How do I add a cleaning fee to my Airbnb listing?

Open the listing in the Airbnb listing editor, go to Pricing, then Fees, and set the Cleaning fee as a flat amount per stay. A separate short-stay cleaning fee can be set for one- and two-night bookings. Save, then check the guest view to see the total as guests see it.

Can I change the cleaning fee after a guest has booked?

No. A confirmed reservation keeps the fee it was booked with, and Airbnb does not allow a host to collect a cleaning fee outside the platform. Damage beyond normal use is a separate claim through the resolution process, not a fee change.

What are Airbnb's rules on cleaning fees and checkout chores?

The fee must be set in the listing and collected through Airbnb. Checkout requests must be disclosed before booking and limited to reasonable tasks such as taking out trash; asking guests to do laundry, strip beds or vacuum is not allowed. A cleaning fee is meant to pay for a turnover, not to be charged alongside one the guest performs.

Should the cleaning fee equal the cleaning cost?

For most hosts, yes or close to it. A fee that mirrors a known, flat cost is easy to defend and stays stable. Fees set as a margin line are the ones guests notice.

Is it better to hide the cleaning fee in the nightly rate?

It depends on length of stay. Blending works for weekly rentals where the cost per night is small; on two-night stays it inflates the nightly rate enough to lose the booking. Many hosts split the difference.

What does a Charleston turnover cost?

Independent guides put it at roughly $95 to $220 for a clean alone. Fluffy turnover cleaning starts at $150 per turnover, with inspection, photo proof and restocking included, and linens from $35 per guest turn.

How to Set an Airbnb Cleaning Fee (2026 Guide)

In this guide

Cost first Three ways Guests Set it On Airbnb On Vrbo The rules

Cost first, fee second

A cleaning fee that is not built from a known cost is a guess, and guesses get adjusted after the first messy stay. Start with what a turnover actually costs you: the clean, the linens, the restock, and the time you spend coordinating it. Only then decide how much of that the guest sees.

In Charleston, independent guides put a turnover at roughly $95 to $220 for a clean alone. Fluffy’s turnover cleaning starts at $150 with linens priced separately from $35 per guest turn, which is the shape most managers end up with: one flat number for the clean, one that tracks occupancy for linens.

Three ways to charge it

Pass-through. The fee equals the cost. Simple to defend, easy to explain, and the guest sees exactly what a turnover costs. Works best when the cost is flat and predictable.

Blended. No separate fee; the cost is spread across the nightly rate. Listings look cheaper at a glance and longer stays subsidise short ones. Works for weekly rentals; punishes two-night stays.

Split. A lower fee plus a slightly higher nightly rate. The compromise most hosts land on once they see how guests sort and filter.

Why a flat cost matters here

All three methods depend on the cost being the same number every turn. An hourly cleaner makes the fee a moving target; a flat per-turn rate lets you set the fee once and leave it.

What guests actually react to

Guests do not object to cleaning fees. They object to fees that look out of step with the property: a $200 fee on a studio, or a fee that changed between browsing and booking. Platforms now show the total price up front in most markets, so the fee is judged as part of the whole, not as a surprise at checkout.

A fee near the visible size of the property reads as fair; one far above it reads as a margin line

A fee that is the same on every listing you run reads as a policy; one that varies reads as improvised

A clean that matches the fee earns the review; a fee with a mediocre clean behind it is where one-star reviews come from

Setting yours, in order

Get a flat per-turn quote for the clean, in writing

Decide whether linens are inside that number or priced per guest turn

Add the restock cost you actually incur, at par levels you have written down

Pick pass-through, blended or split based on your average length of stay

Set the same fee across your portfolio, and revisit it once a season, not after every stay

How Fluffy makes this easy

The rate is flat per turn, set after a walkthrough, and does not move with the mess, so the fee you set today is still right in July. Linens are billed per guest turn so that line tracks occupancy on its own.

How to add or change the cleaning fee on your Airbnb listing

Airbnb moves its menus, so if the path below has shifted, search Airbnb Help for "cleaning fee" and it will point to the current one. As of 2026 the fee lives inside the listing editor, not in the calendar.

Open Listings from your hosting menu and choose the listing

Go to Pricing, then Fees

Select Cleaning fee and enter the amount. It is a flat charge per stay, not per night

If you want a lower fee for one- and two-night stays, set the separate short-stay cleaning fee there as well

Save. The fee applies to new bookings from that point; confirmed reservations keep the fee they were booked with

Check the guest view of your listing. Airbnb shows the total including the cleaning fee up front in most markets, so what you see is what the guest weighs

The same fee on Vrbo

Open the property from your dashboard and go to Rates

Find Fees, then Cleaning fee, and enter the flat amount

Vrbo also lets you set a fee per booking or per stay length; keep it flat unless you have a reason not to

Save, then preview the listing as a traveler to confirm the total the guest sees

Worth knowing

Both platforms take their service fee on the cleaning fee too, because it is part of the booking total. A $150 fee does not arrive as $150.

Airbnb's rules on cleaning fees and checkout tasks

Two rules trip hosts up. The cleaning fee has to be set in the listing and collected through the platform; you cannot add one after a booking is confirmed or ask a guest to pay it outside Airbnb. And since 2023, Airbnb limits what a host may ask a guest to do at checkout. Reasonable requests such as taking out trash or starting the dishwasher are allowed and must be disclosed in the listing before booking. Chores like laundry, stripping beds or vacuuming are not, and a listing that charges a cleaning fee and also asks for them draws reviews and enforcement.

The practical reading: the fee buys a turnover, and the turnover is your job or your cleaner's. If the checkout list is doing work the fee should cover, the fee is set wrong, or the cleaner is.

How to Set an Airbnb Cleaning Fee Without Losing Bookings.