Cleaning fees on cabin rentals

We get a lot of people asking why we (A Big Bear lodging provider) charge a separate cleaning fee in addition to the nightly rate and then ask the guest to leave the cabin in the shape they found it.

A small handful of people seem to think that paying the cleaning fee is their license to trash the place. Don%26#39;t get me wrong, most guests are respectful of other peoples%26#39; property. We love our guests, even the sloppy ones, but after getting asked again about cleaning fees, I thought I would post on this topic.

First of all, calling it a ';cleaning fee'; is probably a misnomer. The reality is that usually when you are charged a cleaning fee, it is because the property is owned by someone other than the lodging provider. In those cases, the owner and the lodging provider are sharing the rental income on a percentage basis. As the lodging provider, I need to figure out, first of all, how much total to charge for the unit, including the %26#39;cleaning fee%26#39;. This calculation is based on the assumption that most guests stay for 2 nights on average. So, say the market value of the rental is $500 for two nights (not including tax). Then, I have to determine what my costs are to purchase, maintain and launder all of the linens (they%26#39;re very expensive to buy and cost a dollar a pound to launder and we lose a lot of towels by misuse), provide items like soaps, dishwashing detergent, coffee, coffee filters, condiments, toilet paper, Kleenex, plus the cost of replacing small things that are broken (you would be amazed at how many things break!), in addition to the cost of cleaning supplies and the cost of paying our housekeeping staff. We use high thread count sheets and extra thick towels which both cost more to buy and to launder than regular linens, so in my case, on average the cost of everything listed above is about $100 per guest stay (less for small cabins and more for large cabins). So, I deduct that $100 from the original $500 and that leaves me with $400 to charge as ‘rent’, which in this case means $200 per night plus the %26#39;cleaning fee%26#39;. You might say it would be a LOT easier if we just added that cleaning fee into the nightly rate...in this case we would take half of that $100 and add that amount to each night which would mean $250 per night. There are two problems with that. First of all, because we split the rents on a percentage basis, we would have to charge a lot more than $250 per night in order for us to be able to keep the amount we need to cover those expenses over and above our commission (which pays for things NOT covered by the cleaning fee…like advertising, credit card processing, etc). Plus, we would be adding half of this fee to each night. Remember, we are assuming most guests stay 2 nights, so using the dollar figures above, if a guest stays for 3 or more nights, they would be paying an extra $50 per night if they stay more than 2 nights.

So, if we had a better name for this fee, I would be glad to hear it, because some guests have said to me that they felt paying a cleaning fee meant they could leave the place like a pig sty. Now don%26#39;t get me wrong, we don%26#39;t expect you to make the beds (we have to change the sheets anyhow, so there is no need to do that) or vacuum the rugs but we do ask guests to do things like clean their dishes and to drop off their trash at one of the local ‘Clean Bear’ sites that are there just for that reason. The only reason we do that is because our housekeeping staff can’t possibly get to each cabin the same day it vacates and leaving food residue or trash invites rodents and other pests.

Now, having said all of this, I would like to offer a couple of qualifications. First of all, you should only be paying a separate cleaning fee when you are renting a private home OR any property that is not owned by the agent renting it to you. If you see a separate cleaning fee at a resort that is owned by the agent renting it to you, then in my opinion it is just a ruse to make the nightly rate look cheaper. Same thing goes for any “booking fees”. With the exception of the local Resort Association who spends a lot of money promoting Big Bear throughout the region and also takes extra bookings for us in exchange for a small booking fee, this is just a way for the agent to make a little extra money and/or to make the nightly rates look cheaper. Remember, when comparing prices, compare the total “out the door” price (nightly rate plus any fees plus tax). A cheap nightly rate is no bargain if it has additional fees that are not warranted.

Secondly, I’m sure it’s VERY frustrating to be charged anything called a “Cleaning Fee” when you found the cabin was not cleaned properly. Let me say that NOBODY (not even the places with the worst reputations) intentionally leaves a cabin dirty. It’s usually a communications lapse between the office and the housekeeper or possibly a poorly trained housekeeper but in any case you should never have to find a cabin that is not cleaned satisfactorily. If you DO experience this, all you should have to do is to contact the agency and they should cheerfully apologize and then send someone over in a timely manner to clean properly. If the place is grossly dirty and / or they cannot get a housekeeper over in a timely manner, then some sort of refund is appropriate. We all make mistakes, even the best of us, but if you don’t tell us about the problem we can’t fix it.

Most of us lodging providers are focused on providing you a clean, attractive cabin and very few of us are becoming rich in this business. If you have questions about the different charges involved in your reservation, just ask us and we will be glad to explain. I would love to hear thoughts on this.

Cleaning fees on cabin rentals

We do a lot of condo renting and usually our rental agreement includes a ';damage and cleaning DEPOSIT';.... not ';fee';, with the stipulation that if the property is not left the way it was found the deposit will not be returned.

With all of the complaints on the condition of the Big Bear properties (whether legit or just somebody trying to ';get'; somebody) it would behoove any lodging providor to hire personnel to check out the rentals after someone leaves before booking anyonw else into the property. So, it costs money. So raise the rates.

For what it is worth. %26lt;sigh%26gt;

Cleaning fees on cabin rentals

I%26#39;m not sure you understood what I was trying to say but I do agree that it is important for lodging providers to check between guests. That%26#39;s what our housekeeping staff does.

You%26#39;re also correct that there are a lot of complaints about the condition of various properties here, whether legit or not. The reality is that properties run the gamut from run-down to super-elegant and everything in-between. What some people think of as ';run down'; might in reality just be a home that is otherwise clean and neat but in need of updated decor. There are a lot of guests who can%26#39;t afford anything fancy so these homes are a good choice for them. That%26#39;s not to say there is any excuse for uncleanliness or basic functions not working (heat, water, electricity). As I%26#39;ve said many times before, NOBODY (OK,well maybe ONE place here does) intentionally leaves the unit uncleaned or with basic functions broken. It can usually be traced back to poor communications between staff members. But any decent lodging provider should be able to take care of things with a sincere apology and quick remedial action.

The only point I was trying to make was to explain to people why they are being charged this %26#39;cleaning fee%26#39;. Not all agencies do it. Some charge a refundable cleaning deposit but in reality the actual amount you end up paying, after any deposits are returned, is probably roughly the same from one agency to another - it%26#39;s simply a matter of how they label the various charges (rent, cleaning fee, %26#39;administration fee%26#39;, %26#39;booking fee%26#39;, etc) that I was trying to explain.

And as far as any lodging provider posting negative stuff on here to ';get someone'; as you said, I really doubt that is happening on the scale some suggest. There are so many different resorts, hotels and rental agencies up here that simply disparaging one of them really doesn%26#39;t have much affect on the others. You would have to write negative reviews of all the other lodging providers here and that would take forever and I can tell you that there are MANY lodging providers here that have no reviews of any kind (good or bad) on Tripadvisor, so if someone was trying to trash others for their own benefit, I think they have failed miserably. I would think if someone was out to game the system, they would instead pay someone to write glowing reviews of their own resort or agency. That%26#39;s just my opinion...definitely a minority opinion here, though.

%26lt;sigh%26gt;

Well, okay, but don%26#39;t call it a ';cleaning fee';. As you said, then people assume that they have already paid for the cleaning and they can leave the place any way they want.

I gather that you are a ';broker'; for individually owned cabins. People who rent individual apartments pay DEPOSITS for damage and cleaning. Not ';fees';. DEPOSIT means that you get it back if you didn%26#39;t trash the place or leave it unreasonably dirty. If the supplier needs to do repairs or extra cleaning, beyond the reasonable, then the renter does not get the DEPOSIT back.

This, of course, means that you have to figure in the cost of normal cleaning after the guests leave into the charge for the rental, which can be expensive, as you said. So? Hotels do it all the time :~)

These are two separate issues.

If I were running an establishment like that I would definitely collect a reasonable DEPOSIT to cover any damage and cleaning unreasonable dirt, trash, etc. left behind. And then I would not return the DEPOSIT if the tenants did not perform their responsibilities.

I do sympathize with you, however, What a job.