why should I be touching possibly grim duvets, pillows and mattresses owned by someone else?

I can just about imagine everything is clean underneath with clean covers on. What happens if they are grim and covered in dodgy stains? Do I claim money back?

That is horrible! Whereabouts in France is this? Hope you got treated with respect elsewhere (not that it makes up for the racist experience) ❤️

Yes. I have heard of some that require an oven clean even if you haven't used it. I think this is the problem when people who have no idea of hospitality buy a house to air bnb but have no idea of what they are doing.

We use apartments and houses most of the time when we travel but tend to use Booking instead of AirBNB if possible. Like everyone else, I check what is asked for which is usually to strip beds, gather towels and empty bins / fridge. I would also keep things clean and wiped as I go along and make sure the toilets were clean and bathroom surfaces wiped. I generally wouldn’t vacuum unless there were a lot of crumbs or bits.

I usually film everything when we arrive and again when we leave but have never had to use it.

It’s people doing it and not costing it up properly so they are inconveniencing the guests to try to make it work with existing infrastructure- eg bins- we get fortnightly collections ( bins one week, recycling next). This is fine for households but not for Airbnb because people (1) tend to generate more of both when on holiday and (2)often don’t recycle properly leading to it not being taken. We used to use a private guy who would empty both for you for a reasonable fee but so many Airbnb people refused to use him as it would eat into their margin and instead were leaving convoluted instructions asking guests to walk their rubbish down to other people’s commercial bins, getting them yelled at, or take it home if bins were full.

Also people underestimate how long/ how many people ( so costs) to turn around an air bnb to required standards so rely on guests doing some of it for them.

Me and DH stay in Airbnbs all the time. I have lost count of how many we have stayed in not just in the UK but also France, Holland, Belgium, Sweden. We have never had any problems.

The owner always gives you information about arrival and if, for any reason, you were to arrive at night I am certain it would not be a problem. We once arrived at a hotel in France at about 10pm and could not get in as reception had closed!

As plenty of posters have said, no real cleaning is expected and surely most people would leave the place clean and tidy as I hope they would a hotel room?

We have just got back from one that supplied a lovely breakfast on the patio with cereal, fruit, pastries, fruit juice etc.

We don't need our beds making by someone else every day - how long does it even take for goodness sake! Also clean towels every day is very very wasteful.

We use Airbnb because why would we be happy with a hotel room which is unlikely to be very large and also, quite likely, only have one comfy chair in it when we can have a separate living room with comfy settee, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen so if we want to prepare food we can.

Almost always Airbnb is cheaper than a hotel and just so much more comfy and convenient.

Why would you clean? - that's what the owner is paying a cleaner for?

Leave it generally tidy then off home you go!

I have a large holiday let (sleeps 12) and I just ask that the dishwasher is set off and keys left in the key safe. As far as I’m concerned guests are on holiday, and having paid thousands do not need the stress of having to clean - that’s what I employ cleaners for.

Having said that, I’m always delighted when it is left immaculately and the beds stripped, but it’s not expected.

Basically no sweeping, no mopping. Use the toilet brush if appropriate. Wash dishes. No more than this

Agree. Have almost given up staying in hotels. Will do this if it's a very short stay, one or max two nights. Otherwise, having a whole apartment versus one room is clearly better.

It really depends on its position in the market.

Lower end places the owner tries to save money on shorter cleans or cleaning themselves. Those are the places where the owner might request you to do some cleaning. But technically you should be able to request a full clean even if you have to pay for it.

Higher end places - thorough cleaning by a team is covered - in which case there’s no point as the cleaning hours are already factored in.

We run an Airbnb.
We do not ask for cleaning to be done.
Rubbish put in bins (we sort & recycle after guests leave) or if they are staying for more than a few days, we explain the recycling process, any spills wiped up & used towels left in bath.
Dishes, either left in dish washer, or washed and left to drain.
We would never leave a bad review for someone who left a few dirty dishes.
We appreciate a guest stripping the beds, but it’s not expected.
These over zealous hosts give Airbnb a bad name.
We go over and above, to give our guests an enjoyable time, frequently giving lifts into town, so they can have a few drinks, or down to the bus/train station, if they don’t have their own car.
We charge a £15 cleaning fee (it’s a 2 bed apartment) & we do the turnaround ourselves.

France is particularly bad for cleaning. I think the owners expect visitors to clean well enough that the property is ready for the next lot of visitors without having to employ a cleaner.

We stayed in a lovely house in France a few years ago, spent a couple of hours cleaning on the last morning. The owner came in to check the property and moved the bed, disdainfully pointing out some long blonde hairs underneath, at which I pointed out DH's salt and pepper number 3 comb cut and my short mousy brown hair. The owner shrugged and carried on.....

If I'm paying a cleaning fee I wipe down surfaces, make sure dishes are done, fridge empty and do whatever needs doing with the rubbish but nothing else.

I’ve definitely heard the most complaints on here about France holiday lets. And it seems to me that owners/hosts are trying to cut costs by making the guests clean.

So much so that if I took a house in France now I would ensure to clarify upfront that I am not cleaning and want to pay for a full end of let clean if necessary.

Where did you get this from? Why is an owner going to be a worse cleaner than an agency? Your statement is certainly not factual.

I'm an owner and clean my high end property myself. I can tell you that my cleaning is better than any agency! Agencies are generally poor cleaners frankly. They don't know the property if the agency sends different cleaners, they will also never have the attention to detail an owner will.

I'm not 'saving money' I'm running a business. As my business is my job I do the work myself.