Anyone else think cleaning fees are out of control? Here in California, cleaning fees are usually $200.00 or more and it seems at least half of the listings charge one. If I do request a home with a cleaning fee I let the hosts know I always leave homes as clean as I when I arrive so sometimes they’ll waive the fee. I never used to charge for cleaning fee but I do now, a small one – however, I give the option of paying the fee (my home is a studio apt.) or to leave the house as clean as when guest arrive. I think that should be a required option and there should be a cap on the amount you can charge for cleaning. Anyone else?
Yes cleaning fees are always a highly debated topic within this Forum. It is tricky because some members love having the option of not having to clean on their last day, but others would prefer to save the money and do it themselves. This is certainly an area that the product team are looking into - so watch this space for updates soon 
Ideally, cleaning fees should be optional. Hosts who wish to offer this service as an extra—for guests who may not be able to do a thorough cleaning at the end of their stay (due to early morning flights, disabilities, traveling with small children, etc.)—could do so. However, cleaning fees should not be mandatory in order to stay in a property, because it goes against the spirit of solidarity, mutual trust, and commitment that is supposed to be implicit in home exchange.
Moreover, it doesn’t seem fair that HE allow hosts to charge an initial cleaning fee—that is, the cleaning done to prepare the home before guests arrive—as if others didn’t already do this preparation free of charge in their own properties. With the added point that you then also have to do a thorough cleaning yourself on the last day. So you are paying for a service that most of us provide for free in our own home!
In addition, mandatory cleaning fees are unfair and lacking in solidarity, because income levels vary greatly from country to country. For an American, paying for cleaning in a home in South America—or even in Spain—can be very cheap, whereas for someone from a country with a weaker economy, the cost of cleaning in places like the USA or Canada can be extremely expensive relative to their salary.
And not to mention the fact that, in most cases, cleaning fees are paid under the table and without an invoice, which constitutes tax evasion, no matter how small the amount may be.
Agreed — cleaning fees should be optional. I’m pretty sure many of the people who charge cleaning fees also rent their homes on AriBnB and VRBO so their cleaning fees are baked in to that process. But if they’re going to also list on HE they should not charge those fees or, as we have both said, make them optional, as it does go against the spirit of the home swap ideal.
I don’t know, you always have the option to not go to a place that charges a cleaning fee. Also I think if cleaning fees are outlawed what state is the house to be left in broom clean? All beds remade? Laundry done, no laundry done? To me the fee like the state of the house seems like a negotiable item. I also think cleaning fees are relative to the area and space being cleaned and sometimes people do not take that into account. They cite a high fee, come to find out it is a very large home in a very seasonal area, of course the fee is higher. (it should not equal renting though). For a group size or time of year the host may choose not to make a fee optional and the guest can say that doesn’t work for them and not exchange. I actually think there should be a very specific area for cleaning related info on the description (not just fees) to set expectations.
Wasn’t a cleaning fee originally ment to be allowed only for secondary homes where the owner wasn’t able to check the cleanliness before next Home exchanger arrived?
Yeah, I get why this feels frustrating, especially when you’re seeing it added on top of already high nightly rates.
At the same time, a lot of hosts have moved to charging cleaning fees separately because actual cleaning costs in places like California have gone up quite a bit like turnover cleaners, same-day resets, laundry, etc., especially for short stays. So instead of baking it into the nightly rate, they split it out so pricing looks more flexible depending on length of stay.
The “clean it yourself or pay” model sounds fair on paper, but in practice it can get messy to enforce consistently especially for turnover timing and quality control between guests.
That said, there’s definitely a wide range in how fees are set, and some listings do price them quite aggressively, which is probably what pushes this discussion in the first place.
As a member with two residences, I wouldn’t offer our home on Home Exchange if I couldn’t charge a cleaning fee. It’s our secondary residence (which is not a rental property) and I wouldn’t feel comfortable relying on guests to clean it to a high enough standard for the following guests. I waive the cleaning fee for guests who stay 7+ nights.
Members always have the option to scroll past our listing.
Having just left a home exchange this morning, I have to say that I would have happily paid a reasonable cleaning fee.
Understood but I think you’re missing the point of my post. So many people are charging cleaning fees, and high ones at that, that this site is veering toward becoming more like a cheaper AirBnB-type site and less like a true a home exchange site --with the added option of “paying” with points. If well over half of listings are charging, say, $150.00-$200.00 for cleaning for stays, even a 2-day stay, it’s not so attractive. I accumulated a lot of points allowing people to stay at my home without a cleaning fee. I don’t think it’s fair that I either have to pay one or face having few reasonable choices for a place to stay.
You say you wouldn’t offer your home on HE if you couldn’t charge a cleaning fee. Respectfully, perhaps this site shouldn’t be a place you should be able to list. I understand you may not feel comfortable about guests cleaning well enough. That’s what reviews are for.
Hi Rich, thanks for your thoughtful response. I was actually replying to someone else. 
Oh… I actually originated this thread so received a notification about your post. 
You were replying to me, but even I couldn’t have answered it better than @richrll 
I’d still rather have a larger selections of homes to choose from, including those with cleaning fees, than a smaller selection. People who don’t want to pay the cleaning fee can simply ignore the listings that include one.
That’s the beauty of Home Exchange - we all decide which homes/conditions suit us best prior to proposing an exchange.
For me, the issue is not whether there would be more or fewer homes available if cleaning were optional instead of mandatory. It goes to the very essence of what home exchange means: preparing your home and making it available to people from anywhere in the world, regardless of the income differences between countries, trusting them with your home, and trusting that they will treat it as their own and return it in the same condition they found it.
And if that is not the case, that is what final reviews are for, as well as the possibility of retaining part of the deposit to restore the home to its original condition.
On the other hand, it is also not entirely true that you can simply choose other homes and ignore those that charge for cleaning. The practice of charging cleaning fees is becoming increasingly common, especially in tourist areas, as many homes that mainly fill low-season periods have entered HE and are accustomed to charging for it.
I wholeheartedly agree about the essence of home exchange and hope that our guests from around the world feel warmly welcomed. We always leave a bottle of local wine for them and insider tips. Plus, we always have good communications via WhatsApp.
Regarding reviews, I’m not at my 2nd home for extended periods of time during which we offer it exclusively on home exchange. Without a cleaner, I wouldn’t be able to write an honest review because I’d have no way of knowing the state of our home when guests leave.
We were recently at a home exchange where our stay immediately followed that of other guests. When we arrived, we could see that the house had only been cursorily cleaned by the previous guests (the hosts were abroad). It was fine, but it’s not the experience I want for our guests.
Thanks for an interesting discussion. I mainly wanted to chime in so that Home Exchange knows that not everyone is against cleaning fees.
I also exchange, in addition to my main home, a second residence. When I am unable to travel there to check the condition in which it has been left, or if I have multiple exchanges scheduled back-to-back in my main home, I take responsibility for covering the cost of having someone come in to inspect the property. I understand that this is my responsibility and, therefore, I do not think it is appropriate to pass it on to guests by requiring them to pay for cleaning.
That said, I also understand that many people are starting to use HE more like Airbnb, in the sense that there are increasing numbers of guests requesting apartments for just one or two nights. In those cases, I would consider it reasonable for HE to allow an increase in GP, for example of 15%, to help offset the inconvenience that very short stays may cause.
Likewise, I would support HE reducing GP by a similar proportion for homes that charge a cleaning fee. And while we are at it, I would also suggest reducing GP for homes that do not provide towels or bed linen. 
I think there is just a difference of opinion, which I respect. I really do think, though, that there should be at least an option to clean yourself, including changing bedding, and if you don’t do a good job you should get a bad review. I also make sure my place is spotell when people come and if I do have a back-to-back, I always make sure the first guests are aware they need to leave the place as it was left for them or pay for cleaning and I always tell the second guests of the situation. Anyway, the reason I posted originally was that I requested one home and the guests informed me their place was available but there was a $400.00 cleaning fee! I was already getting tired of the $200.00 requests but that put me over the edge. Again, there should be an option. If the people who run this site call me, I will convince them! Haha…
It’s a pity that the cleaning fee wasn’t clearly mentioned in the listing. That would have saved you and the host quite a bit of time. $400 definitely does seem high but that’s what cleaners charge in some locations. Our primary residence is in a city where there are lots of vacation rentals so cleaners charge $375 to clean it. That makes it too expensive for me to feel comfortable listing it on Home Exchange.
Conversely, I would consider paying a $400 cleaning fee if it was for cleaning after a long exchange (2-4 weeks) and it was in a place where hotels/rentals were also expensive.
My husband and I were saying that in some cases cleaning fees might actually encourage people to spend more time in a place rather than just 1-3 nights. This is more in alignment with the original idea of home exchange, where people spend have the time to live like a local.
If you do talk to someone from Home Exchange, please mention that I’d also like to talk with them! 
Hello richrll,
I know the second home management problems to host.
I know how it is to rent for money on other plateforms.
And I do agree with Illopart.
What is sad in your point of view is that it is totally missing this wonderful community.
You are scared to have a bad review 
Since when HE members are scared to have a bad review?
What i love in this community are the kindness and generosity of the people.
When i started 20 ago, i even did not empty any closet for the guest’s cloths. People arrive in my home. It was clean and unperfect. Like us.
Never had any bad review.
People are ready to help.
If you don’t have anybody to do the beds, some members are willing to come with their sheets!
What members from Airbnb don’t understand is that it is a friendly community. Not a commercial one. Their is no fear. There is no blackmail.
And this is why not giving the choice is a lack of confidence.