The fact that the animals require care doesnât change the argument.
I wish you a lovely day. Best regards!
Thank you everyone for such an interesting exchange of ideas! Ultimately, what matters most is that home exchange is built on mutual respect, sharing, care, consideration for others, and loving travel as a true traveler, not just a tourist. We simply donât want this spirit to change or be reduced to standard tourism. Another fantastic aspect of HE is how easily we can communicateâany need, wish, or problem can be talked through and resolved between real human beings, rather than chatbots sending automated responses 
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Hi Gloria.
I am convicted! We have been a part of Home exchange for over 4 years, with 22 exchanges all over the world. We love the platform and how it works.
We have recently experienced a few of the exchanges requiring a cleaning fee, and it is becoming more the norm rather than the exception. We recently thought (very selfishly) that we should charge a cleaning fee, even though we always do the cleaning. We have had 3 guests stay and pay the cleaning fee. When we arrived home 2 days ago we found our home was left in a lot worse shape than when we left. Finger prints all over the windows, not swept, not vacuumed, dirty showers and toilets, no âlittle somethingâ or thank you note, doors left unlocked⊠But I was reluctant to complain too much as we had charged a cleaning fee and left no expectations of what was required when they left other than stripping the beds and leaving the used towels in a pile.
We have decided to drop the cleaning fee and use your very sage adviceâŠ
Thank you for bringing the issue to our attention and bringing us back to what drew us to the concept of Home Exchange. Treating the other persons house as your own and leaving it better than you found it.
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@Flyhyguy, what you can do, and Iâm seeing more and more people mentioning this in their profiles, is state in yours that if the person who wants to exchange homes charges a mandatory cleaning fee, you will apply exactly the same cleaning fee to your home. You can also remind them that you expect to find your home in the same condition when you return as you left it, and that you would of course do the same in their home.
Nobody said about washing, ironing and changing bedding and towels. Guests can`t do this.
We live in a different country and we hire a cleaning lady to do this job for our guests. She cleans, changes bedding and towels, washes and irons them, buys essentials for guests such as toilet rolls, coffee, tea, pasta, ladies hygiene items, etc. Every time she spends about 4 hours in our house. Sometimes once a week, sometimes twice. I don`t think she would do all the above for free, so I have to pay her
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@Natalia_Italy_Como , obviously, preparing your home for guests comes with a cost. However, that is a cost every host incurs when welcoming guests. In other words, when you stay at someone elseâs home, that person has also taken the time and effort to prepare their home for you, while bearing the associated costs.
If everyone prepares their own home for their guests, we avoid inequalities linked to the socio-economic circumstances of each HE member, and we also avoid introducing money into the mechanics of home exchange.
For me, this is precisely what makes the exchange fair and equitable: everyone contributes by preparing their own home, rather than transferring that cost to someone else.
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I disagree. Some hosts have guests once a year, others - every week. I have 6 requests and finalised swaps for GPs until the end of October which will cost me 360 euro in cleaning fees, not mentioning utility bills. And I`m looking for a stay only once this year. Only 9 days. I am happy to pay cleaning fee every time, not a problem.
We all are in different financial position and some people, I saw, even charge for air conditioning as they cant afford paying high electricity bills in hot countries. It`s fair if everyone pays that minimum to cover cleaning fee, considering the stay is free.
Again, we all have a choice to stay and pay cleaning fees or look for something else.
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Hi @Flyhyguy, I am Happy to hear that my suggestion is helpful for you and I hope for a lot of us.
I have to admit that I, also selfishly, thought that a cleaning fee could be interpreted like âI am allowed to leave everything a mess!â And the fear to find back my lovely home dirty and untidy, push me to find a better solution and I guess the message: âleft it like you found itâ should be clear for everyone 
no interpretations .
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All great opinions. I never used to charge a cleaning fee then came home to an unclean condo late at night and was not happy. After that I donât leave it to chance anymore. Unfortunately the only way you can get consistency is if someone does it for you for a fee. I did try the give the guest the option (clean as you found it or pay the fee) but still came home and it was dirty. Therefore I felt I had two options. Leave HE or charge a fee to âensureâ it is as clean as when I left. I think better to stay and charge a fee. My condo could go for hundreds of Euros for one night so paying 50⏠(below cost actually) should not be so divisive for an average stay of a week. But different folks different strokes. Unfortunately if it was a friend or family member it would run differently (or even a friend of a friend) as there is the social embarrassment factor but HE is too big for that type of expectation. Hence some people leave the place dirty. It is unfortunate but a truism. So as a host you can roll the dice or ensure you come home to a clean house. I prefer the certainty. My personal choice and I think well within the confines of reasonable. But I get others have different opinions and I respect that. Though I think it is reasonable the host has the option to control this particular aspect of the exchange and the guest has the option to avoid hosts that charge guest fees. I actually paid a fee (only 30âŹ) and cleaned well because the host was coming back with a baby in the early morning and he said cleaner would not arrive until evening. I know I would hate to come home to a less than well cleaned house with a baby so I cleaned well and hoped the host would decline to take the fee (as I said I would clean well since cleaner was not to come in for hours after they returned). He took it anyway. I was not happy about it but câest la vie. I was a lot less miffed than when I came home to a dirty place though. But there should be a cap based on size and local prices. Also if HE does not do it they should add a Size field. Square feet or square meters.
Totalmente de acuerdo contigo. No es cuestiĂłn de filtros es cuestiĂłn de filosofĂa. Yo tambiĂ©n descarto los que cobran tarifa de limpieza. AĂșn asĂ, no descarto que en algĂșn momento concreto lo pueda solicitar (siempre como otra opciĂłn alternativa y no obligatoria) por circunstancias concretas. Gracias por sacar a la luz Ă©ste tema.
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Hi!
I only stay in places that ask for a cleaning fee. These days I wouldnât stay anywhere that didnât ask for one.
Iâve read many times that people say they will leave a places as they found it but in fifteen years Iâve never had a guest who cleaned the crumbs from inside the toaster, or cleaned all the inside windows to get rid of any fingerprints, or got rid of all the cobwebs that appeared high and low in their week or fortnightâs stay. They just do the basics and thatâs all I expect them to do. Then my cleaner does a proper job
So no. People donât leave it as they found it in my extremely clean barn at least.
They donât spend the 6 to 8 hours that it takes to clean my barn inside and out to a very high standard.
itâs a big pond though and thereâs room for us all. If someone doesnât like to pay a cleaning fee then they are not the guest for me.
If someone doesnât charge a cleaning fee then I am not the guest for them.
Cleaning fees (almost always) mean a house is professionally cleaned to a high standard and thatâs what I want from a swap.
These are our homes and we should all get to choose. I donât have a problem with anyone who doesnât charge a cleaning fee. Thatâs up to them. I just wouldnât stay there. People who donât want to pay a cleaning fee shouldnât have a problem with me charging one. Just donât ask to swap with me
Happy swapping.
Hi Etienne
When will the cleaning filter (for points swaps) be on please.
I only want to stay in homes where I pay a cleaning fee.
Many thanks for all you do. Xx
I donât know the time frame ( few weeks or months). Hopefully before 2027
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Dear Elizabeth,
But Iâm addressing this more generally to everyone who got hung up on the details of the cleaning fee or the specifics of cleaning. That wasnât the purpose of my post. Let me try to explain better and give an example.
Every time I accept an exchange in my primary home, I clean or have my apartment cleaned (as usual). On top of that, I spend several hours deep cleaning things I donât normally do or that my housekeeper doesnât cover (I must say, I envy your cleaning staff who leave your place spotlessâin 20 years, Iâve never found anyone who does!). I also make sure to create a comfortable environment for the arriving family (clean towels and sheets, essential groceries or a small welcome pack, bikes available, etc.).
Taking this timeâwhich is no small feat for me, working full-time with three young daughtersâis fundamental to me because I see it as an intrinsic part of the exchange. Even though itâs exhausting, I find it wonderful to get to know and welcome my guests. 99% of the time itâs not in person, but through these small details, I can do so virtually, and I can assure you that even a paid housekeeper wouldnât do it with the same care and love.
When I leave a home that has hosted me, I set aside at least half a day to put everything back in order and leave the house just as I found itâa home that welcomed us with love.
In both cases, I start from the assumption that everyone is trying to do their best. When I return home, I expect to find my house clean, but if I spot a handprint on a windowâperhaps left by a child and missed by a parent in the lightâI donât think ill of them, and I donât put up a monetary wall between us, which would likely leave a bitter taste in an exchange that I hope enriched us both. On the flip side, if the host comes home and notices I forgot to empty the crumbs from the toaster, I hope they wonât hold it against me or leave a bad review, especially since theyâll appreciate that everything else was cleaned and tidied with care, and that Iâll have thanked them repeatedly for their generous hospitality. Ultimately, standard cleanliness, good intentions (which I sense through our communication), and the joy of giving someone a wonderful holiday are enough for me! That is what HomeExchange means to me.
I would never open up my home for money. It is my world, and I care deeply that others respect it as I do theirs. I donât want money, thatâs not what Iâm looking for, and unfortunately, all too often, people who pay donât respect the space.
Finally, I believe that anyone so overly focused on cleaning that they feel the need to inspect every single detail upon returning should perhaps ask themselves why they are participating in a home exchange in the first place, and whether itâs truly worth it for them. Perhaps it would make more sense to rent their place on one of the paid listing platforms.
I have many friends who enjoy listening to stories about my exchanges, but say, âI would never do thatââand thatâs completely fine.
I believe this comes down to tolerance and freedom of choice for everyone. There are plenty of rental portals out there where money changes hands, but there is only one community based genuinely on sharing and exchangeâand I donât want its spirit to change!
Just some points:
1 I donât want to spend 6 to 8 hours cleaning my barn for guests I want to use a cleaner even though they are expensive. I pay for that.
2 Like you I wish I could find a cleaner who leaves it spotless. Mine is very good though
3 In addition to the house being professionally cleaned we also make it beautiful and prepare a welcoming environment, chat to guests and build a relationship. I agree thatâs very important
4 I donât want to spent a day to half a day to a day cleaning before I leave I just want to leave it lovely for the cleaner to do a thorough job
5 I donât want money for my home and would never rent it out
6 I donât think a cleaning fee would leave a bitter taste in the mouths of people who have agreed to pay a cleaning fee. If they didnât want to pay a cleaning fee then why would they agree to a cleaning fee when they can stay somewhere else without one I know some people donât like to pay a cleaning fee and thatâs fine. They are not the guest for me I havenât got a problem with that
7 If I have two back to back swaps I want the second lot of people to have the same level of cleanliness as the first and having a cleaner ensures that
8 People have different cleanliness standards Iâve stayed in many grubby houses over the 15 years and am fed up of it. Paying a cleaning fee makes it much more likely that the home is very clean
9 Iâve never inspected my home when I get back but my cleaner tells me how itâs been left
10 Why would someone put their house on a paid platform just because they agree with cleaning fees to ensure high levels of cleanliness standards Thatâs a big leap
11 A filter for cleaning fees is coming so we can all suit ourselves which is great Iâd never stay anywhere without a cleaning fee so that will save me a lot of time.
These are our precious homes and we should be able to welcome guests and give them a lovely experience with or without a cleaning fee. 