Originally Posted by Finkface

I own a vacation rental in Hawaii and good luck finding any cleaner, be it a cleaning company or a single self-employed cleaner who charges less than $180 for a one bedroom condo. I used to use a commercial company who had a large operation in my building and they charged me $200 plus an annual linen fee (they supply linens) of $500. When they raised their prices to $265 per clean, I found an independent cleaner as I couldn't justify raising my prices to renters by that much plus their quality had gone downhill. Now, I have to buy all my own linens (plus spare sets) and I pay my cleaner now $180 plus laundry costs, which is $20 minimum and often more if people use every single towel in the place plus extra beach towels. So I charge guests a $200 cleaning fee and if they leave the place a mess or there is more than two loads of laundry, I eat the extra cleaning costs. Add to that my costs to buy new linens regularly plus laundry detergent, bleach, and other supplies left for guests such as toiletries, cleaning supplies, dish soap, trash bags, toilet paper, paper towels and more. Towels and sheets regularly get tossed because of stains that just won't come out (makeup on towels and pillowcases, and self-tanner or oil on sheets are the worst). So that $200 cleaning fee that I charge you never covers my actual costs for cleaning and I pay my cleaner the same $200 whether you stay one night or 30 nights. I don't make one cent off the cleaning fee and in fact, lose money on it.