Prior Cleaning Fees?

Having been an owner, manager, and housekeeper of two cabins in the Beavers Bend area of southeastern Oklahoma for over five years, very few guests have disappointed us after their departure. By disappointed, I am referring to the manner in which a cabin is treated and left after a stay. Of course, we understand guests are visiting the area to have a good time and cleaning or having to worry about task after task takes away from the freedom a vacation is designed for. So, we have a basic set of rules that pertain to the tidiness a cabin should be left in. They are posted online, as well as in each cabin and each email confirmation. Many guests go above and beyond their "responsibilities", which makes us feel great. When the cabins are left better than we expect, we take it as a thank you from the guests and make notes for the future.

One topic that has been brought up quite often over the past month or so, deals with cleaning fees. Several emails and phone calls have inquired if we charge cleaning fees. Prior to the last few weeks, we had never received any direct questions about cleaning fees. Our policy page clearly states there will be additional cleaning fees if certain policies are broken, but none other than that. It turns out several management companies in the area have recently started charging their guests a mandatory cleaning fee prior to their check-in date. These range from $45 - $65 nightly. We wanted to make it known to all potential guests we do not charge you a cleaning fee, unless you violate the policies/rules that were agreed upon at the time of the reservation. We believe we have had great success with our past guests by trusting them to honor the policies. In turn, based on the thousands of journal entries and emails, they appreciated the affordable, clean, and well maintained properties. So, we will never charge any guests a cleaning fee prior to their arrival. Innocent until proven guilty is how we see it.  But rest assured, our cabins have been and always will be cleaned and sanitized. It's just not something the guests will be out-of-pocket for.