My buddy's Airbnb receipt made me rethink everything

He showed me his bill for a 4 night stay in Nashville. $87 a night for the room. Then $42 in 'cleaning fees' and $28 in 'service fees'. Ended up being $157 a night all said and done. I run my own cleaning biz so I know what a turnover costs. Those fees are pure profit for the platform. Has anyone else noticed the fees are getting way bigger than the room rate? I'm starting to look at motels again.

3 comments

3 Comments

oliver_wilson497d ago

A buddy of mine used to swear by Airbnb, said hotels were a ripoff. Last month he booked a place for a weekend trip and the cleaning fee was almost as much as the second night. He sent me the breakdown and I honestly couldn't believe it. I was the same way, I always thought hotels were the worse deal but now I'm looking at motels too. It feels like they tack on these fees just to make the nightly rate look cheap, doesn't it?

julia_carter707d ago

Oh, I used to be totally on your side, @oliver_wilson49. I thought hotels were overpriced and Airbnb was the smart play for sure. But that cleaning fee nonsense changed my mind completely. I saw one listing where the place was $89 a night but had a $75 cleaning fee for a two night stay. It really does feel like a trick to make the nightly rate look cheap.

reesemiller2d ago

I totally get your frustration with those cleaning fees, but I feel like people act like it's a massive scam when really it's just an annoying extra cost. At the end of the day you're still paying for a place to stay, hotels have resort fees and taxes too that bump up the price. So yeah it's annoying but not exactly some huge betrayal or anything.