How the Airbnb Cleanliness Rating Works (and How to Raise Yours)
The Airbnb cleanliness rating is one of seven star ratings guests give after a stay, scored from one to five stars, and your listing shows the average of those cleanliness scores alongside your reviews. Airbnb defines a clean home as one that is "free of health hazards like mold and pests" and "free of extensive dust, pet dander, dirty dishes", so the rating reflects what the guest saw and felt on arrival, not how long your cleaner spent in the home.
Below is how the rating works according to Airbnb's help center, what moves it, and the habits that keep it high.
The seven star rating categories
According to Airbnb's star ratings article, guests rate homes in these categories:
- Overall rating
- Cleanliness
- Accuracy
- Check in
- Communication
- Location
- Value
One detail surprises a lot of hosts: Airbnb says the overall rating "is its own category (not an average of the other categories)." Your headline number is a separate score the guest chooses. In practice, though, a guest who walks into a dirty bathroom rarely gives five stars overall, so cleanliness tends to drag the headline number with it.
Where the cleanliness score appears
Per the same help article:
- Once at least three guests rate your home, the average of their overall scores appears near the listing title in search results and on the listing.
- Average ratings for each category, including cleanliness, are shown alongside the reviews.
- You can see your own category ratings in the Insights section of your hosting dashboard.
Airbnb policies change, so check the current star ratings article if you are making decisions based on these details.
How guests give the rating
Guests have 14 days after checkout to submit a review. When a guest gives a high category rating, Airbnb lets them pick specific positives, and when they give a low rating they can pick specific concerns. Those tags show you which part of the experience landed, and they are worth reading closely in Insights.
Reviews are published after both sides submit, or when the 14 day window ends, whichever comes first. So a cleanliness problem from today may not show up in your ratings for up to two weeks. That delay is exactly why you should know about problems before the guest does.
What actually moves the cleanliness rating
From hosting since 2021 and running cleaning operations before that, the misses that cost stars are usually small and visible, not deep grime. Guests judge the spots they touch and look at first:
| Area | Typical miss guests notice |
|---|---|
| Bathroom | Hair in the shower, on the floor or on the toilet base; soap scum; a used smell |
| Bed | Hair or stains on sheets, a crumpled duvet, a pillow without a fresh case |
| Kitchen | Crumbs in the toaster, grease on the stovetop, a dirty coffee maker, fridge leftovers |
| Floors | Dust in corners and under the bed, sand near the entry |
| Surfaces | Fingerprints on glass, sticky remotes, dust on high shelves |
| Smell | Stale air, trash, a damp towel left somewhere |
Hair is the single most common complaint I hear about from other hosts. There is a full guide on stopping hair complaints if that is your issue.
How to raise a low cleanliness rating
1. Read the reviews for patterns
Pull your last 20 or so reviews and the cleanliness feedback in Insights. Write down every specific mention: "hair in the bathroom," "dusty," "sheets had a stain." If the same area shows up twice, that is your fix list.
2. Tighten the standard, room by room
A vague instruction like "clean the bathroom" produces different results from different cleaners. Write down what done looks like for each room and include reference photos. Start from a solid Airbnb cleaning checklist and adapt it to your home.
3. Check every turnover before the guest arrives
This is the step most hosts skip, and it is the one that protects the rating. A checklist tells your cleaner what to do. A check tells you whether it got done. Options include:
- Doing a walkthrough yourself when you live close
- Asking your cleaner for a set of photos after each turnover and reviewing them
- Using a tool that reviews those photos for you
Clyn does the third one. Your cleaner takes the photos in the Clyn app, the AI compares each one to your property's standard and flags anything missed, and dark or blurry photos are sent back for a retake. You get a pass or a fix list while the cleaner is still there, so the problem is fixed before check in instead of showing up in a review two weeks later.
4. Train on the misses, not the whole list
When something is missed, show your cleaner the photo and the review, and agree on the fix. Specific feedback works much better than general complaints. See how to train your Airbnb cleaner for a simple approach.
5. Replace worn items early
Stained towels, a dingy shower curtain and pilled sheets look dirty even when they have just been washed. Guests do not separate "old" from "unclean." Replacing linens on a schedule is one of the cheapest ways to lift the score.
6. Make it easy for guests to tell you first
A short message on the first evening, like "Is everything as you expected? If anything was missed, tell me and I will sort it right away," gives guests a way to raise an issue privately. Many would rather message you than write it in a review, and you get the chance to fix it.
What to do after a low cleanliness score
Do not argue with a star rating. Airbnb's Reviews Policy is clear that disagreeing with a rating alone is not a reason for removal. Instead:
- Find the cause. Look at your turnover photos or your cleaner's notes for that stay.
- Fix the process so it does not repeat.
- If there is a written review, respond calmly and specifically. There is a full guide on responding to a bad cleanliness review.
A single low score gets diluted as good stays accumulate. A pattern does not, which is why the process matters more than any one stay.
FAQ
Is the Airbnb overall rating an average of the category ratings?
No. Airbnb says the overall rating is its own category and not an average of the others. Guests choose it separately, though a poor cleanliness experience usually lowers it too.
How many reviews before Airbnb shows my ratings?
Airbnb says the average overall rating appears once at least three guests have rated your home. Category averages, including cleanliness, are shown alongside your reviews.
Can I get a low cleanliness rating removed?
Generally not. Airbnb's Reviews Policy does not remove reviews based on a disagreement with the star rating. Reviews that break specific rules, such as fake or retaliatory reviews, are handled differently.
If you want every turnover checked before check in, you can try Clyn free on one property at clyn.com.