Aussie Airbnb cleaner reveals list of 'gross' requests
Jason Shipway was stunned by the set of requests that were made to his cleaning company.
An Aussie entrepreneur is questioning if he will ever stay in an Airbnb rental again after a set of 'unsettling' requests were made to him ahead of a cleaning job.
Jason Shipway, who owns Enhanced Cleaning in Western Australia, claims he was asked to 'cut corners' while doing jobs for a company, which he has chosen not to name, that manages Airbnbs in the state.
He alleges the company asked him to avoid washing bedding after every stay to save on laundry costs, refold towels that ‘don’t look soiled or stained’ and put away dishes that weren’t 'obviously' used.
"The day before we were supposed to send one of our teams in, we got an email from the management company," Shipway said. "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." Yahoo News Australia has seen the email in question.
Shipway claims the company manages between 50-60 Airbnb’s in Western Australia costing between $200 to $500 per night with added cleaning fees. The practice, he claims, is “the standard in the Airbnb space.”
Have you experienced something similar? Contact News Editor Courtney Greatrex at courtney.greatrex@yahooinc.com
'Dirty' shortcuts encouraged by property manager
One of the biggest shocks to Shipway was not washing the bed sheets after every stay. “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 alleges.
"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."
He adds that if towels weren’t visibly dirty, those could be folded back up too. "They told us towels that don't look dirty can be put back on the beds and in the cupboards," he said. "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," he said.
"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."
Airbnbs 'lag behind hotels', cleaner says
While Shipway says there are some great Airbnbs, this was his personal experience as a 'behind the scenes cleaner'. "Most Airbnbs really do lag behind hotels, and it's because of greedy people like this," he said.
"They just want to make that little bit of extra money from the stay and so they sacrifice on cleaning big time. It’s really gross and unsettling to think that the next 'bnb that you could be going to could be run like this."
Shipway said his company turned down the job after seeing the list of cleaning requests. "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 says. He has since reported the incident to Airbnb.
Single rental room slammed over property's 'unbelievable' rules
Airbnb guest wakes to find out she wasn't alone overnight: 'Terrifying'
Customers and hosts ‘shocked’ by claims
Sharing a video on the topic to TikTok, hundreds expressed their shock and disappointment over the cleaner's claims. "Considering the person booking pays a cleaning fee that’s terrible," commented one Aussie. "Good job turning it away."
"I’ll think twice about staying in one now," shared another.
One airbnb host said it was sad. "We are super hosts and never take shortcuts," they explained before adding they have stayed in other Airbnbs. "I must say around half were disgusting." Another host said it was "shocking" to hear.
Airbnb’s cleaning rules
Since the management company in question remained unnamed, Airbnb was unable to comment to Yahoo News on the matter.
In the ground rules for hosts listed on their website, the company says: "All listings should be clean and free of health hazards before guest check in."
Rules include:
Health and safety: Listings should be free of health hazards (mould, pests, etc.).
Cleanliness: Hosts should provide listings that meet a high standard of cleanliness (free of extensive dust, pet dander, dirty dishes, etc.).
Guest turnover: Hosts should be sure to clean between every stay (do laundry, take out trash, vacuum/sweep, wipe down surfaces, etc.).
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
