How much should I pay my Airbnb cleaner per turnover?
Price the job, not a national average: the hours one turnover takes times your local hourly rate, plus laundry and supplies, agreed as one flat fee per turnover. For example, a 3-hour clean at $35 an hour with 2 laundry loads and supplies comes to about $125 a turnover.
By StayPerk Team · Last checked · Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com details checked against the sources below
How to set a fair rate
- Time one full turnover yourself, or ask your cleaner for an estimate. A rental turnover takes longer than a home clean, because every bed, towel and surface is reset for the next guest.
- Find the local hourly rate for cleaners who do short-term rentals, not general housework.
- Add laundry, whether it is done on site or sent out, and the supplies you restock each time.
- Agree one flat fee per turnover, and separate prices for a deep clean, a same-day turnover or extras such as a hot tub.
- Give your cleaner a checklist with photos for each room, and pay once the clean is reported done.
One turnover, priced
| Part of the job | Example | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaner's time | 3 hours at $35 | $105 |
| Laundry | 2 loads at $6 | $12 |
| Supplies restocked | Toiletries, coffee, bin bags | $8 |
| One turnover | Agreed as a flat fee | $125 |
A worked example for a two-bedroom home (your own figures go in the calculator below)
Cleaner's time
- Example
- 3 hours at $35
- Cost
- $105
Laundry
- Example
- 2 loads at $6
- Cost
- $12
Supplies restocked
- Example
- Toiletries, coffee, bin bags
- Cost
- $8
One turnover
- Example
- Agreed as a flat fee
- Cost
- $125
Rates vary a lot by city and country, and by whether laundry is done on site.
What hosts say they pay varies just as much. In one AirHostsForum thread, a host in Hawaii put the going rate at $25 to $30 an hour, a host in South Florida couldn't find a cleaner for less than $80 a clean, and another suggested at least $5 a load for laundry. Treat figures like these as a check on your own quote, not a price list.
Paying per turnover rather than per hour is the usual arrangement: the cleaner knows what they earn, you know what each stay costs, and a quick clean after a short stay balances a slow one after a long stay.
Turnover cost calculator
Put in your own cleaner's time and rate. The result is what one turnover really costs, laundry and supplies included.
hours
Sheets and towels per turnover
Toiletries, coffee, bin bags
Cleaner's time
105
Laundry
12
Supplies
8
One turnover costs
125
What StayPerk does here
StayPerk doesn't set or pay cleaners' wages. It gives each property a cleaner link with your checklist, no app or login needed, and every photo the cleaner takes is stamped with the property and time.
Its free bookings calendar lists each check-out and the time until the next guests arrive, so you can tell your cleaner how long they have.
Frequently asked questions
Should I pay my cleaner per clean or per hour?
Most hosts pay a flat fee per turnover, set from the usual time a clean takes. Per hour suits a new cleaner while you both learn how long the home takes.
Should my cleaning fee match what I pay the cleaner?
Not exactly. The booking site takes its fee from your cleaning fee too (15.5% on Airbnb's single fee, 12% on Vrbo), and laundry and supplies cost extra, so a fee equal to the cleaner's pay leaves you short.
Who pays for laundry and supplies?
Agree it up front. Many hosts include laundry in the flat fee and restock supplies themselves; others pay the cleaner a set amount per load.
Still have a question?
Write to us and a person will reply, or look it up in the Help Center.
Sources
- What is a fair price to pay a private cleaner? - AirHostsForum
- Airbnb service fees - Airbnb Help Center
- About the pay-per-booking (PPB) model - Vrbo Help