An Airbnb host claimed her recent guests tried to get their cleaning fees waived after “picking up” before they left.
“They told me they had cleaned the house themselves,” she wrote over a recent TikTok, “and asked me to waive the $130 fees.”
Equally surprised and doubtful of their ability to clean the home to the standard expected, this host who goes by Mrs Messy on TikToktried to prove a point by vacuuming the place herself. Not only did they leave behind an almost full vacuum’s worth of dirt, but they angrily demanded the charge be refunded when she refused.
An Airbnb host complained about their guests trying to waive the $130 cleaning fee by tidying the home themselves.
While renting a home on Airbnb isn’t the cheapest option for people traveling or needing a place to stay, the fees are almost always clearly outlined per Airbnb’s hosting guidelines.
While cleaning fees can be overwhelming — sometimes upwards of a few hundred dollars — they are set by each unique host and presented to guests before they make the choice to book.
However, despite knowing the cleaning fee required by the host, these guests tried to avoid the set price by “cleaning” the home themselves.
Trying to prove a point, the Airbnb host vacuumed just one room and shared the mess they’d left behind.
Mrs Messy vacuumed one room herself in response to the guest’s message asking to refund the cleaning fee and revealed the amount of dirt and dust they’d actually left behind.
“If you like staying in a dirty hotel room, more power to you,” she wrote, arguing that there’s a standard she sets for each guest that arrives.
Many commenters argued, however, that the host was being nitpicky and the guest deserved the cleaning fee back. “If I’m paying a fee, I’m not deep cleaning,” one wrote, “but I’ll pick up what I moved around or left behind.”
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Mrs Messy did confirm that a professional cleaner comes through the home after every guest, regardless of who stayed at the property or how clean they left the place.
“It’s a standard that I’m held accountable to as an Airbnb host,” one commenter shared. “I don’t make expectations… this is my livelihood.”
Many Airbnb hosts admit they try to ‘meet guests where they’re at,’ but with the rising costs of cleaning fees, it’s inevitable that they will charge.
Knowing all about the rising costs of renting, many Airbnb hosts on TikTok admit they’ve tried to “meet their guests where they’re at,” including host @airbnb_mountainmama on TikTok.
“As a business owner, I have to meet my customers where they’re at,” she explained. “Not all customers are educated or in tune with the fact that we have to pay our cleaners a good amount of money, not only to keep them but… to routinely clean a residential home as if it’s a model one.”
“Literally, nothing goes under the rug,” she said, admitting that she and other hosts often pick up the extra professional cleaning costs to keep it affordable for the average guests. “I hope everyone sees this post and realizes how much Airbnb hosts are actually doing for you as guests.”
So, while it was a good-faith gesture for these guests to clean up after themselves following their stay, it could never be to the standard of the professional cleaners, even if they had all the right tools and supplies.
They’re professionals for a reason.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories
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