Airbnb cleaning fee: how to set it and what it really has to cover
The cleaning fee the guest pays once per stay is not the cost of the turnover: it is a pricing choice. Where to start, the three possible strategies, why a high fee loses short stays and the most common mistakes.
Operations · 10 September 2026
By Stefano R., Comfort Home’s contact for hosts and property managers
8 min read
The Airbnb cleaning fee is a fixed item the guest pays once per stay, decided by the host in the listing settings and shown in the total price together with the nights. It is not the cost of the turnover: that is what you pay the supplier to reset the home, and only you know it. The fee is a pricing choice; the cost is a fact. The first, very common mistake is confusing the two.
In this guide we start from the real cost, line up the three possible strategies (full fee, everything per night, mixed), explain why a high cleaning fee loses precisely the short stays and close with the mistakes we see most often. We do not cover tax: for how the cleaning fee is treated in your tax return, your adviser's opinion applies.
What is the Airbnb cleaning fee, and what is it not?
In the Airbnb listing you can add a cleaning fee: a single amount per booking, independent of the number of nights, which the guest sees in the price breakdown and pays together with the stay. You can also not set one and include the cost in the nightly rate. In both cases the guest pays the same thing: a total for the stay.
What the fee is not: it is not an automatic refund of what you spend, it is not an indicator of cleaning quality and it is not mandatory. It is a pricing lever, like the base rate or weekly discounts, and it should be treated as such: starting from costs, looking at the total the guest sees and checking the effect on bookings.
Where to start: the real cost of the turnover
Before deciding the fee you need to know what a guest change really costs you: cleaning, linen change (washing, ironing and logistics), supplies and welcome kit, property check, report. If a supplier gives you a price per visit, the calculation is simple; if you work by the hour or with several suppliers, add them all up, linen and supplies included. What that number depends on is explained in how much Airbnb cleaning costs in Milan.
With the cost per turnover in hand, the question becomes: how much of that cost do I want to charge as a separate item, and how much do I want to spread over the nights? There is no single right answer: it depends on the average length of stay, your positioning and what similar listings in your area do.
Full fee, everything per night or mixed: the three strategies
Full cleaning fee. You set the entire cost of the turnover as the cleaning fee. Advantage: the nightly rate stays low and competitive in filters; the fee is the same for a one-night and a ten-night stay. Disadvantage: on short stays the total rises a lot, and the guest sees it.
Everything in the nightly rate. No cleaning fee: the turnover cost is divided over the average nights and built into the base rate. Advantage: a transparent total, no item that «jumps out». Disadvantage: on short stays the cost is not covered, on long ones you cover it several times; and the nightly rate looks higher in comparisons.
Mixed. A reduced cleaning fee plus part in the nightly rate. It is the most common strategy among those with stays of variable length: it softens the jump on short stays without giving up coverage. In many configurations Airbnb also lets you set a different fee for short stays of one or two nights: if your account offers it, use it so as not to penalise short bookings.
Why does a high cleaning fee lose short stays?
A guest looking for two nights compares totals, not base rates. If two listings have the same nightly rate and one has a cleaning fee twice as high, the second costs more for a short stay and disappears from the choice, even if for a week it would be the cheaper one. Moreover, a visible cleaning fee creates expectations: the guest who paid it wants to find a spotless home and judges accordingly.
The way not to lose short stays is not to zero the fee, but to make it proportionate: cover the turnover with a combination of fee and nightly rate that keeps the total in line with the area. And above all match the fee with a service that holds up, because a review about a home «with high cleaning fees and dirty» costs more than any fee.
How do you set it in the listing?
The cleaning fee is set in the listing's pricing options, in the section for additional fees: you enter the amount and the system shows it to the guest as a separate item in the breakdown. If you change the fee, it applies to subsequent bookings, not to those already confirmed. If you manage several listings with a synced channel manager, check that the fee is consistent across all channels.
Before saving, do the guest test: open the listing as if you were booking two nights and then seven, and look at the totals. If a two-night stay costs almost as much as a four-night one, the fee is too high relative to the nightly rate.
What does the cleaning fee really have to cover?
A complete turnover, not a quick wipe. If the fee only covers the cleaning, the linen, the supplies and the property check remain a cost of yours that is not covered. Before fixing the amount, check that your supplier includes at least these items in the price per visit:
- Checklist-based cleaning of all rooms, with professional products
- Complete change of bed and bath linen, with washing, ironing and return
- Checking and restocking supplies and the welcome kit
- Checking the state of the property and reporting damage or faults
- A time-stamped photo report, which also counts in case of disputes about the cleaning fee
- Coverage on public holidays and back-to-back changes, when short stays concentrate
The most common mistakes with the cleaning fee
We see them in the listings of those who contact us, and they almost always come from not knowing one's own cost per turnover.
- Copying the fee of a nearby listing without knowing what it covers in your own case
- Setting the same fee for a studio and for a two-bedroom flat with two bathrooms
- Leaving the fee at zero and discovering at year end that turnovers ate the margin
- Raising the fee to compensate for an unreliable supplier, instead of changing supplier
- Not reviewing it when the average length of stay or the cost of the service changes
- Using the fee as a preventive «penalty» for messy guests: check-out rules work better
How we handle it
Comfort Home does not decide your fees: it gives you the number to start from. With a price per visit that includes checklist-based cleaning, linen change with our partner laundry, supplies and welcome kit, property check and a time-stamped photo report, you know exactly what each turnover costs and can set the cleaning fee with a real calculation, not an estimate. The service is described in turnover cleaning for short-term rentals; if you are choosing a supplier, read how to choose a cleaning company for your short-term rentals; who we are is in about us.
The first step is a free inspection: we visit the apartment and send you a tailored quote, so the fee in the listing starts from a cost you know. Request a free inspection.
Frequently asked questions
Answers to the most common questions.
No. You can set it as a separate item, reduce it or not set it and include the turnover cost in the nightly rate. In any case the guest pays a total per stay: the choice changes how they see it, not what the turnover costs you.
It starts from the real cost of your turnover (cleaning, linen, supplies, check) and from the average length of stay. There is no right figure for everyone: with short stays a lower fee and part in the nightly rate works better.
A fee that is high relative to the nightly rate weighs on one- or two-night stays, because the guest compares totals. A proportionate fee, with a service that holds up, is not a problem.
The tax treatment of the cleaning fee depends on how it is collected and invoiced and on who performs the service: ask your adviser. This guide covers only the operational and pricing choice.
We give you the real cost of the turnover with a price per visit after a free inspection. The fee in the listing is your decision: with that number in hand the calculation is simple.
The related service
Turnover cleaning
Checklist-based professional cleaning, linen change, welcome kit, property check and a photo report with date and time. Two hours of coordinated work between a cleaner and a raider.
See the serviceKeep reading
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