How to organize and charge for the cleaning when renting a spare bedroom short term?

[Mike Lambert]

A young member of my family asked me how to start his real estate career and, unsurprisingly, I suggested that he started by house hacking. For him, it would mean renting the spare bedroom of his 2-bed condo short term. He later asked some good questions about the cleaning and I couldn't answer since I've never house hacked myself so I'm asking here for him.

He's very busy so he needs to get the cleaning done professionally. So:
- When a guest leaves, does he need to just get his spare bedroom and bathroom cleaned or his whole condo?
- Can he charge the guest the cost of the cleaning of the full condo or should he charge much less just for the bedroom and the bathroom?
- If he could charge the full cost, he could get his whole condo cleaned often and have the cleaning paid by the guest but that could be prohibitive for the guest who'd only pay for a room rental, especially if the stay is very short.
- If he can only charge part the cleaning cost for the spare bedroom and bathroom, does he need to clean the rest of his condo at his own cost every time there is a turnover, considering that, at the extreme, there could be a turnover on a daily basis? Or does a guest expect that his bedroom and the bathroom will be spotless clean but don't expect that the rest of the condo would 100% spotless clean at all times given that my family member lives there (provided that it's still cleaned regularly, of course)?
- If, at times, it makes sense to only get the spare bedroom and bathroom cleaned, can he find a cleaner/company to do that, as it might not be worth it for the cleaner to travel for such a small job?

Thank you!

[Mike Lambert]

Quote from @Dominic Mazzarella:

Quote from @Mike Lambert:

A young member of my family asked me how to start his real estate career and, unsurprisingly, I suggested that he started by house hacking. For him, it would mean renting the spare bedroom of his 2-bed condo short term. He later asked some good questions about the cleaning and I couldn't answer since I've never house hacked myself so I'm asking here for him.

He's very busy so he needs to get the cleaning done professionally. So:
- When a guest leaves, does he need to just get his spare bedroom and bathroom cleaned or his whole condo?
- Can he charge the guest the cost of the cleaning of the full condo or should he charge much less just for the bedroom and the bathroom?
- If he could charge the full cost, he could get his whole condo cleaned often and have the cleaning paid by the guest but that could be prohibitive for the guest who'd only pay for a room rental, especially if the stay is very short.
- If he can only charge part the cleaning cost for the spare bedroom and bathroom, does he need to clean the rest of his condo at his own cost every time there is a turnover, considering that, at the extreme, there could be a turnover on a daily basis? Or does a guest expect that his bedroom and the bathroom will be spotless clean but don't expect that the rest of the condo is 100% spotless clean at all times given that my family member lives there?
- If, at times, it makes sense to only get the spare bedroom and bathroom cleaned, can he find a cleaner/company to do that, as it might not be worth it for the cleaner to travel for such a small job?

Thank you!

If he’s only renting out the spare bedroom and bath, I’d say just clean those areas between guests unless the rest of the condo is used or shared. Most guests won’t expect the entire condo to be spotless if it’s not part of their stay. As for the cleaning fee, he can charge what it costs to clean the areas the guest used. Charging for the whole condo might seem excessive unless it’s getting cleaned too. And yeah, sometimes it’s tough to find a cleaner willing to come out just for one room, so he might have to pay a premium or coordinate with someone local who’s flexible.

Thanks Dominic! The rest of the condo will be used by my family member and the guest will be able to use it. My family member is takes care of his place and gets it professionally cleaned regularly so the question becomes whether he needs to get the rest of the condo professionally cleaned in between at every turnover?