Ridiculous AirBnb Fees - worth asking the host?
I didn’t find any threads in the search, so I’m hoping this isn’t a repeat topic.
I’ve only stayed at a few AirBnB’s over the past year or so. However, it seems like these cleaning fees are getting more and more ridiculous. Just booked the third consecutive place I’ve stayed at that charges almost a full night’s stay, but we’re required to take out the trash, wash and put away dishes, strip linens, clean and tidy the house, etc..
Tempted to contact the host to ask what they actually use these fees for, but I’ve definitely heard of people having their booking canceled for pissing off the owner. How bout it - any good stories here?
I wouldn't bother. Just find a place that is cheaper.
I also find places with long chore lists tend to have hosts who are a headache anyway. I once had a host who came into the backyard to sort through my trash every day and blasted me for not rinsing out a container in the recycling. Airbnb literally said 6 months ago that doing laundry, vacuuming etc are not reasonable tasks and asked owners to stop, so if they are asking all of that they aren't following Airbnb policy - and charging a big fee is 100% a revenue enhancement item.
Even aside from cleaning and other added fees, the platform fees in general are killer. I own furnished units that I typically lease long-term but have used Airbnb before with them too. The fees are crazy and hurt both the owner and renter a lot, and its a win-win to lease directly outside of the site (although not practical for very short term stays). As an example, the last unit I rented for 3 months via airbnb, the tenant was paying around ~$2,500/month and I was receiving ~$1,950/month... They texted me asking to extend for another 3 months and we did it offline at $2,250, big difference for both of us.
Also, while the cleaning fees are annoying, its really the only way to make money without scale for a lot of owners. If you're renting a place for $500 for a weekend, the owner is probably netting around $400 after platform fees and then paying excessive local STR taxes on it, and then paying a cleaner $200 to turn it over, so maybe profiting like $100 after utilities/insurance/etc... Its not like a hotel where they have massive scale to put cleaning staff on payroll. If its too expensive for you just book a chain hotel instead.
Did you sign a 3 month lease or something? I'd be worried that if it's not through the platform they can start claiming they're a regular tenant?
I booked an Airbnb house before a marathon and due to Covid the marathon got cancelled (2020), so I had to cancel the Airbnb and I was refunded a few hundred, but the host had the option to refund me like $200 more and I had to write a note to her to ask for the $200 and she didn't respond and didn't give me any extra money.
I've stopped booking AirBnBs for this reason. When you factor in the cleaning fees plus all the inane tasks required before check-out, hotels are way better. I just paid $200 to stay at a great hotel in Manhattan and had to do literally nothing before checkout. Five years ago it made sense. I stayed in midtown for $100 all in and the host was super chill. The place was tiny but I just needed a place to crash in the middle of a weekend trip.
I agree with you but where the hell are you finding a great hotel for $200 in Manhattan? I was looking yesterday for an upcoming trip and the only places around that price were about 5 hostel/shared room listings in Manhattan or hotels way out in Jersey city etc.
I got a good deal adding on a hotel to my flight booked through amex. I stayed one night at the Mondrian Park Avenue for only $200 more than my round trip flight.
AirBNB sucks, plain and simple. It went from people renting out a room in their apartment or the whole place while they were away to “professional” hosts. That transition killed it. The cleaning is ridiculous, having a maid service clean a house is usually in the $100-150 range for an apartment in a moderate to high COL area. The proliferation of humdrum rentals, with hosts who are running them like landlords as opposed to hosts means you’re better off either getting a hotel room/actual B&B or if you’re going somewhere touristy e.g. mountains or beach renting through a traditional real estate agency.
Just stop using AirBnB. The wonderful system of Capitalism will eventually force them to sort it out.
I only ever agree to stay in Airbnb's now if it's with a large group where staying in a hotel wouldn't work and if someone else is doing the booking / organizing (so very little administrative work for me chasing down the host, figuring out check-in logistics, etc.). The per person costs of a trip amortize down to something pretty cost-effective with a large group like that. But if just my wife and I or even two couples, we just do hotel instead now...part of it is privacy issues (I feel less creeped out by prospective landlord snooping if it's a group of 8 guys hanging out together) vs. just the two of us.
Last year I had stayed in Chicago in a place that fit my budget but wasn't the cheapest. However, the hosts were really cool and they invited me to stay in the future, and said to ask them in advance so they could block off the days and it'd be a bit cheaper. I might hit them up on that, they were nice.
Yep, this is the problem with AirBnB, very common for these stupid ass fees yet you gotta do all the chores. Leave 1 dish behind and they charge again
Apart from the fees, I thought people may benefit from knowing that under an Airbnb contract, the owner of the apartment can kick you out anytime they please
My case - got kicked out at 12 am without any notice from an apartment I booked through their platform. The guy comes knocking at my door at night and asks me to leave because “he had a friend who wanted to stay there”. Eventually got the police involved but they couldn’t do much. I logged a complaint with Airbnb and they deleted my account permanently
Wowwww what a d-bag!!!!!
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