Airbnbs are now just as commonplace as hotels. They are like UBER to yellow taxi cabs.
But things can get tricky with Airbnbs. There are often a lot of rules including surprise rules.
So it’s always best to be on top of every aspect before and when you arrive.
As a renter it’s also important to be as transparent as possible. All parties want to avoid certain scenarios.
Such as…
Redditor WoodpeckerRemote1141 recently rented an Airbnb and was left shocked by a demand made by the host.
So naturally they came to visit the “Am I The A**hole” (AITA) subReddit pleading for perspective.
They asked:
“AITA for not cleaning my AIRBNB after they charged a ridiculous cleaning fee?”
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
“I stayed at an airbnb, and they charged a 105 dollar cleaning fee. I didn’t see the instructions until after we were there.”
“I’m not sure if it was hidden, or they updated it or what. I only saw it when they texted us. The instructions were to take out the trash.”
“The dumpster is about 1/4 mile away. To put all the sheets in the washing machine.”
“To scrub all the table counters, wash out the shower mop the floors and other crap.”
“F**king ridiculous, there’s a cleaning fee for 105 dollars when we’re literally doing all the cleaning.”
“My wife and I decided to not do any cleaning at all other than basic stuff.”
“IF we spilled food on the counter, obviously I cleaned it up and I flushed the toilet but I’m not going to go out of my way to scrub the s**t out of the sinks showers and floors or take the trash out that far.”
“The AIRBNB owner called me and he said I was a massive a**hole for not cleaning it and how I should be doing what Im supposed to whatever.”
“I just hung up.”
Redditors shared their thoughts on this matter by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Redditors felt our OP was NOT the a**hole.
So let’s take a deep dive into their thoughts.
“NTA you can either have me do the cleaning, or you can charge me for the cleaning, but you can’t have both.”
“If you’d left it absolutely disgusting then obviously that’s different but you said you didn’t.” ~ BazTheBaptist
“I’ve met a couple of truly delusional airbnb hosts and I think some delude themselves into thinking the word ‘host’ means they’re bestowing guests with a huge, special favour in allowing them to hire out their property, instead of providing customers a paid service.” ~ enigmasaurus
“They’re not. Source, have a rental, don’t do this to my guests.”
“When I’m renting, I throw the towels and sheets in the washer, just to be nice to the housekeeping staff since I know they work hard and that’s what takes the longest, but if I pay a cleaning fee, I expect that to mean that the place will be cleaned. NTA.” ~ wildeflowers
Expectations are high with Airbnbs.
When being a renter and when renting your property to the public.
“Totally agree! We stayed in a place earlier this year that was not clean when we arrived.”
“Our toddler found grapes and assorted food like lollies and chips under the tv cabinet, I dropped my phone into the side of the couch so lifted up the couch cushions and there was food and used tissues etc.”
“Really gross. The BBQ was also gross and full of old greasy food so we couldn’t have the BBQ dinner we were looking forward to.”
“We had to do a lot of cleaning to make it nice for us, despite it being quite expensive AND paying a steep cleaning fee too.”
“On our drive home, the owner called us to yell at us about how disgusting and disrespectful we were because there was a single Cheerio under the dining table on the floor and we’d put all the breakable plates and cups in a higher cupboard and forgot to put them back in the low cupboard.”
“He wanted us to pay an extra cleaning fee.”
“We were like, no no no and told him about how gross it was when we arrived and suddenly he was offering us a free night if we ever stayed again. No thanks.” ~ karamellokoala
“Reminds me of the slumlord AirBNB host who tried to charge an extra (ON TOP OF the established cleaning fee) $100 for the ~awful mess~ my fiancé and I had left.”
“The ‘awful mess’ was a single pot of rice that we forgot to clean and return to its drawer.”
“He also claimed we left the garbage can ‘overflowing’ which was fun for me because I happened to have a pic of the empty garbage can we left.”
“Hosts on AirBNB can be wild.” ~ littlewoolhat
Always read the fine print.
Thats a must when rules and money is involved.
“They intentionally set the rate low and tack on a big cleaning fee because most people won’t argue with required fees it if they think they’re getting a good rate.”
“It’s in the same vein as stores like JC Penny where everything is artificially ‘on sale.’
“The sweater listed as ‘originally $100, now $40’ sells better because you think you’re getting a deal, even if the price was never $100.”
“The Airbnb was never $85, it was always $180 they just made it appear like a great rate by lumping the extra in with other fees like taxes.” ~ catlandid
“My cleaning fee was $79 and that was for dogs AND people.”
“With basic check out instructions like load and start the dishwasher, take out the trash, if there was a washer at our site to start a load of laundry, if not throw towels in the tub and leave linens on the floor in front of the bed.”
“I’m not a pig but I’m not gonna bust my a** when I’m paying for the service. The host had ours posted on the fridge and sent it to us.”
“These people seem greedy.” ~ Due_Pomegranate_9286
“I would assume due to the wonderful [WORLD EVENT] going on, a cleaning fee is unavoidable since they should be disinfecting after.”
“But since they have to clean anyway, why would they make the person work so hard to clean it?
“Seems like for 105 I could get a pro to come in, clean everything off, and so long as they didn’t make a mess I should be keeping my damn mouth shut.”
“But I don’t rent, maybe cleaners are ungodly expensive.” ~ DeusXMathematica
When traveling and signing contracts, always read the fine print. Then double and triple check that fine print.
If both parties are consistently clear, misunderstandings and conflict are usually avoided.