Over the years, Airbnb hosts have made a name for themselves as one of the most stubborn and greedy groups in the hospitality industry.
This doesn't mean that there aren't any decent human beings among them. Just that good experiences with the platform can be easily forgotten when there are so many lousy ones.
Earlier this month, a new complaint emerged on Twitter from yet another dissatisfied user about a particularly annoying situation.
Maddie (@inreGray) booked a property because she wanted a yard for her dog to hang out in and the listing she ultimately landed on explicitly said it allowed pets, and if that wasn't enough, the woman even informed the host, Amanda, before the stay via direct messaging that her dog would be with her.
However, after her trip, Maddie was contacted by Amanda, demanding an additional cleaning fee for bringing her four-legged companion.
This dog owner says the host for an Airbnb she recently stayed at tried to play her
Image credits: inreGray
The property's pet-friendly status disappeared after her trip and an additional cleaning fee was being imposed on her
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Still, the guest refused to budge
Image credits: inreGray
Image credits: inreGray
Image credits: inreGray
Image credits: inreGray
Hidden travel costs like cleaning fees are common on Airbnb. They are explained as a one-time fee pocketed by the host to cover things like doing laundry or changing the lightbulbs between stays. (Cleaning fees come on top of the base price and a service fee, which Airbnb pockets.)
A NerdWallet analysis of 1,000 U.S. Airbnb reservations with check-in dates in 2022 or 2023 discovered that the median cleaning fee per listing for a one-night stay was $75.
The analysis also found that cleaning fees comprise about 25% of the total price — in almost 40% of listings, they ranged from 20% to 29.9% of the actual price.
On a few listings, however, cleaning fees were even higher than the nightly rate. And the platform is aware of the problems that sometimes arise regarding these figures.
Image credits: inreGray
Image credits: inreGray
Just as hosts set their prices and fees, they also determine their own house rules. Requests like taking out the trash are not that rare, and Airbnb doesn't prohibit them from doing both — charging cleaning fees and requiring housekeeping.
And that, as we can see, can put travelers in ridiculous situations.
Because hosts can review guests, there is sometimes the pressure to do well and follow their protocols, as a bad review could jeopardize your ability to book future Airbnb stays.
This really contrasts with hotel experiences, which typically don't require that people have an account or positive feedback to stay. Unless you do something really, really bad, a major hotel chain won't ban you, even if you left sand all over the carpet and the towels scattered on the table.
After the thread had gone viral, people started discussing the situation
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And the Airbnb vs. hotels debate had been reignited
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