Am I the only one who gets gouged by Airbnb cleaning fees that are more than the room itself?

Was booking a two-night stay in Austin last month and the cleaning fee came out to $85 on a $120 room, like what exactly are they cleaning, my wallet?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor.hayden1d ago

Honestly think that's just how Airbnb works now. The cleaning fees are ridiculous but you see the total before you book, so it's not really a surprise. Just gotta factor it in or look for places that bundle it into the nightly rate.

lily701d ago

Wait, hold on - you're saying people actually bundle the cleaning fee into the nightly rate now? That feels like finding a unicorn on Airbnb. I swear every place I look at has a $150 cleaning fee on top of a $200 a night stay. It's gotten to the point where I just scroll past anything that doesn't show the full total right in the search results. Honestly, the whole system feels like they're trying to trick you into thinking the room is cheaper than it really is. But hey, if you've actually found hosts who bake it in, drop their names because I want in on that.

matthewmartin1d ago

You said it's "not really a surprise" but that's kind of the problem. The surprise is when you've scrolled through twenty listings and finally find one in your budget, then the fee pops up at checkout like a late fee on a bill you forgot about. Most people aren't doing math in their head for every single listing, so they get blindsided. And the issue isn't just about seeing it before you book, it's about the fee being totally disconnected from what cleaning could actually cost. A host in Austin charging $85 to clean a studio apartment for two nights probably isn't spending that on a cleaner, they're just padding their profit.