- Some Airbnb hosts charge a cleaning fee and ask guests to complete a list of household chores.
- Frustrated travelers say they were asked to mow the lawn, take out the trash and wash the sheets.
- Trend has some people ditching short-term rentals for hotels, WSJ reported Friday.
Some Airbnb hosts ask guests to complete lengthy to-do lists in addition to paying cleaning fees of up to $375, according to the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Frustrated travelers pushed back on social media, with some saying they were asked to take out the trash, wash the sheets and even mow the lawn during their stay.
A TikToker @Melworeit said in a viral video that she decided not to book on Airbnb because it charged a $125 cleaning fee and asked guests to take out the trash, remove the sheets, run the dishwasher and do laundry.
The post garnered 66,000 views and nearly 5,000 comments, many of which shared similar encounters with Airbnb to-do lists.
“If I’m paying $229 a night to stay somewhere plus $125 cleaning fee, I’m not doing laundry,” the TikToker said. “I know it’s like laundry and it will take me two minutes to do, but it’s the principle that really bothers me.”
Another Airbnb guest took to Reddit in July to ask if it was “okay for a host to tell the guest to mow the lawn themselves?”
“Seems like an odd response considering the premium paid to stay here (to me, at least), but if that’s the norm, I’ll stick with it,” user wrote. “I just don’t want to be penalized/charged/misjudged for ‘neglecting’ the lawn if I don’t.”
An Airbnb spokesperson told Insider that while hosts choose their own cleaning fees, the company has provided recommendations for keeping the amount reasonable and suggests hosts consider not charging a cleaning fee for the property. everything. According to the company, 45% of Airbnb listings worldwide do not charge a cleaning fee, and for those that do, the fee averages less than 10% of the total cost of the reservation.
“Would you like guests to load dirty dishes in the dishwasher or remove bed linens before departure? If so, consider charging a very minimal cleaning fee — or no fee at all,” Airbnb said. . host resource page on said cleaning fee. “With higher fees, customers can expect to walk away from your checkout area like they would from a hotel room.”
Constable Kimanzi, a full-time digital nomad who has stayed at over 100 Airbnbstold Insider that some hosts asked her to do household chores without providing basic cleaning and laundry supplies.
“Airbnb hosts asked me to do things like taking out the trash when checking out, washing dishes, cleaning and other measures to help the host, despite the fact that I pay a cleaning fee, which can be high these days. I’m more than happy to help out – if I have the supplies,” Constable wrote. “Hosts must either provide all necessary items or waive the cleaning fee entirely.”
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