Guests Complaining About Your Cleaning Fee? How to Respond
When a guest complains about your Airbnb cleaning fee, respond calmly, explain briefly what the fee pays for, and never argue or offer an off platform refund. Then look at the pattern: if several guests mention it, especially alongside checkout chores or small cleaning misses, the fix is usually in your fee structure or your turnover quality, not in the reply.
I have been on both sides of this. As a guest, I have booked a two night stay where the cleaning fee was almost as much as a night, then got a list of chores at checkout. As a host, I have had guests question a fee that was honestly below my cost. Both feelings are real, and the way you respond shapes your reviews.
Why guests complain about cleaning fees
Knowing the cause helps you reply to the right thing.
- The fee feels big compared to the stay. On short stays, a flat cleaning fee is a large share of the total.
- Checkout chores. Guests who paid a cleaning fee and then had to strip beds, run the dishwasher and take out trash feel they paid twice.
- Something was not clean. A hair in the shower or crumbs in a drawer turns the fee into a symbol of what went wrong.
- They compared listings. Airbnb now shows guests the total price including fees before taxes in search (Airbnb announcement), so guests notice when your total runs higher than similar homes.
Airbnb guests also rate a category called Value, which asks whether the stay was worth the price (Airbnb help: star ratings). A fee complaint often shows up there first.
How to reply to a message before or during the stay
Short, friendly and factual works best. Explain what the fee covers, avoid sounding defensive, and do not negotiate outside Airbnb.
Example reply before booking:
Thanks for asking! Our cleaning fee covers a full professional clean after every stay, fresh linens and towels washed for each guest, and restocking of basics like soap, toilet paper and coffee. It stays the same whether you stay two nights or five, so longer stays get more value from it. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Example reply during the stay:
I understand, and thanks for telling me. The fee pays our cleaner for a full turnover and fresh laundry for every guest. If anything in the home was not up to standard when you arrived, please let me know now so I can fix it right away.
That second sentence matters. If the real problem is cleanliness, you want to hear it while you can still fix it, not in the review.
What not to do
- Do not offer to take the fee off in cash or by another payment app. Airbnb prohibits requesting, sending or receiving payments outside the platform, except in narrow cases listed in its policy (Airbnb off platform fees policy). If you want to give money back, use Airbnb's tools.
- Do not blame Airbnb or your cleaner. It reads as deflection.
- Do not send a long breakdown of your costs. Guests do not need your spreadsheet.
How to respond to a review that mentions the fee
Public responses are for future guests. Keep it short and show you listened.
- Thank the guest for staying and for the feedback.
- Explain the fee in one sentence without sounding defensive.
- Mention any change you made, if you made one.
- End on something positive about the stay.
Example public response:
Thank you for staying with us and for the honest feedback. Our cleaning fee pays for a full clean and fresh laundry after every guest. Since your stay, we have removed the checkout chores so guests can simply leave. We hope to host you again.
If the review also says the home was dirty, address that directly and specifically. My guide on how to respond to a bad cleanliness review covers those replies in more depth.
Decide whether the fee is actually the problem
One complaint is feedback. Several in a few months is data. Before you change anything, sort your recent reviews and messages:
| What guests say | Likely cause | What to change |
|---|---|---|
| "The fee was high for a short stay" | Flat fee on short bookings | Use Airbnb's short stay cleaning fee option |
| "We paid a cleaning fee and still had to clean" | Checkout chores | Cut the list to a few simple asks |
| "Fee was high and the place was not that clean" | Turnover quality | Fix your cleaning standard and checks |
| "Similar places cost less" | Total price is high for your market | Review the total, not only the fee |
Use the short stay cleaning fee
Airbnb lets hosts set an optional short stay cleaning fee for one and two night stays, with the standard fee applying to longer bookings (Airbnb help: cleaning fees). If most complaints come from short stays, this is the first lever to try.
Move some of the cost into the nightly rate
Some hosts lower the cleaning fee and raise the nightly price slightly, so the total feels fairer across stay lengths. Guests see the total either way, so run the numbers before switching. See should you build the cleaning fee into your nightly rate for a worked comparison.
Trim checkout tasks
Airbnb's guidance says guests expect an easy checkout without cleaning tasks, and listings with repeated low ratings from unreasonable tasks may be removed (Airbnb Resource Center). If you charge a cleaning fee, keep checkout asks light. More in Airbnb checkout tasks: what you can ask guests to do.
Make the fee feel worth it
The strongest defense of a cleaning fee is a home that is obviously, visibly clean. Guests rarely complain about a fee when they walk into crisp beds, a spotless bathroom and a stocked kitchen.
That depends on every turnover landing, not most of them. A small miss is what turns a fee into a complaint. This is the part Clyn handles: your cleaner takes photos in the Clyn app after each turnover, the AI checks every photo against your property's standard, and anything missed is flagged before the guest arrives. You get a pass or a fix list, so the fee is backed by a clean you can see.
A few other small things help guests feel the value:
- Mention in your listing that linens are laundered after every stay.
- Leave the home staged the same way every time so it looks cared for.
- Keep supplies well stocked so guests never have to ask.
FAQ
Should I refund the cleaning fee if a guest complains?
Not by default. If the home was not clean at check in, fix it quickly and consider a partial refund through Airbnb's tools. If the home was clean and the guest simply felt the fee was high, a polite explanation is enough.
Can I lower my cleaning fee for short stays only?
Yes. Airbnb lets you set an optional short stay cleaning fee for one and two night stays, while your standard fee applies to longer stays.
Do cleaning fee complaints hurt my ratings?
They can show up in the Value rating and in review text. Patterns matter more than one comment, so track them and adjust your fee, checkout tasks or cleaning quality if the same issue keeps coming up.
If you want every turnover checked before check in, you can try Clyn free on one property at clyn.com.