Can I keep all the money from my Airbnb cleaning job? If the cleaning fee is larger than what you’re paid, can you get all of it? Well, it really depends, and you have to find out all of the details before you ask to be paid all of the cleaning fee.
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Hey there, I’m Angela Brown, and this is Ask a House Cleaner. This is a show where you get to ask a house cleaning question, and I get to help you find an answer. You can find this and 400 other answered questions in this series on our YouTube channel.
Can I Keep the Whole Cleaning Fee?
Can I have all the cleaning fees or do I have to give some of it back to the host? Today’s question comes from an Airbnb cleaner who cleans vacation rentals and Airbnbs, and she asked this question.
“Hello, Angela. I clean for a few vacation rentals independently. One of them sleeps over 14 people. I recently found out that they charge a hefty cleaning fee of around $300, but I’m only being paid $150, even on the same-day turnovers. Is that legal? If not, what can I do about it?”
Can you keep all of the cleaning fees? The answer is it depends, it depends on what the cleaning fee pays for. I would recommend that you sit down with the host and you say, “Hey, wait a second. I’m aware that you’re charging $300 for the cleaning fee and I’m only getting half of that. I’m curious to know, can I have all of it, or is it being used for other things?”
A Lot of Airbnb Hosts Have to Pay for Different Things
The reason I say used for other things is that lots of Airbnb or vacation rental owners are expected to also do the laundry as part of the cleaning that they are contracted to do. Now, it is possible that they have not contacted you to do the laundry. These are the linens and the towels and the kitchen towels and all of that stuff. It’s possible that they’re hiring a linen service. So, as part of the money that they’re collecting from the guests, they’re paying the linen service to deliver new linens so that’s not part of your job.
It might also include the restocking fees. If they offer free coffees, or they offer bathroom supplies, Q-tips, cotton swabs, or makeup remover pads. That kind of stuff is often inside the bathrooms at the Airbnbs to protect the linens so that the towels don’t get all gunky. It’s possible that part of that pays for the restocking supplies.
Have a Conversation With the Host
I would definitely have a conversation with the host and say, “Hey, wait a second. I would love to have all the money. How do I get that?” They might say, “Well, then you provide these restocking supplies and you provide the cleaning of the laundry and all that stuff.” You have to decide, is that worth your time?
Because one of the things that we find is that when Airbnb hosts have this conversation with the house cleaners, the house cleaners often realize, I’m at home for five hours while I’m doing all the laundry. When they start tallying up their time, it’s not worth the extra money that they’re making. It makes far more sense to split the fee and then outsource the laundry and the linens to a laundry service.
Once you start factoring in what exactly is involved and how much that costs, there are a lot of house cleaners that have backed off. They said, “Wait for a second, I’m willing to settle for the price that I have because I can still make a profit without losing a lot of time and energy doing this other stuff that they’re outsourcing.”
Clear Communication is Key
I hope that makes a little bit of sense. Clear communication between the house cleaner and the host is always paramount because, at any step of the way, things can malfunction. If there’s communication going there, the host is going to want to pay the house cleaner more.
They’re going to want to give them more responsibilities, and if anything malfunctions and the host can’t make it, they’re going to want the house cleaner to step in and back them up. That’s happened on so many occasions, where at the last minute something happens. I don’t know, the family needs an extra set of linens and the house cleaner is nearby, I can bring you another set of linens. There are a variety of things that happen where the house cleaners often jump in and it’s worth the extra money.
Make Sure That You’re Both on the Same Page
I would have a conversation with the host to make sure that you’re on the same page when it comes to running the business. Both of you are running the business together and you are depending on the ratings from the guests.
It’s in both of your best interests to work together and to make sure that you have an agreement where somebody doesn’t feel like they’re being cheated.
Have a conversation with the host and find out what the other money’s going to because chances are they’re not trying to cheat you out of anything. They’re not trying to make money off of the cleaning fee.
Resources
Airbnb For Dummies – https://amzn.to/3z269Sb
Optimize YOUR Bnb: The Definitive Guide to Ranking #1 – https://amzn.to/2SSzePd
The Airbnb Playbook: Your Complete Guide to Start and Manage a Profitable Airbnb Business – https://amzn.to/3piCoI3
100 Tricks to Make Money with Airbnb – https://amzn.to/3wRV0RW
Airbnb Toolbox: How to Become an Airbnb Host, Make Money on Airbnb + Manage Your Vacation Rental – https://amzn.to/3pjD144
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