Should Your Airbnb Charge a Cleaning Fee?

A separate cleaning fee still makes sense for most listings with average stays of three nights or more, because it covers the fixed cost of each turnover without inflating every night. For listings that book mostly one or two night stays, folding the cleaning cost into the nightly rate (or using a lower short-stay fee) usually converts better, since a flat fee lands hardest on the shortest bookings. Either way, the number should be built from what a turnover actually costs you, not from what nearby listings charge.

This guide walks through how each model behaves now that platforms show guests the total price, how to work out the real cost of a turnover, and when to switch.

Why the question changed

For years, a low nightly rate plus a separate cleaning fee was a way to rank better in search. That advantage has mostly gone. Airbnb now shows guests a total price that includes the cleaning fee in search results, and in the United States the FTC's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, in effect since May 2025, requires short-term lodging to show the total price including mandatory fees up front.

So the guest comparing your listing with the one down the street sees the full number either way. The decision is no longer about hiding a cost. It is about how the cost is spread across stays of different lengths, and how guests feel about what they paid for.

How a flat cleaning fee plays out by stay length

A cleaning fee is charged once per booking, no matter how many nights. A turnover costs you roughly the same whether the guest stayed one night or six. That is the case for the fee: it matches a fixed cost with a fixed charge.

The trade off shows up on short stays. Take a two bedroom condo at a nightly rate of $140 with a $110 cleaning fee:

• One night: $250 before taxes and platform fees, so the cleaning fee is 44 percent of the stay.
• Three nights: $530, cleaning is about 21 percent.
• Seven nights: $1,090, cleaning is about 10 percent.

The one night guest is the one most likely to see that fee as unfair, and the one most likely to choose a listing that spread the cost into its rate. The weekly guest barely notices it.

Separate fee or built into the rate

When a separate fee works well

• Your average stay is three nights or longer.
• The property is large (four bedrooms and up) and a turnover takes a crew several hours.
• You run a minimum stay of two or three nights already.
• Your market books by the week, such as lake, ski or beach rentals in season.

When folding it into the nightly rate works better

• Most bookings are one or two nights, typical of city condos near airports, hospitals or convention centres.
• You compete on last minute and weeknight bookings.
• Guests in your reviews comment on value or on "fees."
• The unit is small (studio or one bedroom), so the turnover cost spread over a stay is modest.

The middle option

Airbnb lets hosts set a separate, lower cleaning fee for short stays of one or two nights. Many hosts use it to keep a normal fee on longer bookings while softening the price on short ones, then raise the nightly rate slightly on one night stays to cover the gap. It takes a little more setup but gives you the benefits of both models.

Work out what a turnover really costs

Before picking a model, write down the true cost of one turnover. Hosts who set the fee by copying competitors often end up losing money on every check out, or charging so much that their total price falls behind.

Include:

• Cleaning labour. What you pay a cleaner or service per turnover, or a fair hourly value for your own time.
• Linens. Washing, drying and replacing worn sets. A professional laundry plan is usually priced per bed or per set; see our guide to Airbnb linen turnover for how that works.
• Supplies. Toilet paper, paper towels, soaps, coffee, dish soap, garbage bags.
• Periodic deep cleans. A deep clean every 10 to 15 turnovers or once a season, spread across those stays. Our post on how often an Airbnb needs a deep clean has the schedule.
• Wear items. Mattress protectors, towels and small replacements that a turnover routine uses up over time.

As a rough guide, labelled as typical ranges only: per-turnover cleaning for a studio or one bedroom often falls between $60 and $120, a two or three bedroom between $100 and $200, and larger homes from $180 to $350 or more. Local wages, linen plans, laundry on or off site, hot tubs, pets and same-day windows all push the number up or down.

Checkout tasks and the cleaning fee

Guests read the cleaning fee together with your checkout instructions. Airbnb shows checkout instructions before booking, and a long list of chores next to a large fee is a common source of low value ratings.

A fair balance:

• With a cleaning fee, keep checkout tasks light: gather used towels, put garbage in the bins, start the dishwasher, lock up.
• Do not ask guests to strip beds, vacuum or wash dishes by hand if you also charge a full fee.
• If you ask for more, lower the fee or fold it into the rate and say so in the listing.

When to change your model

Review your pricing every few months with a simple check:

1. Pull your last 50 bookings and note the stay length of each.
2. Calculate the cleaning fee as a share of each booking total.
3. Compare your conversion on one and two night requests with your longer ones.
4. Read recent reviews for comments on fees, value or checkout tasks.

If short stays make up most of your calendar and their share of the price is high, try the short-stay fee or fold the cost into the rate for a month. If your average stay has grown, a standard fee is usually the cleaner way to cover turnovers.

Frequently asked questions

Do guests avoid listings with a cleaning fee?

Guests mostly react to the total price, which platforms now show up front. A cleaning fee only becomes a problem when it makes the total look high for a short stay or when it comes with a long list of checkout chores. Listings with fair fees and light checkout tasks rarely see complaints.

How much should an Airbnb cleaning fee be?

Start from what one turnover costs you, including labour, linens, supplies and a share of periodic deep cleans. Typical fees for small units are often in the $60 to $120 range and higher for larger homes, but your local costs should set the number, not the listing next door.

Can you charge a different cleaning fee for short stays on Airbnb?

Yes. Airbnb lets hosts set a separate short-stay cleaning fee for bookings of one or two nights. It is a useful way to keep short stays competitive while still covering the full turnover cost on longer bookings.

Is the cleaning fee included in the price guests see in search?

On Airbnb, the price shown in search includes the cleaning fee and other host fees, before taxes. In the United States, federal rules also require short-term rentals to show the total price including mandatory fees, so a low nightly rate no longer hides the fee.

Get a turnover price you can build on

A fair cleaning fee starts with a known cost per turnover. Send us your property details, number of beds and bathrooms, linen preference and typical stay length through the quote form, and we will come back with a written, itemized per-turnover price you can use to set your fee or your nightly rate.