How Much Should You Charge for Vacation Rental Cleaning?

Setting vacation rental cleaning prices is challenging due to wide variation in rates — from $15 to $200 per stay depending on location, demand, and property requirements. Unlike residential cleaning, vacation rental cleaning requires additional services like laundering linens, staging, and restocking amenities.

The Problem with Listing Sites

Cleaning fees on platforms like Airbnb and VRBO ($50-$150 range) don’t reflect what service providers actually charge. These are guest-facing fees that include markups by owners and property managers. The actual cleaning service cost is typically 30% lower than advertised fees.

Research Strategies

For Property Managers

Ask established property managers in your area about rates
Request quotes from multiple cleaning services
Specify you need vacation rental cleaning pricing, not residential rates

For Cleaning Services

Contact competing cleaners in non-competing areas
Request informational interviews with property managers
Ask 10 businesses to identify market rate ranges

Analyzing VRBO Data

For areas with limited peer information, analyze 10+ similar properties on VRBO by property type and size. Calculate average cleaning fees, then subtract 30% to account for owner markups. This reveals actual service provider rates.

Remote Area Adjustments

In remote locations, add transportation costs. Calculate:

Hourly cleaning rate x hours needed
Mileage x standard rate
Travel time x reduced hourly rate (roughly half cleaning rate)

For example: A property 40 miles away requiring 3 hours cleaning could cost around $100 total when including driving expenses.

Why Hourly Rates Matter

While quoting flat fees per property, maintaining knowledge of hourly rates helps address situations requiring extra cleaning. Properties left excessively dirty warrant additional charges, supported by photographic evidence.

Looking for tools to put these ideas into practice? Explore Properly’s solutions:

Properly marketplace — find trained, badge-verified service providers near your property
property manager solutions — purpose-built tools for scaling your portfolio
pricing options — find the right plan for your operation