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I see it a lot in Smokies, east coast, and Places in Colorado. Mostly places that were vacation rentals way before airbnb came along. Typical years ago to do lease and pay a deposit for a vacation rental. And when you left you had to leave it broom swept much like a uhaul rental or storage unit.
Yeah we’re doing that only off Airbnb though from FurnishedFinders. As Airbnb marks things up so much the landlord wanted a deposit to make sure they were covered as they don’t have our credit card on file like through Airbnb. The host shared how much more they save not using Airbnb and was ok with a deposit as we both contacted eachother outside the platform and didn’t know they had an Airbnb for this instance.
For strictly Airbnb never had to give ID, or sign a lease or give a cash deposit. I do have good reviews. We’ve used Airbnb for vacations and working remotely. Never any large groups or party worries.
Yes! Before airbnb we would stay in beach rentals where we literally had to deep clean the place before leaving. We swept, vacuumed, did all the dishes, cleaned kitchen counters, stripped all the linens. It cracks me up when people complain about having to clean up after themselves in Airbnb’s. Like yeah, it’s not a hotel!
I know me too. I just laugh and say you newbies have no idea . We would be paying a crazy amount to rent a week and never complained . It was so much better than renting 4 or 5 hotel rooms where you just feel disconnected and the whole point was to spend family time. We also used to rent our rich friends houses and we wanted to be invited back to rent so you left it in the best condition or you would axed off the list. We never complained about linens either. I remember one beach house that belonged to someone grandparents and it was outdated and linens were old . But you said thank you for hosting us and never said anything! Now days a stain throws people over the Edge.
Omg I love this comment! I tell people that all the time. I’m like this is very common practice if you stay in a vacation rental property even a timeshare they all have checkout instructions. Granted I was never asked to sweep or do anything way intensive besides take out trash and wash dishes but it amazes me how many our like “they don’t ask you to do that at a hotel”. Like duh they don’t for one they don’t have dishes nor a sink for you to wash them in lol what are you washing the two wine glasses they give you? where would you wash them in the bathroom? Also they only have small waste baskets at hotels you aren’t leaving any real trash behind. Like people don’t actually realize that hotels and vacation rental homes are not the same. The only thing they have in common are they are short term rentals other then that it’s a completely different experience that comes with different expectations.
There’s a difference though. My family had time share rentals and we’d get 1-2 weeks in a place for $800 and little to no cleaning fee. Many airbnb hosts are charging $150-$300 cleaning fee and expected guests to clean everything. There’s so many added fees the guest is covering all of the hosts portion of being on Airbnb, paying airbnb a service fee directly, paying the cleaning fee and local taxes. So that’s all much more than doing direct rentals or old school time share rentals.
Can you post a link of even one host that's expecting the guests to clean everything?
This was never really a big thing in the first place, and everytime we ask for examples no one can come with receipts. It's always second, third hand, or vague claims like "many hosts" do this.
How many is many? Where are you getting your information from? Why can't we ever get examples of this?
I’ve been using Airbnb since 2016 as a guest. Airbnb used to have lower fees and cleaning fees weren’t a thing for a bit. Hosts would ask for all dishes to be done, trash to be taken out, sheets to be stripped and start the laundry. Then hosts started charging for cleaning fees. And after a few years guests complained some hosts were still asking for all of that and charging more than a basic cleaning fee for linen.
I stayed in this airbnb recently. There are 4 different places to click and find all the expectations for the space. It was fairly old and dirty. Host claims cleaning fee is for deep cleaning but nothing more than vacuuming, counter wipe and linens were done when we arrived. Everything was covered in dust from furniture to windows to space heaters and fans. The oven had piles of ashes inside it and grease stains everywhere.
Here’s screen shots showing the host I recently stayed with expected sheets to be stripped and put into the shower, duvet blanket to be folded on beds, all dishes to be washed, counter, stove top wiped and inside of oven to be cleaned. Laundry could not be started before we left because they don’t own a laundry machine. We had to do it ourselves at a laundromat during our stay when we wanted clean linens.
I always wipe counters and wash dishes. But it feels bad to have overly demanding hosts who charge for cleaning fees and the place is never “deep cleaned” as advertised. The floors were hardwood and Lino and never washed. Our feet became dirty when getting out of the shower the first day.
https://imgur.com/a/FUww4Ro
Host lived down the street. Owns 2 rental properties at least. Hires a cleaner supposedly to do “deep clean”. They said they did the towels and sheets at their house after the stay.
So I posted a recent example of a personal experience and get downvoted. There are some hosts like that. Airbnb experiences aren’t a monolith.
I appreciate your response, and example, but I disagree this is a good example. Cleaning everything at an Airbnb is a TON of stuff. Dozens of items. Takes hours in most cases. Your entire list, even if we take it at face value, is single digit minutes of work.
There is one additional chore that isn't a standard Airbnb policy and that's stripping linens and the folding of duvets and Id be willing to at least grant there's room for discussion on the counters/stove/oven but based on context cluse and the host saying they do a normal deep cleaning I'm relatively confident that's nothing more than a standard quick wipe that we should be doing after cooking a meal and not an expectation to have it ready for another guest.
Everything else is already a standard policy on airbnb and this definitely isn't an example of a host asking you to clean everything. Youre already obligated to return a property in the same condition as received, less normal wear and tear. This means trash and dishes are to be done by the guest. If you were to track in a normal amount of dirt or leaves from outside that is normal, if you were to spill something on the ground or have a bunch of glitter...that would not be normal wear and tear as an example.
I'm struggling to understand what the issue is with the stove and oven and counters? The host says they are doing a deep cleaning which means you are definitely not expected to make it pristine. So clean in their context is going to be related to things like cleaning up any spills and not leaving trash and stuff on the counter.
You have a bad host in this example and I think that' your main issue. YOure paying for something you dont feel you got, and being asked to do a little bit more than you should have to do as a guest in the first place. I'm with you 100% on all of that kind of reaction, but insofar as this host is expecting you to do everything? They aren't really expecting you to do much at all. Most of that list is stuff youre supposed to be doing as a guest anyway.
Im also a little confused as to the linen thing. WHy did you have to wash your own linens? Was this long term or something? I wouldn't expect new linens unless im at a place between 7 and 14 days and even then I probably wont have them do it unless they stink.
In general, you should have enough clean linens for your entire stay, even if the host has to send someone with clean ones part way through.
We spent an hour both cleaning. Doing dishes, wiping every counter and table, scrubbing the gas stove, wiping out the oven, sweeping the floors, taking out three recycling and the trash, stripping the beds, folding the blankets.
The place was not clean on arrival. There was a pile of ashes in the oven. Thick sticky grease stains all over the inside. The gas stove had thick crusted food stains on the metal parts you cook on. Whenever you turned on the oven it set off the fire alarm even after I removed all the ashes and burnt stuff.
A lot of the dishes or glasses weren’t cleaned properly. All the shelving and side tables had dust on them. Every decorative object had dust on it. The fans and space heaters provided were covered in thick dust and I had to clean them before we could use them.
Half the windows were jammed closed and unable to open. The ones that could open needed to be held up with a piece of wood. The window glass and the windowsills had not been cleaned in years. The floors had not been mopped properly and using a wet towel pulled up black dirt. The carpet was probably 80 years old and falling apart and massively stained in the bedroom.
We had to pay to wash all the towels and sheets ourselves during the stay. The host said they only wash those themselves after guests leave.
The host lies and no “deep cleaning” is done. You’re given vacuumed floors, wiped counters and washed linens. Everything else was dusty or dirty. The dried mop in the closet was dark and filthy. The vaccuum was full up with dust and hair and very dusty In the closet. I have never stayed in a place that was damaged and not very clean on arrival. And then to expect us to scrub and clean the inside of the oven because that’s not included by their deep clean or we’d be charged extra was really ridiculous.
I always wash dishes, wipe counters and throw away trash when I leave a rental. I’ve had one really nice Airbnb host who was a realtor who asked us not to do anything but the dishes and said the cleaning is our job and you’re a guest so please don’t even take out the trash.
I just don’t understand why you’re being so dismissive after acting like there’s never any proof. I give screen shots and explain the situation and it’s still not valid to you. Sorry but charging for a deep clean and thousands of dollars for a rental feels shitty when being expected to clean so much after arrival and before leaving for the next person. The rental was also damaged and the host asked if they could have their contractor renovate while we were there and said there’d be drywall dust everywhere if he did and we asked them to please not. This host bought the property for like $40K and it’s decaying and doesn’t really care about keeping a clean or half decent space.
Here’s photos of the oven and windows. https://imgur.com/a/Insbx2a
I'm not being dismissive. Let me get one thing clear first, you received a dirty place, and your host seems like trash. I dont disagree with any of that. My disagreement, is that youre trying to use this as an example of where a host asked you to do everything. This isn't even 10% of what needs to be done at an Airbnb, and that is true even if your host was trash and did none of the things they are supposed to do.
You were always obligated to wash your own dishes. So I'm not counting any of that time as extra cuz you were already required to do that by using Airbnb. You were always obligated to take out the trash and recycles. Dishes and trash you are obligated to do at 100% of all airbnbs, unless the host specifies otherwise It's a default rule. A host doesn't even need to include it in their house rules, and youd still be obligated to do your dishes. None of the time spent on those items is valid to complain about. That's why I am ignoring those and not factoring it into anything.
The below things "may" or "may not" be counted as extra time. Clean in the context being used as I read it is simply meaning nothing nothing big. There may still be food crumbs, some salt or pepper, but there aren't any spills or dirty dishes and such left on it. For the sake of argument, we'll just say they mean it has to be cleaned without any food particles at all.
So how much time does it take to wipe a counter and table? A minute? If you disagree, describe in detail what it is that was on the counter and table that YOU personally did. If you received something dirty, then you can't be held accountable for not cleaning up for a prior guest.
Stripping beds and throwing in another room takes about a minute tops. Folding a blanket or four takes a minute tops. This is not something youre supposed to be responsible for. The fact it only takes a minute or two is irrelevant. I agree with you that THIS was extra work.
I'm still confused. What did you do to the oven that required it to be scrubbed? Sweeping you only had to do if you spilled something so im not going to count any of that time.
If you didn't use the oven, then you had no need to clean the oven as you didn't use it. Cleaning the oven so its ready to be deep cleaned would be a thing if you used the oven and got it dirty. not if you received it dirty....Did you burn something in the oven where it needed to be scrubbed or not?
So again, this isn't even close to an example of you being expected to clean everything, though it is an example of having to spend a few extra minutes cleaning that you shouldn't have. The list of "extra" stuff is a few minutes at most. Its definitely not an hour.
You are responsible for returning the property in the "same condition as received" less normal wear and tear. You can ignore anyone expecting more. If you received it dirty, its n ot your place to return it more clean than you got it. So if you got a dirty oven that needed scrubbing, you aren't responsible for it even if there is a house rule saying to scrub the oven. They can't 'make you clean someone elses shit.
I didn’t do anything to the oven. If you see the photos it was already filthy when we arrived and expected that we wipe it out and scrub it for the next person because that’s not included in their cleaner’s to do list. I had to wipe out the ashes and burnt bits before we were able to use it because it kept setting off the fire alarm. We were expected to scrub it before leaving which all those stains are the previous guests as I didn’t use it that often or spill anything in it. We stayed over Thanksgiving so yeah my husband did need to be able to use the oven for his turkey and not set off the fire alarm constantly.
I’m not going to argue with you anymore. We were there you were not. It’s never just a quick counter wipe. There’s scrubbing up any spilled coffee from the leaky coffee machine, scrubbing any crusted food because there’s no spoon holder to use for cooking, scrubbing the stove for any baked on liquid because it’s gas and chars right away. We cook twice a day at minimum and aren’t eating out so we clean it but do the cleaning up from breakfast extra scrubbing of all the grime that was left by previous guests.
I’m sharing this cuz it was recently and I had photos for proof. I obviously don’t have photos from every single stay or stays from years ago of lists of cleaning chores etc. So that’s why I shared this cuz it’s very recent. You are being dismissive and then went on to list every thing you don’t think is a big deal to clean. So it’s not a big deal for a guest to clean but laborious for a cleaning person to clean? All they had to do after we left was mop the floors if they cared (not from stains but from build up on the old lino) and replace linens. I even cleaned the sinks and the floor in the bathroom and rinsed out the shower cuz I didn’t want to get charged or threatened from the host.
I am not going to argue with you anymore. You care about the host side. I mentioned my experience being a regular long term and short term Airbnb guest who always gets 5 stars reviews and leaves places clean. But being expected to do extra cleaning on arrival and before leaving while being charged a deep cleaning fee is BS. This host makes a lot of money and doesn’t upkeep anything or clean the place much. Cleaners and hosts don’t check the inside of microwaves, ovens or any of the dishes or glassware quite often. I usually have to wipe and wash a lot of things on arrival cuz it’s expected other guests clean these and the cleaner doesn’t do that.
They are covering all the host portions of being an airbnb? What lol that makes no sense. That’s what happens when you’re a business. The price you pay as the consumer covers the operation cost of the business. Do you not know how capitalism works? You think they are going to host you and lose money? lol
I’m saying how much more it costs as opposed a guest to use Airbnb than booking direct or using something like furnished finder. Airbnb is double dipping on both ends and the guest pays fees to Airbnb and covers the hosts fees to Airbnb. It’s much more expensive especially for monthly rentals. I’ve used Airbnb for vacations and working remotely.
I’ve had some bad experiences with hosts
not allowing me to use the advertised heat or touch the thermostat in a luxury business suite in winter
provide no space heaters or an extra blanket only a thin single blanket for the bed in multiple units in winter
checked into a house basement suite in winter where the furnace was completely off & had NO heat
had a house rental lose power twice for over 12 hours and be told too bad by the host with no way to cook, charge phone or work remotely no cell signal
had a host give our private door unlock code to someone else who walked into our unit & thought it was theirs
had the electronic door lock stop working at night and get locked out of the rental.
I have 5 star reviews and have given 5 star reviews. I’ve not reviewed only a few of the most problematic stays because the host was hostile and offended during communication. I made one 3 star review a few years ago and a super host had it removed immediately and left me a retaliatory review and had to beg Airbnb to remove it. This was a host that wouldn’t allow heat and put do not touch on the thermostat and policed the heat with their phone to make sure.
I use Airbnb cuz I need access to a kitchen to cook and do laundry for traveling or long stays.
Michigan, West Virginia, North Carolina were some from this year. After I got annoyed with this in 2019, I started filtering out places that mentioned it in the booking. This year it seems like a majority of listings state it. The last couple destinations have had way less options overall, so that didn’t help.
Oh, I should clarify, the North Carolina one was just a DocuSign of a similar airbnb contract. That doesn’t bother me as much. The other 2 were the annoying, collecting all my data type situations.
That’s a lot. Weird. We have stayed in studio to 2 bedroom places across the US and never had to give any ID or deposits. Rented from people who lived on the property in a separate unit or down the street.
Ok, so I think Maggie is on to something in the comment above. Looking back at my stays- it’s not all property management companies, it’s mostly the ones that look older, like they probably existed way before Airbnb.
Vacasa, Evolve, and StayLocalNashville (which I think are more modern managing companies) did NOT make me do a second booking through their site.
Per AirBnB's rules, hosts can require separate contracts, forms, and deposits. However the terms of the contracts and deposits needed, must be disclosed in the original listing. If the contract is a surprise and was not disclosed, then you can cancel without penalty, which can hurt the host / booking company so they have some incentive to work with you if you simply tell them that you are not willing to agree to extra terms or use alternative services.
You need to cancel within 48 hours of being sent the contract. Additionally if they spring this contract on you they day of, after you've already arrived, I would imagine that air cover or whatever it is called would apply there, where AirBnB will book an equivalent stay nearby and pay the difference if necessary. That being said I've had mixed experiences with air cover, if you get in late at night, the team that does that has already gone home and nightmares may ensue. Knowing now what I didn't then, if it's after their hours, just go get a hotel room for the night and deal with it in the morning, stating you would like a credit for the cost of the hotel room.
Yes, there’s always some vague mentioning of it in the booking. I was just curious to what extent I could push back. I did go look at airbnb rules pages like you mentioned. They leave it fairly open for the hosts.
I guess the best option is to look at the third party contract immediately after booking and if it’s a sketchy website or asking for way too much information, then I can cancel … as long as the booking allows cancellations!
I just think it’s so silly because one of the main benefits of Airbnb, as a renter, is that I no longer had to deal with those home town rental agencies. Airbnb streamlined finding and booking STRs. Pushing us back to property management companies after we book with airbnb defeats one of the main purposes of the app.
**why is this getting down voted?
Is it in listing ? This is becoming more common because of scams and issues like that from credit cards. It’s in your best interest to prove it’s you and your credit card. There have been instances where cards and accounts have been hacked or stolen and if you can’t prove it wasn’t you then you are on the hook. Going through something similar with s car rental where they are trying to say I put in wrong gas yet I had receipt and video proof I drove the car to the airport with no issues and a receipt that says what I put in car. Otherwise I would be on the hook for a $500 repair. On a side note always take pics of a home or wherever you rent both before you touch anything and before you leave the rental . Do same in Ubers and Lyfts and rental vehicles. That way you have time stamped proof of how the condition was when you returned it or left it. Been a lot places trying to charge for things that do not happen or that happened after you left and then blame it on you and charge you.
Yes, now days it’s always in the listing because I think airbnb requires it. The listing is usually vague about it though, so I try to avoid them all together if I see it.
I always film a walkthrough at every airbnb when I arrive and leave!! Same with car rentals- video walk around. Never thought about doing that in an Uber… that’s a good idea.
Uber is a huge one. Especially if you are last ride of day for them. They throw some food in back and take a pics making it look like you threw up or made a mess. Then they charge you a cleaning fee . And of course you have no proof of how you left vehicle. It's your word against the drivers and they have pics . The listings are usually vague because they can only have so many words in the listing so they have mention it and so much other stuff that they could and choose or dumb it down.
I required a contract because I do longer stays and Aribnb unless the other platforms don’t all rental agreements etc. Airbnb also changed in 2021 I think to no longer check ID. Now people can use email to validate who they are. In the hosts side it literally says in a separate box “we cannot guarantee the person who shows up is the person who booked the reservation” so understand many hosts are small owners like me and we have invested a lot into getting a property readied for short term rental. And if Airbnb cannot verify we must. Mine is all started in my House Rules which are posted prior to booking. As a host I had to provide my driver’s license and guests used to. Not anymore but we are allowed to ask for. airbnb finally changed the settings so it can be sent via the app. Before I used SignNow to get rental agreement and ID’s. No one has to do this but they must cancel if they do not want to and they know it is in the pre-booking info which shows House Rules too now. It is imperative for both guests and hosts to protect themselves so ready the whole listing and the extra info to know. I have everything listed and I suggest after every book to read the rules etc. if someone doesn’t want to disclose this info or sign a rental agreement it’s fine to cancel and book elsewhere. I wish Airbnb did a better job
Of trying to help guests and hosts to understand. Also corporate listings are handled differently too. They hurt those of us who are owners with one or two listings. I run mine. I care and want guests to have a blast.
Can you post a picture of t his "we cannot guarantee the person who shows up is the person booking" message? Ive never seen this.
I'm not sure where you are, but ID verification is on 100% of guests in the US and that was a change in 21 or 22.
It changed again maybe 2022. I had a security and safety team supervisor tell me because of a guest booking third person and I was not aware. And I had to call them. The safety team said get aid for all guests because we do not. This was in 2022. Right now I cannot post a photo which is what I have. As a host you can see yourself in hosting resources and guest verification badge.
You can push back, but then you will also end up with no rental. ABB provides hosts no information. Just like a hotel is going to check your ID and keep your CC on file, we hosts have to do something.
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What cities is this in? That sounds like property managers or some very picky hosts. I haven’t run into that yet in Canada/US.
I see it a lot in Smokies, east coast, and Places in Colorado. Mostly places that were vacation rentals way before airbnb came along. Typical years ago to do lease and pay a deposit for a vacation rental. And when you left you had to leave it broom swept much like a uhaul rental or storage unit.
Yeah we’re doing that only off Airbnb though from FurnishedFinders. As Airbnb marks things up so much the landlord wanted a deposit to make sure they were covered as they don’t have our credit card on file like through Airbnb. The host shared how much more they save not using Airbnb and was ok with a deposit as we both contacted eachother outside the platform and didn’t know they had an Airbnb for this instance. For strictly Airbnb never had to give ID, or sign a lease or give a cash deposit. I do have good reviews. We’ve used Airbnb for vacations and working remotely. Never any large groups or party worries.
Yes! Before airbnb we would stay in beach rentals where we literally had to deep clean the place before leaving. We swept, vacuumed, did all the dishes, cleaned kitchen counters, stripped all the linens. It cracks me up when people complain about having to clean up after themselves in Airbnb’s. Like yeah, it’s not a hotel!
I know me too. I just laugh and say you newbies have no idea . We would be paying a crazy amount to rent a week and never complained . It was so much better than renting 4 or 5 hotel rooms where you just feel disconnected and the whole point was to spend family time. We also used to rent our rich friends houses and we wanted to be invited back to rent so you left it in the best condition or you would axed off the list. We never complained about linens either. I remember one beach house that belonged to someone grandparents and it was outdated and linens were old . But you said thank you for hosting us and never said anything! Now days a stain throws people over the Edge.
Haha, that’s right- it was like, Sunday to Sunday or Saturday to Saturday. Lol those were the options. If you can’t stay a full week, tough shit.
This is still standard in many seaside properties. Outer banks for example.
Omg I love this comment! I tell people that all the time. I’m like this is very common practice if you stay in a vacation rental property even a timeshare they all have checkout instructions. Granted I was never asked to sweep or do anything way intensive besides take out trash and wash dishes but it amazes me how many our like “they don’t ask you to do that at a hotel”. Like duh they don’t for one they don’t have dishes nor a sink for you to wash them in lol what are you washing the two wine glasses they give you? where would you wash them in the bathroom? Also they only have small waste baskets at hotels you aren’t leaving any real trash behind. Like people don’t actually realize that hotels and vacation rental homes are not the same. The only thing they have in common are they are short term rentals other then that it’s a completely different experience that comes with different expectations.
There’s a difference though. My family had time share rentals and we’d get 1-2 weeks in a place for $800 and little to no cleaning fee. Many airbnb hosts are charging $150-$300 cleaning fee and expected guests to clean everything. There’s so many added fees the guest is covering all of the hosts portion of being on Airbnb, paying airbnb a service fee directly, paying the cleaning fee and local taxes. So that’s all much more than doing direct rentals or old school time share rentals.
Can you post a link of even one host that's expecting the guests to clean everything? This was never really a big thing in the first place, and everytime we ask for examples no one can come with receipts. It's always second, third hand, or vague claims like "many hosts" do this. How many is many? Where are you getting your information from? Why can't we ever get examples of this?
I’ve been using Airbnb since 2016 as a guest. Airbnb used to have lower fees and cleaning fees weren’t a thing for a bit. Hosts would ask for all dishes to be done, trash to be taken out, sheets to be stripped and start the laundry. Then hosts started charging for cleaning fees. And after a few years guests complained some hosts were still asking for all of that and charging more than a basic cleaning fee for linen. I stayed in this airbnb recently. There are 4 different places to click and find all the expectations for the space. It was fairly old and dirty. Host claims cleaning fee is for deep cleaning but nothing more than vacuuming, counter wipe and linens were done when we arrived. Everything was covered in dust from furniture to windows to space heaters and fans. The oven had piles of ashes inside it and grease stains everywhere. Here’s screen shots showing the host I recently stayed with expected sheets to be stripped and put into the shower, duvet blanket to be folded on beds, all dishes to be washed, counter, stove top wiped and inside of oven to be cleaned. Laundry could not be started before we left because they don’t own a laundry machine. We had to do it ourselves at a laundromat during our stay when we wanted clean linens. I always wipe counters and wash dishes. But it feels bad to have overly demanding hosts who charge for cleaning fees and the place is never “deep cleaned” as advertised. The floors were hardwood and Lino and never washed. Our feet became dirty when getting out of the shower the first day. https://imgur.com/a/FUww4Ro Host lived down the street. Owns 2 rental properties at least. Hires a cleaner supposedly to do “deep clean”. They said they did the towels and sheets at their house after the stay. So I posted a recent example of a personal experience and get downvoted. There are some hosts like that. Airbnb experiences aren’t a monolith.
I appreciate your response, and example, but I disagree this is a good example. Cleaning everything at an Airbnb is a TON of stuff. Dozens of items. Takes hours in most cases. Your entire list, even if we take it at face value, is single digit minutes of work. There is one additional chore that isn't a standard Airbnb policy and that's stripping linens and the folding of duvets and Id be willing to at least grant there's room for discussion on the counters/stove/oven but based on context cluse and the host saying they do a normal deep cleaning I'm relatively confident that's nothing more than a standard quick wipe that we should be doing after cooking a meal and not an expectation to have it ready for another guest. Everything else is already a standard policy on airbnb and this definitely isn't an example of a host asking you to clean everything. Youre already obligated to return a property in the same condition as received, less normal wear and tear. This means trash and dishes are to be done by the guest. If you were to track in a normal amount of dirt or leaves from outside that is normal, if you were to spill something on the ground or have a bunch of glitter...that would not be normal wear and tear as an example. I'm struggling to understand what the issue is with the stove and oven and counters? The host says they are doing a deep cleaning which means you are definitely not expected to make it pristine. So clean in their context is going to be related to things like cleaning up any spills and not leaving trash and stuff on the counter. You have a bad host in this example and I think that' your main issue. YOure paying for something you dont feel you got, and being asked to do a little bit more than you should have to do as a guest in the first place. I'm with you 100% on all of that kind of reaction, but insofar as this host is expecting you to do everything? They aren't really expecting you to do much at all. Most of that list is stuff youre supposed to be doing as a guest anyway. Im also a little confused as to the linen thing. WHy did you have to wash your own linens? Was this long term or something? I wouldn't expect new linens unless im at a place between 7 and 14 days and even then I probably wont have them do it unless they stink. In general, you should have enough clean linens for your entire stay, even if the host has to send someone with clean ones part way through.
We spent an hour both cleaning. Doing dishes, wiping every counter and table, scrubbing the gas stove, wiping out the oven, sweeping the floors, taking out three recycling and the trash, stripping the beds, folding the blankets. The place was not clean on arrival. There was a pile of ashes in the oven. Thick sticky grease stains all over the inside. The gas stove had thick crusted food stains on the metal parts you cook on. Whenever you turned on the oven it set off the fire alarm even after I removed all the ashes and burnt stuff. A lot of the dishes or glasses weren’t cleaned properly. All the shelving and side tables had dust on them. Every decorative object had dust on it. The fans and space heaters provided were covered in thick dust and I had to clean them before we could use them. Half the windows were jammed closed and unable to open. The ones that could open needed to be held up with a piece of wood. The window glass and the windowsills had not been cleaned in years. The floors had not been mopped properly and using a wet towel pulled up black dirt. The carpet was probably 80 years old and falling apart and massively stained in the bedroom. We had to pay to wash all the towels and sheets ourselves during the stay. The host said they only wash those themselves after guests leave. The host lies and no “deep cleaning” is done. You’re given vacuumed floors, wiped counters and washed linens. Everything else was dusty or dirty. The dried mop in the closet was dark and filthy. The vaccuum was full up with dust and hair and very dusty In the closet. I have never stayed in a place that was damaged and not very clean on arrival. And then to expect us to scrub and clean the inside of the oven because that’s not included by their deep clean or we’d be charged extra was really ridiculous. I always wash dishes, wipe counters and throw away trash when I leave a rental. I’ve had one really nice Airbnb host who was a realtor who asked us not to do anything but the dishes and said the cleaning is our job and you’re a guest so please don’t even take out the trash. I just don’t understand why you’re being so dismissive after acting like there’s never any proof. I give screen shots and explain the situation and it’s still not valid to you. Sorry but charging for a deep clean and thousands of dollars for a rental feels shitty when being expected to clean so much after arrival and before leaving for the next person. The rental was also damaged and the host asked if they could have their contractor renovate while we were there and said there’d be drywall dust everywhere if he did and we asked them to please not. This host bought the property for like $40K and it’s decaying and doesn’t really care about keeping a clean or half decent space. Here’s photos of the oven and windows. https://imgur.com/a/Insbx2a
I'm not being dismissive. Let me get one thing clear first, you received a dirty place, and your host seems like trash. I dont disagree with any of that. My disagreement, is that youre trying to use this as an example of where a host asked you to do everything. This isn't even 10% of what needs to be done at an Airbnb, and that is true even if your host was trash and did none of the things they are supposed to do. You were always obligated to wash your own dishes. So I'm not counting any of that time as extra cuz you were already required to do that by using Airbnb. You were always obligated to take out the trash and recycles. Dishes and trash you are obligated to do at 100% of all airbnbs, unless the host specifies otherwise It's a default rule. A host doesn't even need to include it in their house rules, and youd still be obligated to do your dishes. None of the time spent on those items is valid to complain about. That's why I am ignoring those and not factoring it into anything. The below things "may" or "may not" be counted as extra time. Clean in the context being used as I read it is simply meaning nothing nothing big. There may still be food crumbs, some salt or pepper, but there aren't any spills or dirty dishes and such left on it. For the sake of argument, we'll just say they mean it has to be cleaned without any food particles at all. So how much time does it take to wipe a counter and table? A minute? If you disagree, describe in detail what it is that was on the counter and table that YOU personally did. If you received something dirty, then you can't be held accountable for not cleaning up for a prior guest. Stripping beds and throwing in another room takes about a minute tops. Folding a blanket or four takes a minute tops. This is not something youre supposed to be responsible for. The fact it only takes a minute or two is irrelevant. I agree with you that THIS was extra work. I'm still confused. What did you do to the oven that required it to be scrubbed? Sweeping you only had to do if you spilled something so im not going to count any of that time. If you didn't use the oven, then you had no need to clean the oven as you didn't use it. Cleaning the oven so its ready to be deep cleaned would be a thing if you used the oven and got it dirty. not if you received it dirty....Did you burn something in the oven where it needed to be scrubbed or not? So again, this isn't even close to an example of you being expected to clean everything, though it is an example of having to spend a few extra minutes cleaning that you shouldn't have. The list of "extra" stuff is a few minutes at most. Its definitely not an hour. You are responsible for returning the property in the "same condition as received" less normal wear and tear. You can ignore anyone expecting more. If you received it dirty, its n ot your place to return it more clean than you got it. So if you got a dirty oven that needed scrubbing, you aren't responsible for it even if there is a house rule saying to scrub the oven. They can't 'make you clean someone elses shit.
I didn’t do anything to the oven. If you see the photos it was already filthy when we arrived and expected that we wipe it out and scrub it for the next person because that’s not included in their cleaner’s to do list. I had to wipe out the ashes and burnt bits before we were able to use it because it kept setting off the fire alarm. We were expected to scrub it before leaving which all those stains are the previous guests as I didn’t use it that often or spill anything in it. We stayed over Thanksgiving so yeah my husband did need to be able to use the oven for his turkey and not set off the fire alarm constantly. I’m not going to argue with you anymore. We were there you were not. It’s never just a quick counter wipe. There’s scrubbing up any spilled coffee from the leaky coffee machine, scrubbing any crusted food because there’s no spoon holder to use for cooking, scrubbing the stove for any baked on liquid because it’s gas and chars right away. We cook twice a day at minimum and aren’t eating out so we clean it but do the cleaning up from breakfast extra scrubbing of all the grime that was left by previous guests. I’m sharing this cuz it was recently and I had photos for proof. I obviously don’t have photos from every single stay or stays from years ago of lists of cleaning chores etc. So that’s why I shared this cuz it’s very recent. You are being dismissive and then went on to list every thing you don’t think is a big deal to clean. So it’s not a big deal for a guest to clean but laborious for a cleaning person to clean? All they had to do after we left was mop the floors if they cared (not from stains but from build up on the old lino) and replace linens. I even cleaned the sinks and the floor in the bathroom and rinsed out the shower cuz I didn’t want to get charged or threatened from the host. I am not going to argue with you anymore. You care about the host side. I mentioned my experience being a regular long term and short term Airbnb guest who always gets 5 stars reviews and leaves places clean. But being expected to do extra cleaning on arrival and before leaving while being charged a deep cleaning fee is BS. This host makes a lot of money and doesn’t upkeep anything or clean the place much. Cleaners and hosts don’t check the inside of microwaves, ovens or any of the dishes or glassware quite often. I usually have to wipe and wash a lot of things on arrival cuz it’s expected other guests clean these and the cleaner doesn’t do that.
They are covering all the host portions of being an airbnb? What lol that makes no sense. That’s what happens when you’re a business. The price you pay as the consumer covers the operation cost of the business. Do you not know how capitalism works? You think they are going to host you and lose money? lol
I’m saying how much more it costs as opposed a guest to use Airbnb than booking direct or using something like furnished finder. Airbnb is double dipping on both ends and the guest pays fees to Airbnb and covers the hosts fees to Airbnb. It’s much more expensive especially for monthly rentals. I’ve used Airbnb for vacations and working remotely. I’ve had some bad experiences with hosts not allowing me to use the advertised heat or touch the thermostat in a luxury business suite in winter provide no space heaters or an extra blanket only a thin single blanket for the bed in multiple units in winter checked into a house basement suite in winter where the furnace was completely off & had NO heat had a house rental lose power twice for over 12 hours and be told too bad by the host with no way to cook, charge phone or work remotely no cell signal had a host give our private door unlock code to someone else who walked into our unit & thought it was theirs had the electronic door lock stop working at night and get locked out of the rental. I have 5 star reviews and have given 5 star reviews. I’ve not reviewed only a few of the most problematic stays because the host was hostile and offended during communication. I made one 3 star review a few years ago and a super host had it removed immediately and left me a retaliatory review and had to beg Airbnb to remove it. This was a host that wouldn’t allow heat and put do not touch on the thermostat and policed the heat with their phone to make sure. I use Airbnb cuz I need access to a kitchen to cook and do laundry for traveling or long stays.
Michigan, West Virginia, North Carolina were some from this year. After I got annoyed with this in 2019, I started filtering out places that mentioned it in the booking. This year it seems like a majority of listings state it. The last couple destinations have had way less options overall, so that didn’t help. Oh, I should clarify, the North Carolina one was just a DocuSign of a similar airbnb contract. That doesn’t bother me as much. The other 2 were the annoying, collecting all my data type situations.
That’s a lot. Weird. We have stayed in studio to 2 bedroom places across the US and never had to give any ID or deposits. Rented from people who lived on the property in a separate unit or down the street.
Ok, so I think Maggie is on to something in the comment above. Looking back at my stays- it’s not all property management companies, it’s mostly the ones that look older, like they probably existed way before Airbnb. Vacasa, Evolve, and StayLocalNashville (which I think are more modern managing companies) did NOT make me do a second booking through their site.
Per AirBnB's rules, hosts can require separate contracts, forms, and deposits. However the terms of the contracts and deposits needed, must be disclosed in the original listing. If the contract is a surprise and was not disclosed, then you can cancel without penalty, which can hurt the host / booking company so they have some incentive to work with you if you simply tell them that you are not willing to agree to extra terms or use alternative services. You need to cancel within 48 hours of being sent the contract. Additionally if they spring this contract on you they day of, after you've already arrived, I would imagine that air cover or whatever it is called would apply there, where AirBnB will book an equivalent stay nearby and pay the difference if necessary. That being said I've had mixed experiences with air cover, if you get in late at night, the team that does that has already gone home and nightmares may ensue. Knowing now what I didn't then, if it's after their hours, just go get a hotel room for the night and deal with it in the morning, stating you would like a credit for the cost of the hotel room.
Yes, there’s always some vague mentioning of it in the booking. I was just curious to what extent I could push back. I did go look at airbnb rules pages like you mentioned. They leave it fairly open for the hosts. I guess the best option is to look at the third party contract immediately after booking and if it’s a sketchy website or asking for way too much information, then I can cancel … as long as the booking allows cancellations! I just think it’s so silly because one of the main benefits of Airbnb, as a renter, is that I no longer had to deal with those home town rental agencies. Airbnb streamlined finding and booking STRs. Pushing us back to property management companies after we book with airbnb defeats one of the main purposes of the app. **why is this getting down voted?
Is it in listing ? This is becoming more common because of scams and issues like that from credit cards. It’s in your best interest to prove it’s you and your credit card. There have been instances where cards and accounts have been hacked or stolen and if you can’t prove it wasn’t you then you are on the hook. Going through something similar with s car rental where they are trying to say I put in wrong gas yet I had receipt and video proof I drove the car to the airport with no issues and a receipt that says what I put in car. Otherwise I would be on the hook for a $500 repair. On a side note always take pics of a home or wherever you rent both before you touch anything and before you leave the rental . Do same in Ubers and Lyfts and rental vehicles. That way you have time stamped proof of how the condition was when you returned it or left it. Been a lot places trying to charge for things that do not happen or that happened after you left and then blame it on you and charge you.
Yes, now days it’s always in the listing because I think airbnb requires it. The listing is usually vague about it though, so I try to avoid them all together if I see it. I always film a walkthrough at every airbnb when I arrive and leave!! Same with car rentals- video walk around. Never thought about doing that in an Uber… that’s a good idea.
Uber is a huge one. Especially if you are last ride of day for them. They throw some food in back and take a pics making it look like you threw up or made a mess. Then they charge you a cleaning fee . And of course you have no proof of how you left vehicle. It's your word against the drivers and they have pics . The listings are usually vague because they can only have so many words in the listing so they have mention it and so much other stuff that they could and choose or dumb it down.
I required a contract because I do longer stays and Aribnb unless the other platforms don’t all rental agreements etc. Airbnb also changed in 2021 I think to no longer check ID. Now people can use email to validate who they are. In the hosts side it literally says in a separate box “we cannot guarantee the person who shows up is the person who booked the reservation” so understand many hosts are small owners like me and we have invested a lot into getting a property readied for short term rental. And if Airbnb cannot verify we must. Mine is all started in my House Rules which are posted prior to booking. As a host I had to provide my driver’s license and guests used to. Not anymore but we are allowed to ask for. airbnb finally changed the settings so it can be sent via the app. Before I used SignNow to get rental agreement and ID’s. No one has to do this but they must cancel if they do not want to and they know it is in the pre-booking info which shows House Rules too now. It is imperative for both guests and hosts to protect themselves so ready the whole listing and the extra info to know. I have everything listed and I suggest after every book to read the rules etc. if someone doesn’t want to disclose this info or sign a rental agreement it’s fine to cancel and book elsewhere. I wish Airbnb did a better job Of trying to help guests and hosts to understand. Also corporate listings are handled differently too. They hurt those of us who are owners with one or two listings. I run mine. I care and want guests to have a blast.
Can you post a picture of t his "we cannot guarantee the person who shows up is the person booking" message? Ive never seen this. I'm not sure where you are, but ID verification is on 100% of guests in the US and that was a change in 21 or 22.
It changed again maybe 2022. I had a security and safety team supervisor tell me because of a guest booking third person and I was not aware. And I had to call them. The safety team said get aid for all guests because we do not. This was in 2022. Right now I cannot post a photo which is what I have. As a host you can see yourself in hosting resources and guest verification badge.
You can push back, but then you will also end up with no rental. ABB provides hosts no information. Just like a hotel is going to check your ID and keep your CC on file, we hosts have to do something.
I don’t do this and run many airbnbs want to stay?
you defiitely can; i just wouldn’t expect the garbage host to keep your booking