To Maid or Not To Maid?

 Is it nobler to pay someone to do the dirty work or to scrub that toilet yourself?

We have come across advice to never clean your own space as a host, that your time and effort are better spent elsewhere. 

But every situation is different and there are several considerations to think through.

Time and Money are important factors. 

Time  

Do you have the time to do the cleaning yourself?  If the answer is no, then it is a short calculation.  Hire a cleaner. 

Cleanliness is one of the most important aspects of hospitality and hosting, especially if you are charging for the space. 

(The Three Bears provides more details about this foundation of hosting!)

Guests will overlook a lot of things, but an obviously unclean space is not one of them. 

Bad reviews that mention dirty accommodations will take you down faster than a hungry grizzly bear.

Money

If you absolutely need every penny to pay those bills and keep the lights on, then grit your teeth and make that toilet bowl sparkle. 

Earning the extra cash should provide plenty of motivation to do a good job.

Home sharing sites, like Airbnb, usually deduct their service fees from the daily room rate – meaning that you receive the full amount of any cleaning fee paid by your guest.

If you can spare the expense but would like to keep the change in your own pocket and are having a hard time deciding whether to maid or not to maid – the tie breaker is Honesty. 

Honesty

Will you really do a good, thorough cleaning?  (I will be blogging about those Little White Lies. They will catch up to you!)

If the answer is no and you can spare the expense – hire a cleaner.

Because the truth will out, and if you have no interest in doing a good job, then sooner or later it will show. 

As your cleaning standards slide, so will your reviews and your bookings.

If you are charging a medium to high cleaning fee – to boost that income with each booking – you’ve set an expectation for your guest.  

If you won’t do an adequate job, hire someone who will.  It’s that simple.

Most guests don’t balk over a cleaning fee – as long as it’s appropriate to the space and situation - and as long as the space is actually clean.  

And by “clean” I don’t mean every nook and cranny has been sanitized and you wore a hazmat suit.  I mean clean and tidy. 

Look beyond the surface for options!

 You have a lot of options. 

A full service cleaning company can provide regular cleanings of consistent quality if you list your entire home or apartment, or if you have multiple listings. 

For single listings your cleaning fee may cover the services of an individual maid willing to do smaller, focused cleanings of just the listed space.

Friends may be interested in earning extra cash, or they may have teenagers who are looking to boost their allowance.

If you are hosting a small private room, the best option may be cleaning it yourself. 

The only option you don’t have  - to NOT clean!