Yahoo Finance ‘This is crazy’: Florida woman goes viral on TikTok after paying a $250 Airbnb cleaning fee — even though she cleaned the place herself. 3 ways to avoid getting gouged on your next getaway
No one likes doing chores on vacation, especially when they also then get charged a cleaning fee at the Airbnb they booked for that sweet summer vacay.
Florida mom Jaime Colby Hidalgo (@sofloridagirl) posted a viral TikTok video that begins with her stripping the bed and running the dishwasher at an Airbnb she recently rented. She expresses her frustration at the “huge list of chores they give you to do before you check out”. And despite dutifully carrying out the listed duties, she goes on to reveal she had paid an extra $250 cleaning fee.
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“I do understand you should be respectful and leave it nice,” she says in the clip that has garnered over 1.7 million views. “But this is crazy.”
While Airbnb has made moves to be more transparent about these types of fees, that doesn’t mean that they’re getting any less expensive. In fact, the average price of an Airbnb booking rose 36% since 2019, the company’s CFO said in February.
If you've been burned by unexpected fees before, here’s what you need to know to make sure your next booking doesn’t break the bank.
Beware of those extra fees
Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) responded to public criticism of the extra fees by creating a “display total price” button on their site at the end of 2022.
But just because you can more easily see the total price, doesn’t mean those expensive extra costs can’t push your chosen venue out of your budget.
This summer, Airbnb customers are facing an average of 36% in added fees on top the site’s nightly rates, according to a 2023 analysis by Forbes, with more expensive regions seeing up to 48% in extras.
The data shows Hidalgo’s $250 cleaning fee is well above the average amount of $160 but pales in comparison to the highest average cleaning fee of $313 seen in Telluride, Colorado.
So the next time you want to take your family on a memorable — but reasonably priced — trip, here are a few savvy ways you can save:
Negotiate with the host
Hosts want to stay competitive on Airbnb. If you message them about a price reduction, they may give it to you so you don’t go to one of the thousands of other hosts on the website.
Airbnb is a lucrative side hustle for many people and often helps them with their own financial goals, such as paying off their mortgage. So be prepared for them to stand firm on their price, but it's worth the ask if done respectfully.
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Take a chance on a new host
If you focus your search on newer Airbnb hosts who don’t have a lot of listings, you may find cheaper rates. These hosts want to stand out from the rest of the crowd, but haven’t yet amassed the ratings and reviews to do that.
They may use cheaper prices to attract travelers to stay with them and then leave stellar reviews so they can eventually increase their rates. You might find more novice hosts by lowering the price range when you search for properties.
The only downside to this is that your Airbnb may not be as experienced as one who has managed to become a Superhost. Airbnb reviews Superhosts every quarter to ensure that they maintain a minimum 4.8 rating for 100 nights of stays within that time frame.
If you’re just looking for a place to lay your head and store your stuff, you might get more value out of booking with a novice host.
Compare rates on other sites
One of the added charges on an Airbnb bill is the 14% “guest fee.”Fees like that can easily make a seemingly good deal into a booking that is beyond your budget.
One travel hack is to research a property you like and see if the host advertises their property on another platform. Hosts sometimes have their own websites or post on multiple sites, where they can avoid Airbnb’s 3% host fee and therefore might list their property at a cheaper price .
You can also compare rates to other home-sharing sites, like Vrbo, or try your luck finding a deal on more traditional accommodation like hotels, hostels and old-school B&Bs.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
