If you read carefully, I was clearly talking about reciprocal exchanges 
What is also blatlantly clear to me is that you are running a business, nothing wrong with that, but a different ethos all the same (hence the âcost-neutralâ and offloading costs.)
What grows tiresome in these cases are the countless members who use the argument âit is because we are absentâ it is a matter of convenience/logistics. No, it is because it is a business, it is not a home, it is a rental property.
What I prefer is when the profile is very transparent in that regard.
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Ok we leave the conversation there. Please note that my properties are not businesses, they are second homes cum investments that need to cover their running costs, which extend far beyond the cost of cleaningâŠ
Bonjour Jasper
Je vais rĂ©pondre en Français et je nâai pas trouvĂ© lâoutil traduction sur le forum
Je comprends trÚs bien la mentalité des échanges et ce que vous voulez dire
Quand notre maison est disponible pour les Ă©changes, nous ne sommes pas lĂ ni Ă lâarrivĂ©e ni au dĂ©part des invitĂ©s
Nous avons une personne de confiance qui accueille, explique, va mĂȘme parfois chercher Ă lâaĂ©roport.
Pour ce service nous devons la rĂ©munĂ©rer. Au dĂ©part des vacanciers, elle doit changer 4 lits, faire lâentretien dâune trĂšs grande maison, presque 6 h de mĂ©nage ( et sur la Cote dâAzur, les heures de mĂ©nage sont couteuses).
Je pense que les personnes qui sont venues chez nous ont apprecié à leur arrivée de trouver une maison propre et rangée.
Nous sommes dâaccord de payer des frais quand nous sommes invitĂ©s car nous savons que cela nest pas payĂ© par notre hĂŽte.
Bonne journée
Hello. It would be fairer if the host ALWAYS paid the cleaning fees. Because that host receives POINTS for the exchange. And with those POINTS, the host might go to a house where the owner does not charge cleaning fees.
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Hello SerialTraveller
"If you choose to do the cleaning yourself or pay for someone else to do it, thatâs your choice. "
As it is the hostâs choice , the guest should not be obliged to pay because it is not HIS choice.
As the others said, if the guest ask for a paying cleaning service, it is different.
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Hey! I totally get your frustration about the cleaning fees and points system. From my own exchanges, Iâve found that budget cleaning services are actually pretty reasonable. You could also try splitting costs with your exchange partner or look for hosts who include cleaning in their deal.
I agree. Both exchanges Iâve had at my home have left it cleaner than it was (and it was clean already). I was charged
A cleaning fee at a place I stayed (it was also an Airbnb, not primary residence) and that was almost as much as a hotel. Also the communication with that host was very Airbnb-like. Not neighborly, but business like.
Iâm a newbie to HE but I totally agree with you.
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Totally agree with everything youâve said here. Standards of âcleanâ are so varied today. Iâm no clean freak but Iâm more than happy to pay a cleaning fee so that I can enjoy my stay knowing that it was cleaned before I arrive and after I depart.
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Hi,
Iâm in my first year on HE and loving it and the ethos .. I also take a small gift from Ireland to thank thĂ© host 
I just want to chip in on cleaning fees .. we do not charge one on our home however on my recent trip to NY we were charged 200 dollars cleaning fee Yikes !!! It was very clear from the beginning and we did not argue thĂ© point as we were lucky to find anything at all but I was quite shocked especially as nice as the apartment was it was definitely not hotel clean standard. My policy when looking for places is to avoid cleaning fees and also anything with hugely inflated points BUT in areas with high demand I think itâs sometimes a case of simply accepting that you have to pay it or go somewhere else .. itâs a shame I hope that it wonât become the norm
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I LOVE IT when people ask for a cleaning fee for guest points. It reassures me that the home will be very clean.
Iâm fed up of slightly or very grubby homes.
Also it means that I can spend an hour or so leaving a place nice for a cleaner instead of the 4 to 8 hours that it takes to properly clean something to a high standard.
How many people are really going to spend most of their last day cleaning to a high standard for us to come back to our home - or for another lot of guests to arrive.
None!
@ElizabethB, Iâm sorry to say, but paying for cleaning doesnât necessarily mean the house has been cleaned professionally, since HomeExchange doesnât require that the service be provided by a specialized cleaning company. This simply means that the hosting family charges that fee and then decides what to do with the money.
Moreover, paying in cash contributes to the underground economy.
Of course, if someone wants to pay for cleaning, I think thatâs perfectly fine and can ask the host for this service. The problem arises when the payment is mandatory. This is discriminatory and particularly harmful to people living in countries with weaker economies.
On the other hand, if you charge for cleaning and then visit a house where this fee is not required, your exchange is not really fair, as not all hosts are imposing the same conditions.
Hi
Thanks for your point of view.
Iâm really interested in this. When you do points swaps who pays for the 6 or so hours of cleaning it takes before a swap and after a swap. Thatâs 12 ish hours of cleaning.
Thanks.
Ooh. I should add that in 15 years weâve only had one time (to my knowledge) where we felt the cleaning fee was being kept by the owners and not cleaned that well.
Also I always try and pay a cleaning fee for a professional clean to my hosts even if they donât ask for one. Then I can at least expect a very clean home.
Iâd say a third of the homes Iâve stayed in arenât that clean so Iâm really careful now.
Thanks.
IWhen I do an exchange, whether itâs point-based or reciprocal, I always prepare the house for the family that will be arriving. I have a cleaner who I pay to do it, and if sheâs on vacation, I do it myself.
When the families leave, I ask them to leave the house as they found it and I make all the cleaning products and necessary equipment (vacuum cleaner, etc.) available to them. If they mention that theyâd prefer not to clean, I offer the option of having our cleaner do the work they donât want to do.
Sometimes Iâve been asked to have the cleaner handle all the cleaning, and other times just part of it. However, itâs not the same if guests stay for just a couple of nights as if they stay for a month. Also, two adults donât create the same mess as a family with four kids. While thereâs all kinds of situations, in general, the level of mess made by different guests varies greatly, which means the amount of time needed to leave the house in perfect condition also varies. This is another reason why a fixed cleaning fee doesnât make sense.
Additionally, if you keep the house clean and tidy during your stay, you shouldnât need to spend six hours cleaning it when you leave, unless itâs a huge house with lots of rooms, which is not the most common situation.
I insist that Iâm not saying optional cleaning services canât be offered, but it should be prohibited to make it mandatory. Leaving the house clean for the next guests and cleaning it when you leave so the hosts find it in perfect condition is the minimum that can be expected when exchanging a house.
And if, in any case, this doesnât happen, the solution isnât to charge a cleaning fee, but to report it properly to HomeExchange, so they can deduct the cleaning cost from the security deposit. And it should be from a professional cleaning company with an invoice, to avoid under-the-table payments. .
Hi
Yes. A small place wouldnât take 6 hours. I agree but our place does. And we donât charge for linen and towels.
Most guests are not going to clean the inside of a kitchen bin when they leave or get the crumbs out of a toaster or clean all the glass that a child may have touched.
At least Iâve never known it. Nor will guests want to say they donât want to clean thoroughly and have a professional clean instead as this gives the host a job to do of organising professional cleaners if they donât already use them.
So what guests will do is just a superficial clean before they leave that looks ok.
Anyway I think people should do what they want as long as itâs fair and clear in the communication and home details.
Iâd much much rather be paying someone a cleaning fee for points swaps but I respect your opposite point of view.
We agree on one point: the issue of cleaning requires communication before accepting an exchange and giving clear instructions about what you expect in this area, as not everyone understands the same thing by a âclean house.â So, if you explain exactly what you ask them to do to leave the house as it was when they arrived, your potential guest can decide whether theyâre interested in coming to your house and cleaning it according to your standards, whether they prefer to pay you for it, or simply prefer to look for another place.
If this is done, itâs clear that a cleaning fee doesnât need to be mandatory.
Iâm very happy to agree to differ.
Iâd rather stay somewhere that charges me a cleaning fee, and I donât want to be giving my guests very detailed instructions as to how they should clean my home before they leave it.
Some people would be offended.
I donât think my guests would appreciate me asking them to clean the inside of my kitchen bin and replenish toilets rolls and all the other important jobs that make somewhere gorgeous.
You do you with your home and I shall do me with mine.
Members should choose what suits them and be clear about it.
Sleep well.
Requiring a cleaning fee affects fairness, as I explained earlier. If members choose what suits them best in each situation, no matter how clear they are about it, without considering fairness, the values of sharing and helping each other, which have always been the foundation of home exchanges, are lost. As long as only a few people charge compulsory for cleaning, it will be possible to travel while excluding these profiles. The problem is that itâs spreading like wildfire, because people who didnât charge for cleaning in their homes are getting fed up with having to pay it in other homes. And if the cleaning fee ends up being extendedly imposed, it will be the people in countries with lower salaries or those who can only do short stays on vacation who are most affected. Anyway, everyone knows their own values, and itâs clear we wonât agree because we have different views on what it means to entrust our homes to other families. Good night to you too, and happy exchanges!