Airbnb Cleaning Fee: How It Works and How to Set Yours

The Airbnb cleaning fee looks simple, but it trips up many new hosts. Set it too high and guests compare you unfavourably with similar listings. Set it too low and you absorb the cost of every turnover. Here is how it works, based on Airbnb's own guidance.

What is the Airbnb cleaning fee?

It is an optional fee that you choose to add to your listing. Airbnb describes it as a flat fee, charged once per booking, intended to cover the cost of cleaning after guests check out. It is paid by the guest, so it affects how your total price compares with other listings.

Two things it is not: it is not charged per night, and it is not a security deposit.

The fee matters more from 20 November 2026, when Airbnb's new house rules policy limits the checkout chores hosts can require of guests. See our guide to the new Airbnb checkout chores rules for what changes.

How does the cleaning fee work for guests?

Guests generally see the cleaning fee as part of the total cost of the stay. How it appears depends on how prices are shown in the guest's region and settings, so do not assume every guest sees a separate line. Because it is charged once, it makes short stays look relatively more expensive than long ones, which is why hosts sometimes use a lower fee for one- or two-night stays. Airbnb offers that option.

What can a cleaning fee cover?

Airbnb says cleaning fees set by hosts are meant to cover standard cleaning between reservations. In practice, that is:

• The cleaner's time or invoice.
• Laundry or linen costs.
• Consumable supplies such as soap and toilet paper.
• Cleaning products.

What it should not be used for is penalising guests. Airbnb says hosts cannot charge guests fees for not completing particular cleaning or checkout tasks. If a guest leaves damage, that goes through the resolution process, not the cleaning fee.

How should you set your cleaning fee?

Work from the bottom up:

1. Add up the real cost of one turnover: cleaner, laundry, supplies, and any travel.
2. Check similar listings in your area, with the same number of bedrooms.
3. Decide whether to use the fee for short stays. A lower fee for one- or two-night stays can help those bookings convert.
4. Review it after a few months. If your costs rise, your fee should follow.

Our guide to how much Airbnb cleaning costs explains how to estimate step one.

A note on figures: guides quote different typical fees. One Lodgify-linked article gives roughly $50 to $90 for smaller properties, while AirDNA data cited in the press put the 2022 US average for a one-room shared space at $47. Those numbers disagree because markets, property types and years differ. Use them to sense-check yourself, not to set the fee.

Is a high cleaning fee a problem?

It can be. Because guests compare the total price, a cleaning fee that is far above your neighbours' can reduce bookings, particularly for short stays. The alternative of hiding the cost in the nightly rate may suit longer stays better. There is no universal answer, which is why checking your local market matters.

What is the difference between the cleaning fee and what you pay your cleaner?

The fee is a price to guests. What you pay your cleaner is a cost to you. They may be similar, but they do not have to be equal, and they should not be confused.

	Cleaning fee	Cleaner's invoice
Who sets it	You	The cleaner or company
Who pays	The guest	You
Covers	Turnover costs you choose to recover	The cleaning work
Changes with	Your pricing strategy and market	Property size, location, scope

If you want to know what you should pay, see how to find a reliable Airbnb cleaner, and decide whether to hire a cleaner or clean yourself.

How can you keep cleaning costs predictable?

Costs creep when scope is unclear. Write down what is included in a turnover, share the checklist with your cleaner and keep a record of what each clean costs. When the process is the same each time, the fee becomes easy to justify and easy to adjust. WIFF is designed for this: it schedules the clean after each stay and shares the property details and checklist with your cleaning partner, so scope stays consistent from clean to clean.