Air B n B guests no longer need to clean up after themselves

[lonelylou09]

Wondering what everyone's thoughts are on the upcoming changes to Air BnB bookings where owners will no longer be able to ask guests to strip beds, remove rubbish or even wash up after themselves.
I'm a cleaner and I'm worried this will mean I can no longer do changeovers properly.
I currently do a 5 bed 3 bathroom that sleeps 10 and it takes me the whole check out time (5 hours) to turn the property over. That's with guests having to strip beds, remove rubbish to correct outside bins and at the very least load up the dishwasher and put it on.
If I have to add this on to It could easily add on an hour which means check out or in times would have to be adjusted and people already moan or turn up 2 or 3 hours early or leave an hour late.
So I'm guessing I'm asking what peoples thoughts are if you use air B and b. Do you do these things if asked and would continue too if you can't be asked to? Or do you think this isn't your place to do it? Does it make a difference if there is a cleaning fee charged separately?
My view is it's not a hotel ..its self catering and you should leave it as you found it. I always put a lot of effort into trying to ensure when the guests arrive it feels like no one was there before then and it's theirs for the week.
If I stay anywhere...even a hotel I'll strip the bed and set the bins ready to make it easier for the cleaner.
But although most guests are great you do get some that you just wonder what Thier own home is like.

We always leave wherever we stay clean and tidy but I hate being asked the strip the beds. We always but the dishwasher on before we leave. We often empty the bin but even if we didn't all the rubbish would be in it so it would take the cleaner minutes to take it outside.
If you struggle in a large property it might be better to get a second cleaner to help.
I dont go away to have to start doing jobs like id do at home.

Rarely had any that haven't complied as they want their deposit back. And yes there have been some stinking guests. One lot turned up with 3 huge dogs when max is 2. They then left after a week without picking up after the dogs once . thankfully that wasn't my problem as I don't deal with the outside but the house wasn't much better.
As I do the same property every time I rotate some jobs like skirting and windows for example so if it needs extra time those extra bits have to be left and on a rare occasion I've gone over time and thankfully guests have been later turning up.

She had trouble securing cleaners because none of us who are experienced want to do it as it seems like a mug's game for everyone but the owner and the company.

This sounds very sensible and I would book somewhere like this.

never used Air&B due to some of the comments on here tbh with rules and cleaning.

I think it’s awful that there’s a cleaning fee AND rules and stripping beds etc. it should be one or the other.

we often stay SC and always leave it clean, wash up, rubbish out and towels in the bath. Not because I’ve been asked but because I want to leave it nice. But I’m not hoovering or stripping beds, cleaning sinks because that’s the whole point of a holiday. Of course if we’ve spilt something or the kids and got sand on the mat then I’ll clean it up.

even if your not paying a separate fee the cost is built in so you're still paying.

exactly. When I pay for accommodation, I would assume it includes certain things, like cleaning before me and before the next guest. And it used to be the case when AirBnB first started. It was just fixed fee for accommodation, no extras.
Then of course owners figured out that why pay for all cleaning hours if we can ask guests to do half the work? Guests objected, so they added an option for 'cleaning fee'. Fine, you would think. Except that many owners charged the fee but didn't remove all the extensive laminated chore lists. That's what I personally object to, as those expectations were rarely communicated before you booked.

Rarely had any that haven't complied as they want their deposit back

I didn't think AirBNB took a deposit???

Airbnb do not hold a deposit. The stripping of the beds has never been enforceable. If you are pushed for time currently I would suggest talking to the owner. Maybe one of them could help you out for an hour or two for each change over or find another cleaner to help.

What's amatuer about it? It's worked for 4 years and before me there was always issues with cleaners whether she was employing solo or agency cleaners and she was not satisfied with the work as it was always something different. I've done her home for 16 years so she knows how I work and my standards and that I'm also capable of taking care of other things for when she is away.
This is my biggest job of the week and in most cases it will probably be fine within the time frame. I will just have to miss something else in order to find the time somehow. I can't take another cleaner with me and if she employed some else then I'm losing half my work/earning that day. We do a Friday changeover and live in a tourist area so you can't get a cleaner anywhere on a Friday as everyone is rammed with work.
To have gap days wouldn't work as who wants to go for week holiday on a Tuesday..people want Friday or Saturday.
I did this post to get an idea of what people think as that's all I've seen all over social media so this is how it affects me personally.
I personally always clean up after myself and strip beds and empty bins ..even if in a hotel as that's just me and if I can make the cleaner day a little easier I will.
I don't however use air B and b when going away because of I see a cleaning fee it puts me off as I know the cleaner ain't getting paid half of that fee in most cases

If I am renting the kind of size house you are talking about op (and we often do) then I would be assuming there are at least 2 cleaners if they do same day turnarounds.

Neither you nor the owner seem to understand the basics of the hospitality business

I don't think that it's because it's a highly touristy area and Friday is the main changeover day for the whole county it seems. I also used to do one on a Saturday and took that over for the owners because although they always got cleaners which were supplied by the management company they hated the fact that it was someone different each time, they were always in a rush to get to the next job and the standards weren't good. They wanted me to do it as I do thier home so they know how I work and it was someone consistent.

I've said previously she takes other bookings so I don't know too much about the deposit except if she is away she will ask me if everything is ok before refunding the deposit. I don't know which cleans are booked through which platform.

As I've said .it's not previously been an issue for me to turn over in the 5 hour slot and on occasion we have had messy guests she has been on hand to help if needed. Or as I do the property every week I know what I can skip to make up the time that week. For example if one bed hasn't been used that gives me 10/15 minutes extra cleaning. We sometimes have less guests in so less beds to do so I use that time to do more cleaning

I agree with this. We have holiday lets and all we ask is that the rubbish is put into the bins outside. We don’t specifically ask for the washing up to be done because quite frankly, it would never occur to me to not do it when I’m staying somewhere similar. It’s all about standards and respect.The majority of our guests are lovely respectful people and do this without any issue but there a few who aren’t and I dread to think how some will react to Airbnb’s new rules. Unfortunately it seems there is lot more entitlement these days and some people don’t care how they leave a property. It’s not just a question of ‘getting another cleaner’ as firstly, good ones are very scarce and secondly, the profit margins are very small so if some guests really aren’t able to do the basics ( which says a lot about them ), a lot of hosts will withdraw from the market and those lovely unique places to stay won’t exist anymore.

To be honest, this is why I stopped using Air BnB- I’m always respectful, and wipe down work surfaces, load the dishwasher, empty the fridge, etc; but if they want me to do much more than that I’d much rather stay in a hotel, especially given that I’m being charged what are often pretty high cleaning fees. The cleaning fees for a tiny two bed holiday cottage are usually way more than I’m charged for my own four bed hone, and I know it’s a deep clean every time, but my own cleaner manages to do a very thorough clean, cleaning marks off windows, cleaning the skirting boards, cleaning inside the fridge, etc for way less than I’m being charged on holiday. I think too many owners have been a bit greedy unfortunately. In your case OP I think the owner needs to hire an extra person so that it’s feasible in the time allocated.

Isn't this entire thread you started about Airbnb though because they changed their terms? If the owner takes bookings from other sites, then have their terms changed also?

I’m sure the stripping the bed thing was brought in during Covid? And the earlier checkout time (9am sometimes! Ridiculous!). I really object to stripping the beds - I don’t consider that a guest’s job. It does annoy me too when they want all washing up dry and away… I’m happy to load and start the dishwasher but I’m not getting up at 6:30 to start it off, just so it’s finished before I leave.
A lot of these demands don’t make it feel like a holiday so I’ll be glad when they’re no longer my problem!

I've only seen changes with air B n B not other platforms..as I said I don't know which guests book with which platforms or direct.

So, @lonelylou09- you strip the bed, even if you stay in a hotel? Why?

That’s a peeve of mine too, I don’t want to have to spend the first day of my holiday shopping for cleaning products.

We have just stayed in an Air BnB that didn’t provide any dishwasher tablets. We were only there for a weekend and mostly ate out, so I was not going to buy a whole box of dishwasher tablets just for 1 load. Plus the last thing I want to do on a break is having to stop off in the supermarket cleaning aisle. I thought it was really stingy they couldn’t even provide one.

on occasion we have had messy guests she has been on hand to help if needed

well there's your solution then, owner needs to come and help every time with the new rules.

It actually does. Air bnb say that any restrictions about where pets can be have to be in the listing. None of the ones i've seen specify no pets on furniture. These are air bnb rules

Are you ok? You sound quite mad. I’m not sure which part you are struggling with here - I told the owner and offered to pay for any additional cleaning fees. His response was basically “ahh don’t worry about it”. I could have said nothing and left it for his cleaners to find but i tried to do the right thing.

The air b&b allows dogs and specified no rules about furniture although we do generally try to discourage it purely out of courtesy. However my little terrier must have got on there when we weren’t looking and made a dirty protest. Accidents happen.

Calling people pigs and mingers isn’t a good look for you btw, very childish.

I think washing up liquid and dish washer tabs need to be included at the property if you want the washing up done properly! I don’t want to strip the beds or put the rubbish out if I’m on holiday so would happily pay extra not to do this. If the changeover time isn’t long enough to clean then you surely need two cleaners?