Why it matters
The cleaning fee is the one part of your price that guests actively resent, so it has more effect on bookings than its size suggests.
Guests now see the total price in search results. A place at $140 a night with a $60 cleaning fee and one at $120 a night with a $180 cleaning fee show up very differently for a two-night stay: $340 against $420. The second host thinks their nightly rate is the competitive one. The guest never sees it that way.
Here is how it plays out. A host in Chilliwack has a two-bedroom suite at $130 a night. Their cleaner charges $150 per turnover, so they set a $150 cleaning fee. Weekly stays book steadily. Weekend stays, which should be their best nights, sit empty, because the fee adds $75 a night to a two-night trip. They drop the fee to $95, raise the nightly rate by $15, and the weekends fill. Over a month they collect about the same money with more nights booked.
That is the trade you are managing. The fee is charged once per stay, so it lands hardest on short stays. A few things follow from that:
Know your real cost first. Cleaner, laundry (or linen service), and consumables such as coffee, soap, toilet paper and bin bags. US industry guides put the typical cleaner cost at about US$75 to US$250 per turnover, with most hosts near US$150. Rates in the Fraser Valley sit in a similar range in Canadian dollars.
Match the fee to your typical stay. If most of your bookings are one or two nights, keep the fee low and move part of the cost into the nightly rate. If you mostly host week-long stays, charging the full cost as a fee is fair and expected.
Do not profit from it. Guests compare. A studio with a $200 cleaning fee gets noticed for the wrong reason.
Never ask guests to clean and pay a fee. Long checkout chore lists plus a cleaning fee is one of the most common complaints in reviews. Ask for dishes in the dishwasher and garbage out, and leave it there.
How Honourable Cleaning helps
You cannot set a sensible fee if your cleaning cost changes every week. Our Airbnb turnovers are a flat rate from $150 plus GST, based on the size of your place and shown before you book, so the cost side of the calculation stays fixed. Hosts in Abbotsford, Mission, Chilliwack and Hope pay no travel charge.
Because the price is per turnover and not per hour, a slow laundry day or a messy checkout does not change your bill for a normally used rental. If guests leave the place in a state that needs real extra time, the crew tells you first and sends photos, which is also what you need to make a claim with the platform.
Key takeaways
- Add up cleaner, laundry and supplies for one turnover. That number is the ceiling for your fee.
- Check your listing's total price for a two-night stay against three nearby listings, since that is what guests compare.
- If you host mostly short stays, lower the fee and raise the nightly rate slightly.
- Get a flat per-turnover price from your cleaner, so your costs are predictable month to month.
See your exact price
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See my price →Call (604) 751-6260Questions people ask
How much should I charge for an Airbnb cleaning fee?
Charge what a turnover costs you, and no more. Add up what you pay your cleaner, laundry and restocked supplies for one changeover, and set the fee at or just under that number. A fee that is clearly higher than the cost of cleaning looks like a hidden charge, and guests searching by total price will skip your listing.
Related pages
Airbnb turnover cleaning in Chilliwack All service areas and travel charges