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Airbnb host ditches the cleaning fee and finds unexpected benefits

The host went for a more "honest" approach with her listings—and saw the behavior of her guests change dramatically.

@rachelrboice/TikTok
Many frustrated Airbnb customers have complained that the separate cleaning fee is a nuisance.

We've all been there. We've discovered the perfect Airbnb, maybe a little cottage in the mountains, or a condo with stunning beach views. And the price is right in our budget. Hallelujah! Then, unfortunately, when we get to the booking page we realize our total cost is far higher than expected. Why? It's the dreading cleaning fee.

Airbnb defines its notorious cleaning fee as a “one-time charge” set by the host that helps them arrange anything from carpet shampoo to replenishing supplies to hiring an outside cleaning service—all in the name of ensuring guests have a “clean and tidy space.”

But as many frustrated Airbnb customers will tell you, this feature is viewed as more of a nuisance than a convenience. According to NerdWallet, the general price for a cleaning fee is around $75, but can vary greatly between listings, with some units having cleaning fees that are higher than the nightly rate (all while sometimes still being asked to do certain chores before checking out). And often none of these fees show up in the total price until right before the booking confirmation, leaving many travelers feeling confused and taken advantage of. It's certainly a case of sticker shock if you're used to staying in hotels.

However, some hosts are now opting to build cleaning fees into the overall price of their listings, mimicking the strategy of traditional hotels.

Rachel Boice runs two Airbnb properties in Georgia with her husband Parker—one being this fancy glass plane tiny house (seen below) that promises a perfect glamping experience.

@rachelrboice

Welcome to The Tiny Glass House 🤎 #airbnbfinds #exploregeorgia #travelbucketlist #tinyhouse #glampingnotcamping #atlantageorgia #fyp

Like most Airbnb hosts, the Boice’s listing originally showed a nightly rate and separate cleaning fee. According to her interview with Insider, the original prices broke down to $89 nightly, and $40 for the cleaning fee.

But after noticing the negative response the separate fee got from potential customers, Rachel told Insider that she began charging a nightly rate that included the cleaning fee, totaling to $129 a night.

It’s a marketing strategy that more and more hosts are attempting in order to generate more bookings (people do love feeling like they’re getting a great deal) but Boice argued that the trend will also become more mainstream since the current Airbnb model “doesn’t feel honest.” Which is funny, because if anything listing the cleaning charge is more transparent! But users tend to feel duped because they can't see the full price when they're browsing the listings.

"We stay in Airbnbs a lot. I pretty much always pay a cleaning fee," Boice told Insider. "You're like: 'Why am I paying all of this money? This should just be built in for the cost.'"

How much can it cost to clean a tiny house like this one? Photo by Aysegul Yahsi on Unsplash

Since combining costs, Rachel began noticing another unexpected perk beyond customer satisfaction: guests actually left her property cleaner than before they were charged a cleaning fee.

Her hypothesis was that they assumed she would be handling the cleaning herself.

"I guess they're thinking, 'I'm not paying someone to clean this, so I'll leave it clean,'" she said.

This discovery echoes a similar anecdote given by another Airbnb host, who told NerdWallet guests who knew they were paying a cleaning fee would “sometimes leave the place looking like it’s been lived in and uncleaned for months.” So, it appears to be that being more transparent and lumping all fees into one overall price makes for a happier (and more considerate) customer.

This phenomenon has been studied by economists across many different fields. A blueberry farmer once considered charging customers for grazing on blueberries as they walked until an economist told him paying the fee would just encourage people to eat even more. Daycares who charge parents fees for picking their kids up late often find the fee increases the number of late parents instead of decreasing it.

It comes down to the "cost" of a decision. If you pay the same cleaning fee no matter what condition you leave the property in, a lot of people will find it's just not worth their time to tidy up after themselves. When the cost of leaving the place filthy is more nebulous, or human (forcing another person to do it), people are more willing to help out.

snow white, cleaning, airbnb, hotels, travel, humanity, kindness, economicsWe're happy to clean up if we think we're saving someone else the troubleGiphy



These days, it’s hard to not be embittered by deceptive junk fees, which can seem to appear anywhere without warning—surprise overdraft charges, surcharges on credit cards, the never convenience “convenience charge” when purchasing event tickets. Junk fees are so rampant that certain measures are being taken to try to eliminate them outright in favor of more honest business approachesSpeaking of a more honest approach—as of December 2022, AirBnb began updating its app and website so that guests can see a full price breakdown that shows a nightly rate, a cleaning fee, Airbnb service fee, discounts, and taxes before confirming their booking.

Guests can also activate a toggle function before searching for a destination, so that full prices will appear in search results—avoiding unwanted financial surprises.

As for Boice, business is booming. After her story went viral on TikTok, she decided to expand her property business with another glass house.

@rachelrboice

the other one is going so well so why not 🤷🏼‍♀️ #fyp #tinyhouse #tinyglasshouse #airbnb #atlanta #georgia #uniquestays #camping

Users were thrilled, especially ones who live in Georgia, within shouting distance of her properties. And after all the viral exposure, she's still not charging cleaning fees. Although, there's not much she can do about those pesky "Airbnb service fees." Oh well. You can't win 'em all.

This article originally appeared two years ago.

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These unique tiny homes are designed to help pull low-income families out of poverty.

Owning a home is part of the American dream, but for people who are in poverty or were recently homeless, it's often just that: a dream.

Image via CCSS/Vimeo.

The Tiny Homes project in Detroit hopes to change that.

Image via CCSS/Vimeo.

The project was born out of a nonprofit called Cass Community Social Services (CCSS), run by Rev. Faith Fowler, who began thinking about how property is passed down within families after her mother passed away a few years ago.

The goal of the project is to give people with low incomes or who were recently homeless the opportunity to own homes of their own.

"We were looking for a way to help homeless and other low-income people gain an asset," Fowler explained over email.

Image via CCSS/Vimeo.

These tiny homes are unique for a number of reasons. Perhaps the most significant is that while similar tiny-home homeless relief projects have popped up in other locations, Cass Community Tiny Homes is the first to offer properties that are rent-to-own.

This is an important distinction because of the advantages that come from owning property, like building equity and tax deductions. Perhaps the most significant benefit, however, is what owning property can do for a family in the long term. Studies show the main reason children from wealthier families end up doing better financially as adults than children from poorer families comes down to their parents owning more valuable properties in nicer neighborhoods with better schools — homes that they pass down to their kids.

Image via CCSS/Vimeo.

Here's how the rent-to-own plan works: The tiny-home community reaches out through shelters and neighborhood canvassing to find people who are ready to move into a home but can't afford one. There is a review process for prospective tenants that culminates with an interview. Once accepted, tenants start a year lease, paying rent no more than a third of their monthly salary.

The rental price of each unit is $1 per square foot, meaning a 250-square-foot house costs $250 a month to rent. Because the tiny homes are built for energy efficiency, utilities are estimated to be quite low, approximately $35 a month.

A blueprint for one of the tiny homes. Image via CCSS/Vimeo.

After seven years of paying rent, the tiny house becomes the tenant's property. There's just one catch: mandatory attendance at monthly financial coaching and home-ownership classes.

Currently, the Detroit Tiny Homes community has enough property to build 25 single-family homes ranging from 250 to 400 square feet.

The tiny homes share borders with the CCSS campus, so unlike many low-income housing projects, residents live side-by-side, mixed in with the local community rather than separated from it. In fact, some of the tiny houses may eventually be occupied by students and CCSS staff members.

Image via CCSS/Vimeo.

The development is funded entirely by private donations and foundations, including the Ford Motor Fund, the RNR Foundation, and the McGregor Fund.

The best part? There will be 25 different styles of houses — a different design on each lot.

Unlike many shelters, these residences aren't drab or uniform in any way. Each one has a gorgeous facade with lots of details and a unique architectural style.

Image by CCSS/Vimeo.

"We want to instill a sense of pride in the residents," wrote Fowler. "Most people will be coming from situations where everyone had the same bland setting (shelters in particular). We also believe by having so many styles in a concentrated area that others will be drawn to the neighborhood."

So far, over 600 people have applied for the units, and construction of the first six units is underway.

Here's the first tiny house, which was completed on Sept. 6, 2016:

Jim Vella and the Ford Motor Company volunteers helped make today's press conference a booming success.

Posted by Cass Community Social Services on Thursday, September 8, 2016

Because tiny homes can be constructed so quickly and cheaply, CCSS plans to expand the project to accommodate larger families.

According to Fowler, there are many more vacant lots near the original building sites, allowing the project to grow exponentially.

Image via CCSS/Vimeo.

If successful, these tiny housing developments could change everything for low-income families in Detroit. They'll provide an opportunity that wasn't there before: to own property that they can pass down to future generations, giving them a sturdy foundation on which they can rely.

Learn more about CCSS' Tiny Homes project here:

Why aren't millennials buying houses? They can't afford it.

When the economy bounced back, millennial salary prospects didn't.

Have you seen this guy?

Memes from here and here.

Friends, meet "Old Economy Steve."

On the Internet, Steve has become the judgmental, clueless baby-boomer embodiment of millennials' worst money-related frustrations.

Who is he, exactly? Well, Old Economy Steve knew how to pull himself up by his bootstraps. He graduated from college without student debt, immediately got a high-paying job, and plans to retire with a pension. He just can't understand why those lazy millennials are living with their parents and still unemployed. (Spoiler: Old Economy Steve is kind of a jerk.)

Of course, Old Economy Steve is really just the fictionalized version of millennial financial anxieties. (And, by the way, it seems like the real "Steve" in the photo is actually a down-to-earth guy). I'd like to think most boomers are a little more compassionate toward us young folk than he is, too, but his meme definitely reflects the discomfort that many millennials have with their money situations right now.

Well, then. Thanks, Google.

What do I mean by “millennial money situations?"

You've heard it all before, so sing along if you know the words: Millennials aren't buying houses, they're not buying cars, they're not saving for retirement, and sometimes they're not even moving out of their parents' basements.

Is all of this because millennials are lazy? Entitled? Coddled? Snake people? Poor planners?

Not quite. A lot of folks would argue that it's because millennials have no money (check out that point of view in an article from the New York Times earlier this year). Here are a few truth bombs that might explain what's going on:

1. Millennial wages aren't just frozen — they're actually shrinking.

Many millennials were either in college or about to graduate when the recession hit hard. Lots of employees across the U.S. were let go — not exactly the best economic climate when you're looking for your first job.

And while the economy bounced back, their salary prospects did not. As The Atlantic pointed out last year, average wages for young people have fallen by 10% in many industries since 2007. Add that to the fact that many millennials live in big cities with extremely high rents and high costs of living because that's where the jobs are.

Just to put it in perspective, the average male student graduating from college in 1979 made an hourly wage of $19.97 (adjusted for inflation). For 2010 graduates, the average hourly wage was $21.77 — down almost a dollar from 2000. And female graduates make even less than that. You can point that out to them when they ask why you're not planning on buying a house in your 20s.

So we're not getting paid as much as previous generations of young adults were getting paid, we live in places where it's not really feasible to buy a home, and of course…

2. Student loans eat up a hefty chunk of whatever income millennials have left.

The average student loan debt for the class of 2011 was $26,600. Most of those students are living under the shadow of that debt for years, sometimes even decades.

giphy.gif

Say hello to Sallie Mae (she's on the left.)

Experts posit that millennials are less likely to be homeowners than previous generations mostly because all of their cash is going toward paying off their debt. Most are unable to save.

But there's one more piece of information that might surprise you about millennials' finances:

3. We're finding ways to fix the problem.

I'm going to speak for my generation for a second here: Just because we're young, it doesn't mean we're lazy. We haven't given up yet. In fact, a lot of us are finding some really creative solutions to cope with the changing economy.

Like what? Like tiny houses. These little homes are inexpensive, energy-efficient, and quickly becoming a trend. And in the future, we might even see apartment-like buildings made of mobile “smart homes."

Tiny homes! Image from Guillaume Dutilh on Wikimedia Commons.

We're also being smarter about our health care costs, thanks in part to the Affordable Care Act. The uninsured rate for young folks is lower now than it's been since before 1997.

And we're putting pressure on our lawmakers to get real about paralyzing student loans. There's no reason interest rates on student debt should be so high, and some elected representatives and candidates are speaking up about it.

So, lazy? Entitled? Coddled? Snake people? Poor planners? Not quite.

Unable to keep their heads above water? That seems more like it. Admittedly, there's a lot of systemic work still to be done for millennials and their financial security. I'm in the thick of it with all the rest of you.

But there's also a lot that we're already doing — because just like every other generation, we want control over our futures.

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