'Gross' requests from Airbnb owners revealed by cleaner
By
VanessaC
- Replies 15
For many, the joy of travelling is partly enjoying the comfort of an accommodation maintained to a high cleanliness standard.
A clean and refreshing lodging encapsulates the essence of a well-deserved holiday or an effective business trip.
In today's interconnected world, many travellers are opting for Airbnb as a preferred choice of accommodation as many of the options offer a unique, local experience that often feels more personalised than a standard hotel.
However, a disquieting revelation from a Western Australian cleaning business owner may cause travellers to rethink their choice of stay.
Jason Shipway, owner of cleaning service Enhanced Cleaning, has recently thrown a giant wrench into the seemingly stainless image of Airbnb accommodations.
'The day before we were supposed to send one of our teams in, we got an email from the management company,' Shipway shared.
'In this email, they informed us that they have a procedure they'd like us to follow in order to save money on turnover times.’
‘The more I read this email, the more horrified I became.'
According to Shipway, the 'unsettling' and 'gross' requests came from an unnamed firm that manages numerous Airbnb properties in Western Australia.
The shocking requests centred primarily on cutting corners on cleanliness to save money.
Shipway alleged that the said company requested him to limit washing of bedding after every stay, reuse towels that didn't seem 'soiled or stained', and not to bother washing dishes that weren't 'obviously' used.
'Every second clean... they just wanted us to take the linen off, flip it around so that the top was now at the bottom in order to make it look like they were cleaner,' he added.
'They also said they'd supply us with a little spray bottle that we could spray on the sheets to make them less crinkly, to appear like they hadn't been used by the previous guests.'
Similarly, towels that previous guests might have re-used were expected to be neatly folded back as if freshly laundered. The same plain-view concept of cleanliness extended to dishes, too.
'They told us towels that don't look dirty can be put back on the beds and in the cupboards.'
'They basically said any dishes leftover in the sink or in the dishwasher that had been used but didn't look dirty, could just be put back in the drawers for the next guest as well.'
'They said only to spot vacuum and spot mop floors where it looked like there were footprints. They just told us to clean where it was very obvious that there was dirt and fingerprints, and stuff like that.'
The unnamed company reportedly manages between 50 and 60 properties, renting between $200 to $500 per night and charging additional cleaning fees.
Concerningly, the practice, Shipway claimed, was 'the standard in the Airbnb space'.
Although it’s fair to point out that not all Airbnb properties are managed similarly, Shipway's personal experience does serve as an eye-opener.
Shipway said: 'Most Airbnbs really do lag behind hotels, and it's because of greedy people like this.'
'They just want to make that little bit of extra money from the stay, and so they sacrifice on cleaning big time.'
He expressed his concern about this matter, saying it was 'gross and unsettling to think that the next Airbnb that you could be going to could be run like this.'
Shipway's company rejected this opportunity and has since reported the incident to Airbnb.
'We straight up told them that we don't want to be associated with this standard of cleaning, they were very unhappy with our response, but that's their problem,' he said.
This story has led to a chain of disappointed and disgruntled reactions from many users, with one saying: 'Considering the person booking pays a cleaning fee, that’s terrible.'
'Good job turning it away,' the user added.
'I’ll think twice about staying in one now,' another said.
While an Airbnb host said: 'We are super hosts and never take shortcuts.'
The hosts also shared that they have stayed in other Airbnbs and said: 'Around half were disgusting.'
In the ground rules for hosts listed on the Airbnb website, the company said: 'All listings should be clean and free of health hazards before guest check-in.'
You can see the complete list of rules below:
You may also visit Airbnb’s website for the full list of ground rules for hosts.
Members, have you stayed in an Airbnb before? How was your experience? Share them with us in the comments below!
A clean and refreshing lodging encapsulates the essence of a well-deserved holiday or an effective business trip.
In today's interconnected world, many travellers are opting for Airbnb as a preferred choice of accommodation as many of the options offer a unique, local experience that often feels more personalised than a standard hotel.
However, a disquieting revelation from a Western Australian cleaning business owner may cause travellers to rethink their choice of stay.
Jason Shipway, owner of cleaning service Enhanced Cleaning, has recently thrown a giant wrench into the seemingly stainless image of Airbnb accommodations.
'The day before we were supposed to send one of our teams in, we got an email from the management company,' Shipway shared.
'In this email, they informed us that they have a procedure they'd like us to follow in order to save money on turnover times.’
‘The more I read this email, the more horrified I became.'
According to Shipway, the 'unsettling' and 'gross' requests came from an unnamed firm that manages numerous Airbnb properties in Western Australia.
The shocking requests centred primarily on cutting corners on cleanliness to save money.
Shipway alleged that the said company requested him to limit washing of bedding after every stay, reuse towels that didn't seem 'soiled or stained', and not to bother washing dishes that weren't 'obviously' used.
'Every second clean... they just wanted us to take the linen off, flip it around so that the top was now at the bottom in order to make it look like they were cleaner,' he added.
'They also said they'd supply us with a little spray bottle that we could spray on the sheets to make them less crinkly, to appear like they hadn't been used by the previous guests.'
Similarly, towels that previous guests might have re-used were expected to be neatly folded back as if freshly laundered. The same plain-view concept of cleanliness extended to dishes, too.
'They told us towels that don't look dirty can be put back on the beds and in the cupboards.'
'They basically said any dishes leftover in the sink or in the dishwasher that had been used but didn't look dirty, could just be put back in the drawers for the next guest as well.'
'They said only to spot vacuum and spot mop floors where it looked like there were footprints. They just told us to clean where it was very obvious that there was dirt and fingerprints, and stuff like that.'
The unnamed company reportedly manages between 50 and 60 properties, renting between $200 to $500 per night and charging additional cleaning fees.
Concerningly, the practice, Shipway claimed, was 'the standard in the Airbnb space'.
Although it’s fair to point out that not all Airbnb properties are managed similarly, Shipway's personal experience does serve as an eye-opener.
Shipway said: 'Most Airbnbs really do lag behind hotels, and it's because of greedy people like this.'
'They just want to make that little bit of extra money from the stay, and so they sacrifice on cleaning big time.'
He expressed his concern about this matter, saying it was 'gross and unsettling to think that the next Airbnb that you could be going to could be run like this.'
Shipway's company rejected this opportunity and has since reported the incident to Airbnb.
'We straight up told them that we don't want to be associated with this standard of cleaning, they were very unhappy with our response, but that's their problem,' he said.
This story has led to a chain of disappointed and disgruntled reactions from many users, with one saying: 'Considering the person booking pays a cleaning fee, that’s terrible.'
'Good job turning it away,' the user added.
'I’ll think twice about staying in one now,' another said.
While an Airbnb host said: 'We are super hosts and never take shortcuts.'
The hosts also shared that they have stayed in other Airbnbs and said: 'Around half were disgusting.'
In the ground rules for hosts listed on the Airbnb website, the company said: 'All listings should be clean and free of health hazards before guest check-in.'
You can see the complete list of rules below:
Key Takeaways
- Jason Shipway, owner of Enhanced Cleaning in Western Australia, claims they were askedto cut corners while cleaning for an unnamed company managing Airbnb rentals in the state.
- The requests included not washing bedding after each stay to save on laundry costs, refolding towels that did not appear soiled, and avoiding washing dishes that weren't visibly used.
- Shipway refused to accept the offer and reported the incident to Airbnb.
- Airbnb rules state all listings should be clean and free of health hazards before guest check-in.