- Some Airbnb hosts charge a cleaning fee and require guests to complete a list of chores.
- Frustrated travelers say they were told to mow the lawn, take out the trash, and wash the sheets.
- This trend is causing some people to abandon short-term hotel rentals, The Wall Street Journal mentioned Friday.
Some Airbnb hosts require guests to complete long lists of chores in addition to paying a $375 cleaning fee, according to the Wall Street Journal. mentioned Friday.
Frustrated travelers took to social media, with some saying they were told to take out the trash, wash the sheets, and even mow the lawn during their stay.
One TikTokerMelworeit 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 bed linen, and run the dishwasher and laundry.
The post garnered 66,000 views and nearly 5,000 comments, many of which shared similar encounters with Airbnb’s chore lists.
“If I pay $229 a night to stay somewhere plus a $125 cleaning fee, I’m not doing any laundry,” TikToker said. “I know it’s like one load of laundry and it’s going to take 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’s normal for a host to tell a guest to mow the lawn themselves?”
“It seems like an odd response given the premium being paid to stay here (to me, at least), but if that’s standard I’d still take it”, Wrote. “I just don’t want to be penalized/charged/badly reviewed for ‘neglecting’ the lawn if I don’t.”
An Airbnb spokesperson told Insider that while hosts choose their own cleaning fee, the company has made recommendations to keep the amount reasonable and suggests that hosts consider not charging a cleaning fee at all. According to the company, 45% of Airbnb’s global listings do not charge a cleaning fee, and for those who do, the fee is on average less than 10% of the total cost of booking.
“Would you like guests to load soiled dishes in the dishwasher or strip the bed linen before checking out? If so, consider charging very little cleaning fee—or no fee at all,” Host resource page On the cleaning fee says. “With fees so high, guests may expect to move away from your space upon checkout as if they were in a hotel room.”
Kimanzi Constable, A A full-time digital nomad who has stayed at over 100 Airbnbstold Insider that some hosts asked him to complete chores without providing basic cleaning and laundry supplies.
“Airbnb hosts have asked me to do chores like taking out the trash at check-out, washing dishes, cleaning, and other procedures to help the host, even though I paid a cleaning fee, which can be high these days. I’m more than Happy to contribute – if I have the necessary supplies.” “Hosts should either provide all necessary items, or cancel the cleaning fee entirely.”
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