We’ve all been through an unfortunate situation where we’ve rented an AirBnB or hotel and were surprised to see the final bill because of the unexpected fees.
It can be enough at times to ruin the entire trip, cringed the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITA) subReddit.
Redditor experiment525 was furious when they arrived at their AirBnB for a friend’s weekend, only to discover they were required to complete cleaning tasks in addition to the cleaning fee they had already paid.
When they realized the time it would take to complete all the tasks, the Original Poster (OP) was angrier than ever.
They asked the sub:
“AITA for not doing what my AirBnB host asked?”
The OP paid for an expensive AirBnB for a friend’s weekend away.
“My friends and I paid almost $500 for a three-day stay in an AirBnB condo as a mini-vacation.”
“I wanted to clarify, I checked the receipt (yes, I have screenshots) and the total was $631 for three nights. Not $500. So over $200 a night.”
“The host and I spoke about how he doesn’t typically rent to people under 25 because they throw parties and trash the place, but he said he’d make an exception for me because I said ‘all the right things.'”
“We didn’t have any sort of party. Just four friends drinking a bit at night and cooking meals during the day.”
“We were out of the condo almost all day every day except to eat and sleep and shower.”
“We got one music complaint cause we had it a bit too loud during breakfast, but that was it.”
The OP was surprised by the responsibilities the host gave them.
“AFTER we had paid our only halfway refundable deposit (but before going to the location), the host messaged me to tell me that the cleaning crew was short-staffed.”
“He said that I had to do the following before checking out at 11 am:”
“1. Start a load of towels in the washing machine.”
“2. Strip all the bed linens and place them on the floor by the washing machine. Leave the comforters on the beds.”
“3. Start the dishwasher.”
“4. Take out trash to the dumpster in the parking lot.”
“I personally was taken aback by this because what the f**k is the cleaning fee for if I have to do it all myself?”
“I paid nearly $500 and you all can’t handle cleaning the place, so I have to basically do everything on top of packing my things and leaving?”
“Nevertheless, we did everything BUT take the trash out and start the washer.”
“However, we did strip the beds and we put all the towels and sheets together in a pile.”
“We left the place just as we found it with the exception of trash and linens on the floor but we were asked to do that.”
The OP was angry about what they expected to receive versus what they got.
“In my opinion, I paid a lot of money for cleaning fees ALONE. I’m not a disgusting person by any means, but if I am required to pay you a cleaning fee, why am I responsible for doing the bulk of the cleaning??”
“Anywho, the host messaged me very passive-aggressively today and I just wanted some other people’s opinions.”
“I did follow the rules of the agreement PRIOR to payment and these demands that were made.”
“If he would have told me these demands prior to my non-refundable payment (only halfway refundable) or posted them in his listing, I never would have taken the place.”
“AND I paid for the cleaning fee, which is literally there to pay them to clean up what I don’t clean.”
“Taking the trash out and starting a washing machine is not something I should not be forced to do when I have literally paid someone to do it when I leave.”
“AITA?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NTA: Not the A**hole
- YTA: You’re the A**hole
- ESH: Everybody Sucks Here
- NAH: No A**holes Here
Some agreed with the OP about the conditions not being mentioned up-front.
“Setting off the dishwasher and towels is a time thing. If not done, means someone had to be there until everything has finished. My dishwasher at home takes 2 hours on the normal cycle. If the washer and dishwasher are done then it means not waiting around.”
“Cleaning is a lot more than loading a dishwasher and throwing some towels in a washer.”
“Most AirBNBs I’ve stayed in have asked us to do this. The problem is not that the host asked, it’s that they didn’t set the expectation that this needed to be done before.” – biggerw**ker
“NTA. He changed the agreement midstream and was completely in the wrong. It wouldn’t surprise me if he tried that on every young person he rents to, right down to the ‘I normally don’t rent to younger people.'” – Arbor_Arabicae
“We stayed at an AirBnB last summer that my parents were nice enough to pay for. We had to do ALL of what OPs host asked them to AND pay the extra cleaning fee IN CASH.”
“I thought it was ridiculous that we had to do ALL of that and pay an outrageous cleaning fee on top.”
“But that’s what they agreed to in the beginning, so that’s different than OP’s situation because the host didn’t demand that beforehand. NTA.” – Insufficientfacts27
“NTA. OP paid a cleaning fee. The instructions to strip the beds, start a load of towels, and take out the trash were not part of the original booking agreement, rather it was a text from the host after the deposit was paid.”
“That is a bait and switch on the part of the host. No mention of refunding all or part of the cleaning fee. Not a good look on the part of the host. I’m decades into adulthood and would have a big problem with this.” – Realistic-Animator-3
“I’ve stayed places where they asked for these things but they were also in the agreement AND posted in the house where it was impossible to miss.”
“Unless the agreement states that they can change the agreement at any time, you’re not in the wrong here.”
“Sure, it would be a nice thing for you to do those tasks, but it shouldn’t be expected unless you agreed.” – Mithrellas
Others recommended leaving a negative review.
“I would 100% include the bait and switch after the money became only 50% refundable into my review of the place.” – nolan358
“NTA. Airbnb cleaning fees have become ridiculous in recent years, so why on top of the crazy fees would you have to do the cleaning yourself?”
“This is why I’ve gone back to hotels. AirBnB’s have gotten so ridiculous between the fees and the unreasonable host demands.”
“I would leave a bad review telling everyone how he completely changed the terms of your agreement just as you were about to leave. Understaffing is literally none of your concern.” – Proscuitto1
“That request would be the reason I give that Air BnB a very poor review. Expecting you to leave the place tidy is one thing but that’s ridiculous. Short staff is a host problem, not a guest problem.”
“I would also be letting future guests know about the host’s passive-aggressive response after they expected you to be the cleaning crew you were paying for.”
“NTA.” – MersWhaawhaa
“NTA. If all that stuff wasn’t in writing in the original rental agreement, it was the owner’s problem, not yours. At the very least they should have offered to reduce or waive the cleaning fee for having you do it.”
“You should leave a bad rating and review of them for this nonsense.” – HanaBothWays
“NTA.”
“I’m surprised that the host was this open with you about discriminating based on age but no, you’re not an a**hole because he changed the terms of your agreement after you couldn’t back out without losing money. I would contact Airbnb if I were you since he’s undoubtedly going to leave you a bad review.”
“Some people really shouldn’t rent out their homes.” – m0renita
“NTA.”
“Because the terms were changed after you already had an agreement. I would put this incident in the review of your host, without malice, just state the facts.” – Humble-Plankton2217
“NTA.”
“I would write a tonally-neutral but honest review. The comments about your age tip their hand, and the cleaning staff being short really has nothing to do with you. Sounds like you were acceptable guests and the host is taking advantage.”
“Then let it go! You weren’t in the wrong.” – einsteinGO
It’s becoming increasingly common for rental spaces like AirBnB to require their renters to partake in the cleaning responsibilities, such as taking the trash outside and washing the dishes.
However, the most important detail to note here, according to the subReddit, is full-disclosure.
Because the host of this particular AirBnB did not report those cleaning requirements to the group of people before they paid for the rental, the renters should have been able to opt-out and receive a refund if these requirements were otherwise dealbreakers for them.