10/29/2026
🚨 ATTENTION: VACATION RENTAL CLEANING COMPANIES — WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT AIRBNB’S CLEANING FEES! 🚨
I own a professional cleaning company that services short-term rentals, and there’s something happening in our industry that I believe deserves serious attention.
Airbnb is collecting a 15.5% commission on cleaning fees for services it DOES NOT PROVIDE.
Think about that for a minute.
We, the cleaning companies:
✅ Find and contract with property owners.
✅ Hire, train, and pay our employees.
✅ Purchase cleaning supplies and equipment.
✅ Pay for business licenses and insurance.
✅ Handle scheduling, quality control, and customer complaints.
✅ Assume the responsibility and liability for the actual cleaning.
And what does Airbnb do to facilitate those cleanings? NOTHING.
Airbnb doesn’t hire us. It doesn’t negotiate our contracts. It doesn’t schedule our employees. It doesn’t supervise our work. It doesn’t pay our invoices.
Yet it collects a percentage-based commission calculated on the cleaning fees guests pay.
Here’s an example:
A cleaning company charges a property owner $150 for a turnover.
To recover that $150 after Airbnb’s 15.5% commission, the owner needs to charge the guest approximately $177.52.
That’s an additional $27.52 for a cleaning service Airbnb had absolutely no part in providing.
And here’s where it REALLY hurts our industry.
Property owners know that excessive cleaning fees discourage bookings. So instead of raising the guest’s cleaning fee, they pressure cleaning companies to lower their prices.
Who ultimately suffers?
The small businesses employing local workers, paying insurance, purchasing supplies, and actually doing the work.
We’re being squeezed on pricing while a multibillion-dollar booking platform collects additional revenue calculated on our services.
I’m not arguing that Airbnb shouldn’t make money. It absolutely provides a valuable booking platform.
But why should its commission apply to an independently contracted cleaning service?
Cleaning fees should cover cleaning expenses—not generate additional commission revenue for a company that doesn’t provide the service.
I’m calling on Airbnb to exclude documented, third-party professional cleaning expenses from its percentage-based commission.
And I’d like to hear from other cleaning company owners:
👉 Have you lost cleaning contracts because property owners said your prices were too high?
👉 Have customers pressured you to lower your rates to keep their guest-facing cleaning fees competitive?
👉 Do you believe Airbnb should collect commission revenue calculated on professional cleaning services it doesn’t provide?
I believe it’s time for professional cleaning companies to come together, document how these fees affect our businesses, and push for meaningful change.
If enough of us speak up, perhaps we can get the attention of industry organizations, regulators, and the people making these policies.
We’re the ones doing the work. We deserve a voice in how our industry is affected.
💬 Cleaning company owners: Comment below with your experience. If you’re interested in joining an organized effort to challenge this policy, comment “COUNT ME IN.”
🔁 Share this with other cleaning business owners. Let’s find out how widespread this problem really is.
