And it also doesnāt take 4 hours to clean a 2 bedroom. Maximum 2 hours if the lady is slow and without experience.
Iām intrigued as to what kind of washing machine you have and tumble dryer, which can wash and dry 2 duvets, 2 sheets, 8 pillow cases, 4 bath towels, 4 face cloths, 3 hand towels and 2 tea towels in just half an hour.
We have a 10kg washing machine, and it takes 3 loads of washing to do all of this - the shortest wash is 45 minutes. Then, the drying takes a lot of time too.
The button-pressing just starts it! It doesnāt finish it!
I looked at sending the beddings and towels out to a laundry cleaning service in London, but it costs Ā£15 per duvet cover, etc, and I could not get a quote for less than Ā£100.
So it is much more economical for it to be done in the flat by the cleaner.
30 minutes to clean a two bedroom, two bathroom flat with a full kitchen, dining room and sitting room, including making up the beds and everything? Thatās just impossible.
You see, thatās why I have a cleaner who cleans everything thoroughly, so that the mirrors and the taps shine, the oven is spotless, the fridge has been cleaned, the rugs are vacuumed, the floor is mopped, the bins are cleaned.
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Hola Sergio. Los sueldos en Argentina de limpiadoras son muy bajos!
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This is correct. Just search online and will see how much time it takes a lady to clean a 2 bedroom apartment in aparthotels.
And about cleaning the the bedding this should be done like on hotels with multiple exchanges and just put the cleaned bedding and wash the dirty ones for the next time.
I have been on an exchange where the host paid a cleaning company that came with clean bedding and took the dirty bedding to clean for next time. There are lots of solutions but surely this doesnāt cost more than 30 euro.
Marcus Varuna - I do not think you are in London or have any idea of actual prices.
Iāve attached the price list for pick up, wash, dry and return the various items, for Airbnbās in London.
As you can see it is prohibitively expensive, and cheaper to have the cleaner do it on site whilst cleaning.
So, you said ājust search onlineā - so I did - I went to housekeep.com a company that send cleaners
For two bedrooms, two bathrooms, doing laundry and cleaning the oven and fridge, they say to allow 4.5 hours
Which online expert did you consult?
Yeah those companies are taking advantage of people, I said about ApratHotels where cleaning ladies have a monthly salary, surly she is not allowed to waste 4.5 hours to clean a 2 bedroom apartment, Maximum 1 hour or 1.5 if she is slow.
At 12:00 is the checkout and at 14:00 an other person have to checkin for all apartments so maximum 2 hours but have several apartments to clean daily
Iām entering my second year of HE and Iām coming to accept some realities about cleaning.
I also like the spirit of exchanges and mutual responsibility without costs. However āve had to accept that cleaning standards are something subjective and some people just donāt want to do it / are unable to do it / have never cleaned anything themselves ever! There is nothing more disappointing than returning home after a 24hr journey and finding the place needs cleaning.
I agree with other comments that dialogue and clarity about expectations are important. There are also various situations where expectations cannot be met or assured such as early morning departures or back to back stays.
So I think there needs to be some flexibility and also a backup arrangement such as a cleaner or trusted friend.
As for guests who just donāt want to clean I now mention that I can introduce them to a local professional cleaner if that is their preference.
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I know it is especially disappointing if you have outlined what to do and they agree to it and they still donāt do it. In the platform you say you need to do xyz. They say ok we can do that but they donāt. Who stays in a house and doesnāt take out at least the kitchen trash.
I could not have said it better Juliana, Bravo!
I am not judging, I know the intentions are good, but sometimes the requests made to HE for rules, standards and incentives remind me of parent/school assemblies when my children attended private schools. I was always baffled at how some adults expected the school to organize their logistics and lives for them, when the focus should have been on the quality of the education (e.g., expectation that the school plan the carpooling for all the families, based on access to zip codes!).
HEās role is to facilitate and provide tools, through which grown ups can offer homes and negotiate exchanges, all while managing their own individual needs and expectations, as it is their responsibility to do. We are all responsible for our own comfort. HE is not there for policing and a policy which cannot be enforced is a bad policy.
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Absolutely; I have a 3 storey town house as our second home near the beach in Spain. It has 2 kitchens, 3.5 bathrooms, 3 terraces and outdoor shower. We provide beach towels and full linen for every guest. That is our only offer. We donāt permit self cleaning. We insist that our professional cleaning company does this including all bed linen and towels etc. I know because Iāve done it several times, the house needs 9 full house at ā¬15 per hour plus Iva and plus laundry. We must charge for this cost, but itās only exactly what we pay. We provide a luxury greeting pack with wine and snack free of charge. It is crazy expensive I know, but quality has a price, yet the accommodation only has the HE points, which is the spirit of the platform.
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There is a shoe for every foot.
We are able to offer many more exchanges (we hosted 22 sets of guests in 2024) if we have a cleaner come through. Additionally we need help from the guests with linens.
We charge exactly what we are charged by the cleaners for their time and eat the cost of all the supplies. In the UK that is GBP 60 and in the US itās USD 140. Neither of those include changing linens and we do not āmakeā a single penny. Additionally we highly value and appreciate our cleaners and feel they work very hard and are worth every penny.
I find all this judgement over cleaning fees kind of exhausting. I like saying āyesā to exchanges. Knowing the home will be clean and tidy afterward allows us to say yes way more often. I have such a hard time understanding how this makes us ābadā exchangers who are ruining the dynamics of home exchange. Itās kind of ridiculous actually.
My opinion is that cleaning fees should not be charged to guests and should always be paid by the hosts. That way, it is cheaper for the guest to travel. Remember, the host who pays for cleaning will not pay for it when they are a guest. But, in addition, I now realize something. With my point of view, the exchange becomes more equitable. For example, Cotswolds_and_USA says that it should charge $140 in the United States. In Argentina, it should charge $20. This distorts the concept of reciprocity, related to the allocation of GP. A house in Argentina and another in the United States with the same characteristics āare worthā 200 GP, but in one I should pay $140 and in the other $20.
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Hi @Pat4art what is your HE number? I would like to inspire your home rules. 
Your points sounds fair to me. 
Thatās why I said there is a shoe for every foot. There are many who do not charge a cleaning fee or who are exchanging only primary homes where each can agree to clean their own. There are also many who are not worried about it being cheaper but would rather it be easier and more enjoyable. Or those who have second homes and canāt be there to make sure everything is in good order for a following guest.
My issue is this. Those who prefer cleaning fees are not telling everyone else that they ought to charge them too, whereas those who are against them want to impose their view on everyone.
That said, I take your point about the disparity in cost. I think it is ok in cases like that to ask whether it is possible to self clean. The host can say no if it doesnāt work for them.
My HE number is 1414159
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Hi Cotswolds_and_USA. I just want to clarify that I am not imposing anything, I am just giving my opinion, that is what a forum is for. But reading your contribution, I realize that charging the fee diminishes reciprocate and equality. Precisely, I admire HomeExchange for the fact that 200 GP is worth the same in the USA, in Argentina, in Paris, or in a small town in Nigeria. I only charge the fee to those guests who charge in their own home.
is this a joke?