Different ideas for paying our cleaner...?

Agencies and other headaches, keys and cleaners, running costs and contracts...in short, all the things we spend so much of our time doing behind the scenes.<br>
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ginelli
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Different ideas for paying our cleaner...?

Post by ginelli »

Hi all,

I have a rental property in France and I live in the UK. I have an excellent cleaner for the France property and I'm very happy with her. I pay her €60 for a changeover which works out as €10-12 per hour. I have not given her a raise in about 5 years and I'm thinking it's about time I do. I don't have much experience in dealing with raises so I'm looking to get some ideas off you all.

Firstly, I'm wondering whether I'm paying above or below the going rate? If I give a raise, how much should it be? €5 / €10 extra?

Secondly, I'd like to know whether there are some more creative pay structures out there? For example, instead of paying a flat rate per changeover, does anyone have different pay structures according to length of stay, based on guest feedback, or anything else which incentivises/motivates a cleaner in a way a simple flat rate does not?

Many thanks!

ps. She has never asked me for a raise
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Ecosse
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Post by Ecosse »

We pay our cleaner 20€ an hour. Any less and a registered autoentrepreneur can't pay the taxes etc. and certainly round here, anyone charging less initially usually either has to raise their prices or they give up. A local cleaning company has a huge staff turnover because all the staff are registered as autoentrepreneurs and they only pay them 15€ an hour.

Your cleaner sounds like a gem and you've been very lucky to retain her on such a low hourly rate (no criticism - until I started talking to locals here, I didn't know what a reasonable rate was either!)... you don't want to lose her, so I would consider raising her pay to at least 18€ an hour.
KathyG
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Post by KathyG »

Ecosse wrote: Your cleaner sounds like a gem and you've been very lucky to retain her on such a low hourly rate (no criticism - until I started talking to locals here, I didn't know what a reasonable rate was either!)... you don't want to lose her, so I would consider raising her pay to at least 18€ an hour.
Absolutely! I pay mine 18€ - 25€ an hour depending on what they're doing.
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declanja
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Post by declanja »

I have a one bed in Nice and pay my changeover lady €100 per changeover. I also give her a bonus twice a year. For this she does the cleaning, meet and greet, collects and returns damage deposit. She also organised to buy cleaning products toilettries etc (which I pay for). She organised tradespersons for repairs and solves any other issues that arise.
Recently my washing machine broke down. She organised a plumber to see if it could be fixed but it couldnt. She went shopping and bought a new one. Met the delivery guys a few days later and supervised its installation. No extra charges for work like this.
I charge a €100 cleaning fee to guests and can take 2-3 night bookings. I think I pay her a little more than some other properties she manages but she gives top class service for the past 8 years. As an overseas owner a good trustworthy person on the ground is priceless. You get what you pay for and sleep easier at night!
Declan
GillianF
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Post by GillianF »

We charge 25 Euros/hour for the sort of service declanja describes and I wouldn't do it for less ...............
Martha
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Post by Martha »

20 p/h is pretty standard here, 25 p/h if they are good. So yes, I'd give her a raise before someone else tempts her away!
Chalet la Foret, Chamonix
Kate24
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Post by Kate24 »

it sounds like you are very happy with her and, going on others experiences, getting very good value for money. I would put her pay up without condition. If you introduce any kind of incentives it may come across that you are not happy with her current efforts. If she has never let you down in 5 years then I would think she would not need additional incentive or motivation, just acknowledgement of your appreciation.
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Rogthedodge
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Post by Rogthedodge »

+++++ 100
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susanj
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Post by susanj »

We pay more in the US -the equivalent of 25-29 euro/hr
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