Shortlet Cleaning Fee: Should You Charge One?

A shortlet cleaning fee is a fixed amount you add once to each stay, to pay for the clean between guests. Charge one if many of your guests stay only a night or two, because each of those stays still needs a full clean. Keep it close to your real cost, because guests compare the full price, not just the night price.

This guide explains how the fee works on Cabans, how guests see it, and how to set a fair amount.

What a cleaning fee is

A cleaning fee pays for turning the home round after a guest leaves. That means fresh sheets and towels, a full clean, restocking the basics and checking for damage. It is not a charge for each night, and it is not a deposit.

On Cabans, you set it on your listing’s edit page, in the section “Availability, prices and booking rules”. The box is “Cleaning fee (₦) (optional)”, and the page explains it as “A fixed amount added once to each stay. Discounts never apply to it.” You can leave it empty and charge no cleaning fee at all.

Three rules decide how the fee behaves:

Do not mix it up with the caution deposit. The caution deposit is money held in case of damage, and it goes back to the guest after check-out. The cleaning fee pays for work you really do, so it is yours once the guest has stayed.

How guests see it

Guests see your night price first. At the top of the booking box it reads “₦… / night”, or “From ₦… / night” when your prices vary by date. The cleaning fee appears a little lower, in the facts under the calendar, as “Cleaning fee”.

Once a guest picks dates, the green “Price Breakdown” card shows the whole bill, worked out by Cabans:

• the nights, grouped by price;
• any discount, in green, named by the offer;
• “Cleaning fee”;
• “Caution deposit (refundable)”, if you set one;
• “Total”.

The guest pays online through Paystack. Paystack’s processing fee is paid by the guest, and they see it before they pay. So nothing about the fee is hidden from them, and nothing comes as a surprise at the end.

That openness cuts both ways. A guest who sees a low night price and then a large cleaning fee may feel tricked, even though the total was always shown. So say what the fee covers in one line of your listing description. For example: “The cleaning fee pays for fresh linen, towels and a full clean before you arrive.”

Before you decide, look at how other hosts show it. Open a few homes like yours in shortlets in Lekki or shortlets in Ikeja, pick the same dates, and read their full price breakdowns.

Short stays vs long stays

Because the fee is paid once, its weight depends on how long the guest stays. The easiest way to see this is to compare it with one night’s price. Say your cleaning fee is half of one night’s price:

Your cost of cleaning is about the same whatever the length of stay. So the fee matters most to you on short stays, and matters least to the guest on long ones.

A cleaning fee helps when:

• many guests stay one or two nights, so you clean often for little income;
• your cleaner travels far, or the laundry is done outside the home;
• you want your night price to look the same as similar homes nearby, while still covering the clean.

A cleaning fee can hurt when:

• it is large next to one night’s price, so one-night guests see a big jump in the total;
• homes nearby include cleaning in the night price and look cheaper in the total;
• it is clearly more than the real cost, which guests notice and remember.

On Cabans the cleaning fee is one amount for the whole listing. It does not change with the dates or the length of the stay. If you want to reward long stays, use a longer-stay discount or a free-nights offer. Those cut the night price, and the cleaning fee stays whole. See weekly and monthly shortlet discounts for how to set them.

If most of your stays are one night, you have a second choice: a minimum stay of 2 nights. That halves the number of cleans for the same number of nights sold, but it also turns away one-night guests. Our guide to shortlet minimum stays weighs this up.

Setting the amount

Start from your real cost of one turnover, not from what you hope to earn. Fill in this list for your own home:

• Cleaner’s pay for one full turnover clean: ₦____
• Cleaner’s transport there and back: ₦____
• Laundry for sheets, towels and cloths, whether washed at home or sent out: ₦____
• Supplies such as soap, toilet roll, bin bags and cleaning products: ₦____
• Power and water for the washing machine and the clean, including diesel if you run a generator: ₦____

Add them up. That total is the fairest cleaning fee. Round it to a simple number, and check it again every few months, because costs move.

If your total is very small, think about charging no fee and adding a little to the night price instead. Guests like a price with no extras. If your total is large, check whether a slower, cheaper routine would do the same job. Our shortlet cleaning checklist lists everything a turnover clean should cover.

To set or change the fee on Cabans:

1. Open your listing’s edit page and go to “Availability, prices and booking rules”.
2. Type the amount in “Cleaning fee (₦) (optional)”, or clear the box for no fee.
3. Press “Review and save calendar”.
4. Check the list of changes, then press “Save and publish calendar”.

This section goes live as soon as you save. It does not wait for approval. Guests who book from then on see the new fee, and bookings already made keep their own prices. Step by step, see how to set your booking rules and instant book.

The money is simple. Cabans charges hosts a 5% commission. The guest pays Paystack’s processing fee when they pay, so it does not come out of your earnings. You are paid within 7 days after the guest’s stay, and sooner when the guest taps “Approve payment” after their trip.

Cleaning during a stay

The cleaning fee usually pays for the clean after a guest leaves. Guests on a long stay may also want a clean part-way through. Decide in advance what you offer, and put it in your house rules. For example: “Stays of 7 nights or more include one free clean each week. Extra cleans can be ordered.”

On Cabans, a guest who is fully checked in can ask for a clean from their stay page:

• Under “Stay services”, they choose “Cleaner” and send the request.
• You get an email, and the request shows in the “Guest requests” panel on the booking.
• You press “Start” when the cleaner is on the way, and “Mark as done” when it is finished.

The guest is not emailed when you update a request, so send them a short message too.

If you charge for a clean during the stay, sell it as a stay extra. Add it under “Stay Extras” in your seller menu, with a clear name such as “Mid-stay clean”. Set a price and tick the short lets where guests can order it. A checked-in guest can then buy it from “Shop for your stay”. Or you can add it to their bill with “Bill the guest”, and they pay from their stay page. A bill must come to at least ₦1,000 (one thousand naira), the smallest amount a card can be charged. See how to sell stay extras to your guests.

The Host Academy lesson price your nights covers the cleaning fee next to your night prices, with a short quiz. The whole free Host Academy takes you from your first listing to your first check-out.

Ready to set it up? Take bookings online with your cleaning fee, caution deposit and cancellation rules shown before guests pay. Not listed yet? List your short let first, then see how your home looks next to others in shortlets across Nigeria.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

Shortlet fees explained · Turning over a shortlet between guests · Shortlet cleaning checklist · Shortlet minimum stay · How much caution fee to charge · Weekly and monthly discounts · Is a shortlet profitable?