Guide
Why your cleaning fee is losing you short stays
Guests compare the total price, not the nightly rate. A fixed cleaning fee is spread over fewer nights on a short stay, so it raises the price per night far more for a weekend than for a week. Lower the fee and move the difference into the nightly rate, or set a longer minimum stay.
Examples on this page use made-up homes and numbers to show the method. They are not client results.
The sum guests do
Take an imaginary home at $160 a night with a $100 cleaning fee.
| Stay | Nightly total | Cleaning | Effective price per night |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 nights | $320 | $100 | $210 |
| 3 nights | $480 | $100 | $193 |
| 5 nights | $800 | $100 | $180 |
| 7 nights | $1,120 | $100 | $174 |
On a weekend the fee adds 31% to the price. On a week it adds under 10%. If most of your guests stay two or three nights, they are comparing you at $193 to $210 a night, not $160.
See what guests see
Open your listing in a private window with real dates for a two-night weekend. Note the total. Do the same for the five homes nearest yours in the results. If your nightly rate is in line but your total is the highest, the fee is the reason.
A worked example
Suppose you lower the fee from $100 to $75 and add $7 to the nightly rate, making it $167.
| Stay | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| 2 nights | $420 | $409 |
| 5 nights | $900 | $910 |
The weekend guest now sees a smaller total, and the longer stay pays slightly more. A guest choosing between two similar homes sees the smaller total first.
Three ways to fix it
1. Lower the fee, raise the nightly rate. Move part of the cleaning cost into the price per night. A $40 cut in the fee is recovered by $10 more a night over four nights. Short stays look cheaper, long stays pay slightly more, and your income over a month stays about the same.
2. Keep the fee, raise the minimum stay. If turnovers are costly, as in a large home, it can be better to stop taking two-night stays at certain times than to cut the fee. Remember that a longer minimum stay removes you from shorter searches.
3. Offer a discount for longer stays. A length-of-stay discount rewards the bookings where your cleaning cost matters least.
What not to do
- Do not set the fee below what the clean costs you unless the nightly rate makes it back.
- Do not copy a neighbour’s fee without checking their nightly rate as well. The total is what counts.
- Do not add several small fees. One clear fee reads better than three.
Check the result
After a change, watch two numbers for a month: how many short stays you book, and your average daily rate. More short bookings at a slightly lower average rate can still mean more income, and also more turnovers to clean. Decide which you want.
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