How to Add a Cleaning Fee to Your Airbnb Listing
Learn how to set and manage an Airbnb cleaning fee in your pricing settings, with the right rate for short stays and real cleaning costs.
Jonathan Lalinec
Yes: you can add a fixed cleaning fee to an Airbnb listing directly from the pricing settings, as a single charge per booking. When set up properly, it serves two purposes: covering your real costs and turning every turnover into a reliable process rather than an improvised rush after each checkout.
In brief:
- Airbnb lets you set a separate amount for stays of one to two nights, so the fixed fee does not put short-stay guests off.
- Refunds depend on your cancellation policy and are generally not available after the stay. Exceptional damage is a different matter and requires a separate claim.
- To calculate the fee, multiply cleaning time by the hourly rate, then add linen and consumables. A studio reaches €28 before any margin.
- Once a booking is confirmed, any change to the amount requires a modification request that the guest must accept. You cannot apply a new rate retroactively.
Table of contents
- Step-by-step: adding or editing the cleaning fee
- What the cleaning fee covers and the refund rules
- How to set the right cleaning fee amount
- Operations: checklist, scheduling and automation
- Changing the cleaning fee on a confirmed booking
- How CleanClac simplifies fee management and cleaning operations
- Pricing transparency and automation
- Automate your cleaning management with CleanClac
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
Step-by-step: adding or editing the cleaning fee
Whether you are on a computer or on mobile, the logic is the same: everything happens in the listing's pricing settings. Airbnb lets you customise this cleaning fee with a separate rate for short stays of one to two nights and a standard rate for longer stays.
- Open your host dashboard and select the listing you want to edit.
- Go to the pricing section, then to additional fees.
- Choose "cleaning fee" and enter the amount you want.
- If needed, enable a separate rate for bookings of one to two nights.
- Save: the fee now appears automatically in the total price shown to guests.
On the mobile app, the path is the same but goes through "Manage listing" then "Pricing". Hosts using professional tools can also configure other additional fees such as pet fees or extra-guest fees, displayed separately from the nightly rate.
What the cleaning fee covers and the refund rules
The cleaning fee funds routine turnover work, not exceptional incidents. For those, a separate claim is the right route.
The cleaning fee covers the standard final clean of the property, including bedrooms, bathrooms and common areas, as well as changing the bed linen and towels and restocking basic consumables. Exceptional damage must be handled through a separate claim.
The Airbnb Help Centre states that the cleaning fee is a one-time charge included in the total price, and that any refund depends on the cancellation policy the host has chosen. Once a stay is complete, it is generally not refunded. Airbnb confirms this explicitly in its documentation on the cleaning fee. Stating this clearly in your listing description is the best way to avoid disputes after checkout.
How to set the right cleaning fee amount
A straightforward calculation gives you a solid starting point: cleaning time multiplied by the hourly rate, plus the cost of linen and consumables, plus a small buffer for minor unexpected costs. A studio requiring one hour of cleaning at €20, with €8 for linen and consumables, gives a base of €28 before any margin.
- Floor area and the number of bedrooms directly affect the time required.
- A high turnover rate can justify a slightly lower fee so that short stays remain attractive.
- Your location and local hourly rates will shift the base figure from one area to another.
Pro tip: test two different amounts over a few weeks and watch the effect on your booking rate before settling on a final figure.
Operations: checklist, scheduling and automation
The cleaning fee is only as good as the process it funds. A standardised, room-by-room checklist prevents missed tasks and keeps quality consistent from one clean to the next.
- Bedroom: linen changed, surfaces dusted, floor vacuumed and mopped.
- Bathroom: fixtures disinfected, towels replaced, consumables restocked.
- Kitchen: appliances cleaned, dishes put away, bins emptied.
- Common areas: aired out, general visual check, equipment verified.
On the scheduling side, building a buffer between one guest's checkout and the next guest's arrival is the best protection against cleaning delays, especially during runs of back-to-back short bookings. For hosts managing multiple properties, exporting bookings and automatically notifying cleaners cuts down on human error and missed slots. Our page on automatic cleaning scheduling explains this logic in detail. Timestamped photo reports serve both as evidence in any dispute and as a quality-monitoring tool, as our page on cleaning reports explains.
Pro tip: set a reference time for each property type (studio, one-bed, two-bed) so you can quickly spot a clean that has taken unusually long or seems incomplete.
Changing the cleaning fee on a confirmed booking
Changing an amount after confirmation requires the guest's agreement. Airbnb does not allow you to impose a change retroactively.
- Open the conversation with the guest from the reservation manager.
- Send a trip modification request that includes the new amount.
- Wait for the guest to accept: the change only takes effect once they confirm.
A short message is enough: explain the reason for the change, state the new amount, and keep it factual. Avoid applying a fee after the fact without this agreement, as it opens the door to avoidable disputes.
How CleanClac simplifies fee management and cleaning operations
Once your cleaning fee is set, the real question is how to execute it reliably on the ground. With CleanClac, cleaning schedules are built automatically from your bookings, with no need to re-enter checkout and check-in dates by hand.
- Each cleaner has their own mobile access, with their personal schedule and assigned tasks.
- An illustrated checklist covering 166 tasks structures the work room by room.
- Stock and consumables tracking flags restocking needs before supplies run out.
- Real-time reports with timestamped photos document every clean.
To build a checklist suited to your properties, our page on cleaning task lists covers every step room by room.
Pricing transparency and automation
A cleaning fee that is poorly explained or poorly documented creates more friction than its amount is worth. Being clear in your listing about what it covers prevents most disputes before they even arise. Automated tracking, meanwhile, reduces the missed steps that hit your reviews directly.
, Jonathan
Automate your cleaning management with CleanClac
Beyond the fee itself, it is how you organise the day-to-day cleaning that shapes the experience guests actually remember. With CleanClac, scheduling is built from your Airbnb, Booking.com or Vrbo bookings, with no juggling between multiple calendars.
- A free trial lets you test automatic scheduling on your first properties.
- The 2-property plan starts at €9.99 per month, with an annual option at €59.99 on the pricing comparison page.
- Every cleaner gets dedicated mobile access through the cleaner app.
For a detailed look at how the cleaning fee works and additional pricing examples, the PerfectHost article is a useful reference. If you manage several properties and want to coordinate your team without spreadsheets or scattered messages, the CleanClac pricing page is the most direct starting point for comparing plans by number of properties.
Frequently asked questions
Is cleaning included in the price of an Airbnb?
Cleaning is not included in the nightly rate. It appears as a separate line item, the cleaning fee, added to the total price shown to the guest. The host sets this fee in the listing's pricing settings.
What is the usual cleaning fee on Airbnb?
A simple method is to add up the cleaning time multiplied by the hourly rate, the cost of linen and consumables, and a small margin.
Do guests have to clean before checkout on Airbnb?
Airbnb does not require guests to clean before checkout. The final clean is generally the host's or their cleaner's responsibility after the guest leaves. Some hosts ask for simple tasks such as taking out the bins, but this is a policy set by each individual listing.
How do you add a cleaning fee to an Airbnb listing?
The fee is configured in the listing's pricing settings, under additional fees, where you simply enter the amount you want. Airbnb also lets you set a separate rate for short stays of one to two nights.
