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’ve run a business of high end holiday lets including my own for 25 years. I think perhaps your idea of high end and mine is not the same.

I didn’t say anything about an agency if you read my post properly. Nor did I comment on the quality of an owner’s cleaning.

We have two small children who create mess faster than we can clean it up so we have a pretty tried and tested method for getting out of and cleaning holiday lets.

Get up early, dishwasher on. Chuck everything we brought with us in the car. Strap the kids in and then spend however long we're happy for the kids to be sat in the car wiping down surfaces, hoovering and generally checking that we haven't left any obvious mess. In the current heatwave with one parent having to stay with the kids in the car with the aircon on, that's around 15 minutes. Tbh I find that usually suffices to do a quick hoover, check under beds and remove any sticky messes from surfaces. I don't strip beds unless this is specifically requested and I wouldn't stay anywhere where I was expected to launder towels. I don't like places with complicated instructions for disposing of rubbish, although happy to separate general waste/recycling/bottles etc.

We never stay in hotels now unless we have no choice such as not being able to find an Airbnb/apartment.

We hate being cooped up in one room, having to sit or lie on the bed to watch tv which is very uncomfortable in our view.

Also just about every hotel we have ever stayed in whether cheap or pricy has noisy guests who slam doors late night/early morning, talk at the tops of their voices etc. Never had that problem in an Airbnb

You have stated what you think/do not what industry standard is. It's misleading.

You also sound like a twat. "I think perhaps your idea of high end and mine is not the same"- how would you possibly know that?!

Because high end owners don’t clean their own houses.

There isn’t an “industry standard” in any case hence the thread.

I’ve stayed in Airbnb in Italy, Greece, Switzerland, Hungary, Australia, Spain and numerous places in the U.K. I’ve never once had any kind of cleaning instructions other than to please put the bin bag out.
However, I do tend to have a quick wipe around the kitchen and bathroom and we wouldn’t leave the place dirty anyway because we’re not messy people.
This idea of having cleaning expectations is so odd. I keep expecting to find them in a place but never have yet after 19 different properties over 9 years.

Just left an air b&b in France which was ver expensive - wiped surfaces, cleared fridge, put bins out, bleach down loos, cursory hover of kitchen as there was lots of sand… beyond that I’m leaving it.

I would strip the beds. Fold things up and leave at the end of each bed. Towels I would fold up leave in the bathroom. Wipe down any mess or spills. I’d leave it tidy - but would not be cleaning it top to bottom.

Do you leave the shower and bath to someone else to clean or are they cleaned by the guests after they’ve used them?

I have an Airbnb and absolutely do not expect my guests to clean in the sense of hoover/mop/wiping or stripping beds etc.

i keep it very simple and the only thing that I ask politely is that all wet and used towels are placed on bathroom floors, the dishwasher cycle is started if they are able to and there are dirty dishes in there. I actually request that beds are left unstripped so it’s easier to spot stains.

I’ve not had any issues with it being left in an awful state. Some people will have a wipe around bathroom and kitchen surfaces and usually clean appliances such as the air fryer if used (I do provide liners too) but it’s definitely not expected by me.

The only PITA guests were ones who elected not to tell me they were using the place as a sewing retreat. Hours spent hoovering tiny snipped off threads and picking up and unravelling cotton thread from every piece of furniture and crevice and carpet. Was a bit annoying but not the end of the world.

I did go recently to an AirBnb where I was required to do a complete clean up before leaving (hoovering, cleaning bathroom and kitchen...) Maybe email the owner to know what is required of you?

Really? Why not?

And yes, there is no industry standard. That's my point.

No, of course not. Why would I? I don't clean bathrooms in hotels either. Not that we ever leave them a complete mess.

I listed everything I've ever been asked to do in an AirBnB. We have stayed in many over the years, and I have a perfect guest rating.

Why are you hoovering? It's unnecessary and not expected. Especially when your kids are sitting in the car waiting to leave!

Exactly.

It also sounds like many of the owners are taking the piss and expecting guests to just act as free cleaners.

There is a big difference between leaving a place tidy and putting the rubbish out which is fine and being expected to clean it from top to bottom so it is ready for the next guest and the owner does not have to lift a finger. That's CF territory.

Another that would never stay in an air bnb because it’s meant to be a holiday! Hotel/ hostel/ mobile home you leave as was when you got there

France is a whole other level! I got charged a few because I put the dishes in the dishwasher and switched it on but hadn't unloaded it as it was still going when we left!

See for me, staying in a hotel room, even a suite, is so much less space than we’re used to. We have had airbnbs with private pools, three bedrooms, two living areas etc and all for so much cheaper than a hotel. Even in a city centre - we stayed in Florence a while ago and had a two bedroom apartment with a living room, a rooftop balcony overlooking the city square, two bathrooms and a kitchen. Meant we could cater our own breakfasts, make drinks etc.

In London recently we stayed in a city centre hotel and it was incredibly expensive but we were all in one room, no seating at all, no fridge, literally just a room with beds. Yes we didn’t have to empty a bin but honestly I feel like it’s a small price to pay for having so much more space for less money.

As an Air BnB owner I ask for windows to be shut, lights switched off and towels in the bath.
I expect to clean, but I would expect if you allowed your child to wander round eating pizza and they dropped it on the floor or on furniture you would attempt to wipe up the worst. I would also expect guests not to get red wine on the walls and ceiling.
Most of my guests are fabulous - I do find Gen Z’s don’t read they check out instructions and I regularly find they leave soaking wet towels on the beds.
The furniture moving I can’t understand we have coffee tables and bedside tables everywhere yet still furniture is moved. If you move furniture move it back where you found it.

I always leave Airbnb tidy and clean but don’t actively clean itms so wipe sides and put bins out and perhaps use dustpan in kitchen.

Leave it tidy, wipe round, pile towels in shower, check whether they want the rubbish taking out and beds stripping. I wouldn't hoover or do any proper cleaning as that's what the cleaning fee is for - you'd just be doing something that'd be done again later. I've stayed in lots of air BnBs and all good reviews saying thank you for treating the place well and leaving it tidy.

I still chuckle at my first experience of a holiday let in France, which I booked via EBay, maybe 20 years ago.
We were sent pages of cleaning instructions, which not only covered stripping beds, but how to fold the duvet and where to place pillows, etc.
There were strict instructions to vacuum, including under furniture, and in the corners.
I can only imagine that other guests ignored these and the owners didn’t check as I found a Christmas decoration under the sofa - in July!

We sweep up or hoover if there's crumbs and stuff visible, wipe surfaces quickly and clean away any spills strip beds and leave them neat. But generally wouldn't mop, or make sure every corner is squeaky-clean.

I completely agree. If it's more than one night, I hate having nowhere but the bed to sit, and the kind of hotels we can afford don't generally run to lounges. Plus where can you play cards or board games, if all you've got is a bed? And AirBnBs often have a few board games in the cupboard, which is nice.

And the cost shoots up for hotels when you have to pay for 3 meals a day - many don't even give you a free breakfast now. In self-catering you can make breakfasts, sandwiches, dinner, whether elaborate or a pizza in the oven, and not have to eat out for every single meal.

You wanna clean 6 bedroom 6 bathroom houses to superyacht standards every Saturday from May - October in a different country? It takes a team of 4 several hours, how long would it take one person?

And what’s the point? Typical rent is 10k+ per week, turnaround clean costs 500 - ie 5% of total - why wouldn’t you just add that to the rent?