Labor Shortage Leads to Rise in Vacation Rental Cleaning Costs

The vacation rental industry is booming — but how has The Great Resignation impacted the price of professional rental cleaning services?

Vacation rental booking platform Airbnb amassed record-breaking levels of revenue in Q3 2021. On the surface, the industry’s growth should bode well for short-term rental hosts, property managers, and cleaning service providers. But with nationwide labor shortages and inflation, this hasn’t exactly been the case.

Vacation rental cleaners are the cornerstone of the short-term rental industry. With today’s heightened emphasis on cleaning and disinfecting, their services are virtually more important than ever. Sadly, due to the past year’s Great Resignation, many small cleaning businesses have had to turn down customers — both new and existing.

"Compensation for cleaning crews has increased by more than 20 percent for certain regions, compared to pre-pandemic levels. Cost is one factor. Availability is another. Many operators are simply unable to fill these critical roles. This clearly has an impact on the top and bottom line." Co-Founder at Extenteam Luke Bujarski.

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a staggering 3% of the country’s workforce quit during the month of August 2021. These resignations largely impacted the retail, food services, and hospitality industries, however, the vacation rental industry is not immune to the crippling staffing shortages.?

Cleaning company franchisees reported missing out on tens of thousands of dollars in revenue due to not having enough workers. Many of these absentee workers have left their housekeeping positions for higher-paying gigs at large corporations like Amazon. Amazon, in particular, is now offering an average starting pay of $18/hour and other attractive benefits as a hiring incentive — but this is a luxury that smaller cleaning businesses do not have.

As more and more vacation rentals are booked, but with fewer professional cleaners to service them, short-term rental hosts are having to dish out more money on average for each turnover.

In fact, the national average cleaning cost for 1-bedroom rental properties increased 18.31% in just one year, from Q4 2020 to Q4 2021. Costs jumped from $51.29 to $60.68 per turnover. Similarly, cleaning costs for 2-bedroom properties rose by 12.55% during the same time period, and costs for 3-bedroom rentals increased by 6.32%. This data was compiled based on completed projects on the TurnoverBnB vacation rental cleaning platform.

Inflated prices not only affect the vacation rental hosts who are paying for professional cleaning services. They also take a toll on cleaning business owners who are having to spend more on supplies, gas to get from job to job, and, of course, finding and retaining staff.

Higher costs and fewer cleaning staff make ensuring consistent cleanings in between vacation rental guests difficult for hosts and cleaning businesses alike.?

The current economic climate doesn’t seem to be shifting any time soon, but specialized tools and platforms can help mitigate the challenges faced by hosts and cleaners. One such tool is online marketplaces that utilize a bidding process to keep cleaning rates competitive.