456. Hosting Hotline: Should I Bake My Airbnb Cleaning Fee Into the Nightly Rate?
Thanks For Visiting
Airbnb Superhosts Annette Grant & Sarah Karakaian
4.9 • 590 Ratings
🗓️ 22 April 2025
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week on the Hosting Hotline, we're digging into a question from Penny, a host of two jaw-dropping luxury rentals in Hocking Hills, Ohio. With properties clocking in at over 10,000 and 13,000 square feet, a saltwater pool, and four separate apartments, Penny’s homes are stunning — but she's stuck on one big question: how should she charge her cleaning fee?
Should she bake the fee into the nightly rate or break it out as a separate line item? What’s the “right” way to do this, especially when hosting large groups or events?
In this episode, we walk through:
- Why understanding your actual cost to clean is step one
- How to assess guest perception of your fee and reduce sticker shock
- Ways to use dynamic pricing software (like PriceLabs) to stay competitive and track market cleaning fees
- Why breaking down booking feedback and sales data is critical
- When it makes sense to blend cleaning fees into your nightly rate
Plus, we revisit a real-world case study from Episode 321 with Monique from PriceLabs, where she adjusted her pricing to recover cleaning costs and stay competitive in her market.
Whether you’re hosting luxury travelers or managing smaller STRs, this is a must-listen if you’ve ever wrestled with how to present your cleaning fee to guests.
Resources:
Follow these incredible Hocking Hills properties:
Follow our land journey in Hocking Hills:
Check out Penny’s luxury homes:
Listen to Episode 321 – PriceLabs Dynamic Pricing vs. Airbnb Cleaning Fees
Start using PriceLabs (our preferred pricing tool): https://pricelabs.co/users/sign_up?referral=RTj8a0
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel | 5 Red Flags Your Airbnb Cleaner Isn't Doing Their Job
Mentioned in this episode:
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Can we make you a personalized podcast playlist? Head on over to thehostquiz.com, answer seven easy |
| 0:08.0 | questions, and get a unique to your hosting biz playlist of thanks for visiting podcast episodes |
| 0:14.4 | to help you smash your goals. The action plan and strategies that will elevate your business |
| 0:19.1 | is one quick quiz and a set of headphones |
| 0:21.8 | away. Again, head to the hostquiz.com and take our quick hosting quiz today. |
| 0:32.6 | You're listening to the thanks for visiting podcast. We believe hosting with Heart is at the core of every |
| 0:38.6 | short-term rental with Annette's background in business operation. And Sarah's extensive |
| 0:43.4 | hospitality management and interior design experience, we have welcomed thousands of guests |
| 0:48.5 | from over 30 countries earning us over a million dollars and garnering us thousands of five-star reviews. |
| 0:55.7 | We love sharing creative ways for your listing to stand out, serve your guests, and be profitable. |
| 1:02.2 | Each episode, we will have knowledgeable guests who bring value to the short-term rental industry. |
| 1:06.6 | Or we will share our stories of our own experiences so you can implement actual improvements to your rentals. |
| 1:13.6 | Whether you're experienced new or nervous to start your own short-term rental, we promise you'll feel right at home. |
| 1:33.0 | Hello, welcome back to another great episode. |
| 1:34.5 | My name is Sarah Kerakhan. |
| 1:36.5 | I'm Annette Grant, and together we are. |
| 1:39.5 | Thanks for visiting, and this is the hosting hotline. |
| 1:43.9 | If you want to get your hosting questions answered here on the hotline, go to hosting hotline.com, |
| 1:45.0 | ask your question just like Penny did, and we will answer it here on the podcast every Tuesday. |
| 1:50.1 | We love these episodes. Don't be shy. Don't hold back. Go to hosting hotline.com. Ask away. |
| 1:58.2 | Scas, we love these questions. It is so fun digging in and helping all of you. |
| 2:03.6 | So let's answer Penny's question. |
... |
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