Why It Matters
Cleaning fees are charged per stay (not per night) on Airbnb and VRBO. They offset turnover-cost—what you pay a cleaner between guests. Set the fee to cover your actual cost; some investors add a small margin. Too high and you hurt occupancy-rate (guests compare total price); too low and turnover-cost eats your operating-expenses.
At a Glance
- What it is: One-time per-stay charge to cover cleaning between guests.
- Why it matters: Offsets turnover-cost; part of operating-expenses.
- Key detail: Charged per stay, not per night—short stays pay same as long.
- Related: turnover-cost, str-management, adr.
- Watch for: Excessive fees can reduce bookings; guests see total price in search.
How It Works
You set a cleaning-fee in your Airbnb or VRBO listing. It's charged once per reservation, regardless of length of stay. A 2-night stay and a 7-night stay pay the same cleaning fee. Revenue flows to you; you pay your cleaner (or cleaning company) per turnover. The spread—fee minus actual cost—is margin.
Setting the fee. Get quotes from cleaners: 2-bed condo $80–120, 3-bed house $100–150, 4-bed $150–200. Set your cleaning-fee at or slightly above cost. In competitive markets, guests compare total price (nightly × nights + cleaning). A $150 fee on a 2-night stay adds $75/night to the effective rate—can push guests to competitors with lower fees.
Pass-through vs profit. Pure pass-through: fee = cost. Small margin: fee = cost + 10–20%. Aggressive: fee >> cost—can work for unique properties where demand is inelastic; in commodity markets it hurts occupancy-rate.
Real-World Example
Asheville 3-bed cabin. Lisa pays her cleaner $120 per turnover. She sets cleaning-fee at $135—covers cost plus $15 margin for supplies (toilet paper, soap, etc.). Average stay: 4 nights. She has 62 turnovers per year. Cleaning cost: $7,440. Fee revenue: $8,370. Net: $930. Her ADR is $185; occupancy-rate 58%. A competitor down the road charges $95 cleaning—same size cabin. She tested lowering to $115; occupancy-rate ticked up 3% but she lost $1,240 in fee revenue. She kept $135.
Nashville 1-bed condo. Mike's cleaner charges $75. He sets fee at $85. Short stays (1–2 nights) are common—42% of bookings. Effective rate impact: $85 ÷ 2 = $42.50 extra per night on 2-night stay. His nightly is $125; total $292 for 2 nights. Competitors at $100 cleaning: $300. He's slightly cheaper on total—helps occupancy-rate. Turnover-cost is covered; he keeps $10 per turnover.
Pros & Cons
- Offsets turnover-cost—cleaning is a real operating-expenses.
- Per-stay structure favors longer stays—same fee for 2 or 7 nights.
- Transparent to guests—they see it before booking.
- Small margin possible—$10–25 per turnover adds up.
- High fees hurt occupancy-rate—guests sort by total price.
- Platform fees apply to cleaning fee too—Airbnb takes 3% of it.
- Short stays bear disproportionate cost—some guests resent it.
Watch Out
- Execution risk: Set fee at or above actual turnover-cost. Underpricing means you subsidize cleaning from ADR.
- Modeling risk: Include cleaning-fee revenue in gross-rental-income and turnover-cost in operating-expenses. Don't double-count.
- Compliance risk: None—cleaning fees are standard. But STR regulation may require disclosing all fees.
Ask an Investor
The Takeaway
Cleaning fees cover turnover-cost between short-term-rental guests. Set them at or slightly above your actual cleaning cost. Too high and occupancy-rate suffers; too low and operating-expenses eat your cash-flow. Track turnover-cost per stay and adjust the fee as costs change.