Your Airbnb cleaning fee is one of the most important pricing decisions you'll make as a host. Set it too low and you eat into your margins. Set it too high and guests book somewhere else. Here's what the Edinburgh data actually shows.
What Edinburgh hosts actually charge
Based on our analysis of 290+ Edinburgh Airbnb listings, here's the typical cleaning fee range:
| Property size | Typical cleaning fee | Our price |
|---|---|---|
| Studio / 1-bed | £40–£70 | £65 |
| 2-bed flat | £55–£95 | £85 |
| 3-bed flat | £80–£130 | £110 |
| 4-bed house | £110–£180 | £140 |
| 5+ bed | £150–£250 | £195 |
The 6% rule
The most successful Edinburgh hosts we work with follow a simple rule: your cleaning fee should be roughly 5–8% of your average nightly rate.
- Nightly rate £120 → Cleaning fee £60–£85 ✓
- Nightly rate £200 → Cleaning fee £85–£120 ✓
- Nightly rate £300+ (Festival) → Cleaning fee £100–£140 ✓
At this ratio, the cleaning fee is visible but expected. Guests don't blink at it. And you cover your actual cleaning costs without subsidising them from your nightly revenue.
Should you include cleaning in the nightly rate?
Some hosts bundle cleaning into their nightly rate to appear cheaper in search results. The problem:
- Shorter stays subsidise longer stays. A 1-night guest costs you the same clean as a 7-night guest.
- You lose transparency. Guests who filter by “total price” see the same number either way.
- Airbnb shows total price by default now. The bundling advantage is mostly gone.
Our recommendation:Keep the cleaning fee separate. It's honest, it's standard, and it protects your margins on short stays (which is when you need it most).
When to increase your cleaning fee
- Festival season (August): Higher demand, tighter turnovers, cleaning costs go up. £10–£20 increase is standard.
- Peak weekends (Hogmanay, Rugby, graduation): Same logic as Festival.
- After upgrading your property: If you've invested in better furnishings, your clean needs to match.
- When your cleaner's rate increases: Don't absorb the cost — pass it through.
What the cleaning fee should cover
A proper turnover clean isn't just a vacuum and wipe-down. Here's what professional Airbnb cleaners in Edinburgh include:
- Full kitchen clean (surfaces, appliances, dishes, bins)
- Bathroom sanitisation (toilet, shower, sink, mirrors, floors)
- Bedroom prep (fresh linens, dusting, hoovering)
- Living areas (surfaces, floors, cushion arrangement)
- Welcome touches (toiletries topped up, coffee/tea restocked)
- Photo verification of every room
See our full turnover cleaning checklist for the room-by-room breakdown.
Get your exact cleaning cost
Edinburgh Cleaning Co shows every price upfront — no phone calls, no “request a quote” forms. See all our pricing or get a free quote for your property.