How Airbnb Hosts Pay Their Cleaners
How Airbnb Hosts Pay Their Cleaners
Airbnb doesn't pay your cleaner for you. The cleaning fee your guest pays goes to you, as part of your payout, and then you pay the cleaner yourself. So how do other hosts do it?
Most hosts pay a flat amount per turnover, agreed up front, and paid after each clean. Some hosts with a lot of turnovers pay weekly instead. I host on Airbnb, and I have learned this the slow way. When the pay is clear, the cleaning is calmer.
Two Jobs, Not One
Paying a cleaner is two jobs, not one. The first job is deciding the rate, before the first clean. What is included, what counts as an extra, and what happens when a guest leaves a mess?
The second job is paying on time, every time, with a record you can point back to. That happens after every clean. It sounds simple, until you have three turnovers in a week, and a cleaner who is waiting to be paid for last Tuesday. Keep the two jobs apart. Decide the rate once, in writing. Then build a routine for paying it, so the routine does the remembering for you.
What Is Normal
The normal arrangement is a flat rate per turnover. Not per hour, not per room, and not whatever the cleaner asks for on the day. One flat amount for one turnover of your property, at the scope you agreed.
Why flat? A turnover is a defined job. If the scope is the same, the price should be the same. A flat rate rewards a cleaner who works well and quickly, and it lets you budget, because you know what every checkout costs before the guest books.
Hourly pay fits a deep clean, a one-off job, or a first clean when you are still learning how long the property takes. For a regular turnover, it pays for time, not for a finished home.
Paid after each clean is normal too. For hosts with a lot of turnovers, weekly pay works well, as long as it is regular and the cleaner can rely on it. What doesn't work is paying late, paying in drips, or paying without a record.
| Way to pay | What it is | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Flat rate per turnover | One agreed amount for one clean | Regular turnovers, same scope each time |
| Hourly | Pay for the hours worked | Deep cleans, first cleans, one-off jobs |
| Weekly pay | Add up the week's turnovers, pay once | High-volume hosts, same cleaner each week |
| Co-host payout | If your cleaner is set up as an Airbnb co-host, Airbnb can send them part of your payout | Airbnb-only hosts, it doesn't cover Vrbo or Booking.com |
What the Rate Is Based On
There's no single number that is right for every home. The rate is based on the property and the scope, not on the cleaning fee you charge the guest. How many beds and baths are there? Does the clean include laundry and linen turnover? Is restocking included? Is it a turnover clean, or a deep clean? Is there a pet fee, a same day rush, or a late checkout?
Your local market matters too. A rate that is fair in one city can be low in another. Don't copy a number from a forum thread and treat it as your price. Use the Turnover Cleaning Price Calculator to work out a fair per-turnover rate for your own home. It has a mode for short-term rentals and a mode for regular homes.
Agree It Up Front, In Writing
Agree the rate in writing, before the first clean. Write down the per-turnover rate, what is included, and what counts as an extra. Beds, laundry, kitchen, bathrooms, restock, photos. Then write down the extras, and what each one pays. If it isn't written down, it will be argued about later, when you are both tired.
A written rate sheet doesn't make you formal or cold. It makes you a good client. The printable Cleaner Rate-Sheet Template is a good place to start. Fill it in with your cleaner, keep a copy each, and review it when the rate needs to change.
The cleaning fee is what the guest pays you. The rate is what you pay the cleaner. They are two different numbers. Check both every few months, because cleaner rates move, and the fee should move with them.
The Manual Version, and Why It Gets Messy
The manual version works like this. The cleaner texts you after a clean. You open Venmo or Zelle, type in the amount, and send it. At tax time, you scroll back through months of texts and payment notes, trying to work out what you paid.
It works when you have one property and one clean a week. It breaks when you have more. Three turnovers in a week, two properties, a late checkout, and suddenly you aren't sure what you owe. The cleaner isn't sure either.
When there is no invoice, there is no paper trail. No dated record of what was cleaned, when, for how much, and by whom. A dated invoice is the record that keeps the relationship honest.
I know this because I lived it. The invoice lived in my text thread, and the payment lived in Venmo. Neither one was a system. I built CleanSlate because I got tired of that. But you don't need an app to fix the first part. You need a rate in writing, a routine for paying it, and a dated invoice for every turnover.
The Automated Version, in Three Steps
Step 1: Connect one iCal link per Airbnb, Vrbo, or Booking.com listing. CleanSlate merges them into one calendar for the same property. Regular homes work too, with a regular cleaning schedule.
Step 2: The app builds the invoice from the calendar. Every checkout becomes an invoice line, at the rate you agreed, with extras added where they belong. The cleaner submits it, and you can see what was cleaned, when, and for how much, before you pay.
Step 3: You approve it, and you pay by card through the cleaner's own Stripe, in US dollars, with Apple Pay and Google Pay where supported. Invoices flow into QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks, and Wave. Venmo and Zelle are still there as external payee options, and the app directs you to them, it doesn't process the payment itself.
CleanSlate can also backfill dates in the app, so you can invoice work that hasn't been invoiced yet. That isn't the same as exporting old invoices to your accounting software. Invoices from before a cleaner connects don't export to QuickBooks, Xero, or FreshBooks.
Where CleanSlate Fits
CleanSlate fits in the second job, the paying and recording job, not the first. It doesn't set your rate for you, and it doesn't find your cleaner for you. You decide the rate, with your cleaner, in writing. CleanSlate makes paying that rate routine.
It's built by STR hosts, for the cleaners who turn homes over between guests, and the hosts who partner with them. It's a cleaner's tool first, and a host's tool second. It doesn't do dispatch, payroll, or property management, and it never texts your clients automatically. It turns a booking calendar into an invoice, so the host can approve it, pay it, and move on.
A Simple Way to Start
Agree the rate in writing, pay it on time, and keep a dated invoice for every turnover. Start with the rate, put it in the rate-sheet template, and keep a copy each. After each clean, pay the agreed rate, and keep the invoice. If you use Venmo or Zelle, add a note with the date, the property, and the amount. If you use CleanSlate, the invoice is already there, dated, with the calendar dates it covers.
Then check it every few months. Has the rate moved? Has the scope changed? A small check now saves a hard conversation later. Paying a cleaner well, on time, with a clear record, is one of the simplest ways to keep a good cleaner.
Try CleanSlate free for 75 days, no credit card. Then $89.99 per year founding, or $12.99 per month, unlimited properties.
No credit card.
Related articles
- How Much to Pay Your Airbnb Cleaner: what moves the rate, and how to work out a fair per-turnover price for your home, with the Turnover Cleaning Price Calculator.
- Turn Airbnb and Vrbo Calendars into Invoices: how a booking calendar becomes an invoice, one iCal link per listing, merged into one calendar per property.