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Airbnb cleaning fees confuse hosts, frustrate guests, and quietly determine your nightly rate, your reviews, and whether you stay profitable. Here’s how the fee actually gets set, what hosts get wrong about it, and how to price it so it covers your costs without scaring guests off.
What the Cleaning Fee Actually Pays For
The Airbnb cleaning fee is a one-off charge added to every booking, separate from the nightly rate. It’s supposed to cover the cost of resetting the property between guests — a full turnover clean, linen change, restocking essentials, and any quick maintenance check the host wants done.
For a typical 2-bedroom Wangaratta short-stay, a turnover clean takes 2-3 hours of cleaner time, plus linen handling, restocking, and a quality walk-through. That’s the actual cost the fee needs to cover. Anything less and the host eats the difference out of the nightly rate.
The Two Mistakes Hosts Make
Mistake one: setting the fee too low to look cheap. A $25 cleaning fee on a property where the real clean takes 3 hours doesn’t cover the cost. The host either pays the difference (eroding profit per stay) or skimps on the clean (eroding reviews). Both options end badly. The fee should equal the actual cost of doing the clean properly — no padding, no shaving.
Mistake two: setting it so high it kills the booking conversion. Airbnb shows guests the total cost including fees before they book. A $200 cleaning fee on a 2-night $150-per-night stay looks insane and drives bookings to competitor properties. Match the fee to the real cost and you’ll convert better than the host who marks it up 40% to subsidise their nightly rate.
“Hamish completed a large scale clean of our windows, big house with really tricky roof work etc. He did this safely and with expertise that I presume he learnt as an electrician. I highly recommend Hamish.”
How to Calculate Your Real Cleaning Cost
The honest formula is:
- Cleaner hourly rate × hours per turnover
- + Linen handling (laundry costs OR linen-hire-and-return fees)
- + Consumables restocked each turn (toilet paper, soap, dish liquid, washing tabs, coffee, tea)
- + Travel time/fuel for the cleaner if they’re coming a distance
- + A small float for damage discoveries, breakages noticed at turnover
For most 2-3 bedroom Wangaratta short-stays, the honest cleaning fee lands somewhere between $80 and $130. Properties with multiple bathrooms, multi-level layouts, or premium linen sit at the upper end. A studio with simple linen sits at the lower end.
What Guests Expect at Each Price Point
Guests have learned what they get for what they pay. A $60 cleaning fee should produce a property that’s clean, with fresh linen, basic restock. A $120 fee should produce that PLUS a noticeable level of attention — hospital corners on the beds, clean glassware visibly polished, a deep wipe-down of high-touch surfaces (handles, switches, remotes). If the fee is at the high end, guests will look for the difference. If they can’t find it, you’ll see it in the reviews.
How You Get the Clean You Want
Get the cleaning fee right and the rest of your Airbnb pricing falls into place. Hosts working with Green Koala in Wangaratta typically settle on a fee that covers a proper turnover without scaring guests off.
No pushy sales tactics. We have a friendly conversation, walk through your home, agree the scope room by room, and quote in writing. You move forward at your own pace. People choose Green Koala because we explain how the work will be done before we start — not after.
We’ll walk you through the room-by-room checklist so you’re not caught off guard by what’s included and what isn’t. We’ll explain the difference between cadences (weekly, fortnightly, monthly) so you know what each one costs and what each one delivers. And we’ll match what we do to what your home actually needs.
Our goal is straightforward. We want you to walk into a properly clean home — and feel that exact “this is what I wanted” relief — every visit.
Get in touch with us today. We’ll review your situation, answer your questions, and help you choose the cleaning cadence that fits your home, your budget, and your routine.
How We Work With You
Our process is straightforward and designed around your needs.
Step 1: We Talk and Answer Your Questions
When you get in touch, we’ll call you back for a friendly 10-minute conversation. We’ll explain who we are, what we do, and most importantly, what we’re going to do for your specific home. We’ll answer every question you’ve got — about scope, pricing, frequency, products we use, anything.
Step 2: We Come Out and Look
We do a free walkthrough of your home — no pressure, no obligation. We agree the scope room by room, point out anything that needs special attention, and give you a written fixed-price quote on the spot. You’ll know exactly what’s getting cleaned and exactly what it’ll cost before any work starts.
Step 3: You Decide What Works Best
Take your time. Compare us with anyone else you’re considering. Once you’re ready, we’ll book the first clean — usually within 7 days — and confirm which cleaner will be coming to you each visit.
Step 4: We Stay With You
Recurring customers get the same cleaner each visit. Your cleaner learns your home, your preferences, your routine. Need to shift a date? Email or text us. Need extra hours one week? Just ask. We’re here for the long run.
Get in Touch With Us Today
If anything you’ve read here matches what you’re looking for, get in touch — we’ll have a 10-minute friendly chat, come out for a free walkthrough, and quote you in writing before any work starts. Same cleaner each visit, fixed-price quotes, room-by-room checklists you can see ticked off as we go.
- Get in touch: greenkoalacleaning.com.au/contact
- Phone: 0493 295 032
- Email: [email protected]
- Service area: Wangaratta and Northeast Victoria
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s a fair Airbnb cleaning fee for a 2-bedroom in Wangaratta?
Between $80 and $130 for most 2-bedroom short-stays. Properties with multiple bathrooms or multi-level layouts sit at the higher end. The fee should cover a 2-3 hour cleaner turnover, linen, consumables, and a small float for breakage discovery.
Why do some Airbnb cleaning fees seem so high?
Either the property has more cleaning to do (multiple bathrooms, more rooms, premium linen handling), the host is in a high-cost cleaning labour area, or the host is using the fee to subsidise the nightly rate. Genuine costs justify $100-$130; anything materially above that usually has a hidden subsidy built in.
Can the cleaning fee be lower if guests stay longer?
The cleaning fee on Airbnb is per booking, not per night, so it gets cheaper per night as the stay lengthens. A $100 fee on a 1-night stay is $100; on a 5-night stay it’s $20/night. Long-stay-friendly pricing usually works out naturally without changing the fee.
Should I include the cleaning fee in my nightly rate instead?
Generally no. Airbnb’s search ranking and review systems are tuned to surface the separate cleaning fee. Hosts who hide it in the nightly rate look more expensive in side-by-side search and get fewer clicks. Keep it separate, set it honestly.
How does Green Koala charge Airbnb hosts?
Per turnover, flat rate, agreed with you at the initial walkthrough. The rate covers cleaning, linen change, and standard restock. We send invoices on a monthly cycle so you’re not chasing receipts every turn.
Sources
- Airbnb — Cleaning fees
- Airbnb — Pricing settings
- Australian Tourism Industry Council — Short-term accommodation standards
- Stayz — Cleaning standards
- Choice — Short-stay rental research
Information about home cleaning, NDIS funding, and bond cleaning standards changes from time to time. Linked content may change or become outdated. Please always contact us for help with your important cleaning decisions.
