What is everybody charging for a hotel room furniture cleaning?

[gorconjack]

This is a large Sheraton Hotel probably 300 rooms. They have 6 ft couches with six removable cushions. Love seat, easy chairs and ottomans. Thanks for any help, Rugsuckers!!

 

[hogjowl]

Whatever you quote will be more than they’re wanting to pay, and whatever your terms will be less than you’ll have to wait.

 

[gorconjack]

Whatever you quote will be more than they’re wanting to pay, and whatever your terms will be less than you’ll have to wait.

That's not a very positive attitude. Try these on for size...
Can do -half full -The Best Is Yet To Come!

 

[hogjowl]

I didn’t get the idiot nickname for being positive

 

[gorconjack]

Well I still don't know what other people are charging. Does anybody even come on these boards anymore?

 

[hogjowl]

Not since Mikey started selling stuff

 

[Cleanworks]

Well I still don't know what other people are charging. Does anybody even come on these boards anymore?

Why does it matter what others are charging? Set your rates where you're comfortable and making a profit.

 

[Bryce C]

Well I still don't know what other people are charging. Does anybody even come on these boards anymore?

I'm new but if it were me I'd assess how quickly I can effectively clean each room and charge enough so I make a bare minimum of $100/hour. Probably doing it with a portable so you'll have a lower cost of operation while cleaning it. Next year I'd probably apply the same formula and shoot to make a bare minimum of $150/hour.

 

[Bryce C]

I didn’t get the idiot nickname for being positive

I find your unapologetic and negative attitude to be quite charming half the time.

 

[Cleanworks]

I'm new but if it were me I'd assess how quickly I can effectively clean each room and charge enough so I make a bare minimum of $100/hour. Probably doing it with a portable so you'll have a lower cost of operation while cleaning it. Next year I'd probably apply the same formula and shoot to make a bare minimum of $150/hour.

$100 per hour is pretty low. Our minimums are $150-$200 per hour. Often we are making more. Did a Japanese restaurant this morning. $600 from 9-12. Using a CRB and Zipper wand for best effect. Should have charged more. A lot of guys don't have those tools and would have done a sloppy job. The owner was getting ready to move the furniture after I finished crbing. Had to tell him, I haven't cleaned yet. He was blown away as to how the carpets came out. Next year, it will be more.

 

[Bryce C]

$100 per hour is pretty low. Our minimums are $150-$200 per hour. Often we are making more. Did a Japanese restaurant this morning. $600 from 9-12. Using a CRB and Zipper wand for best effect. Should have charged more. A lot of guys don't have those tools and would have done a sloppy job. The owner was getting ready to move the furniture after I finished crbing. Had to tell him, I haven't cleaned yet. He was blown away as to how the carpets came out. Next year, it will be more.

I'm 3 months in. I understand that $100 an hour is low. Maybe I work slow, although I move like it's an olympic sport and work as intelligently as I can. The prices I charge now will equate to $150 when I get a truckmount by having better completion times. Not sure how I can raise my price until we grow more as we already lose a decent amount of jobs by being underbid by people in our area. SS is insanely cheap. Not sure how much others in our area charge exactly but I've been told by some that they got 4 quotes and ours is the highest.

 

[Bryce C]

Everyone I clean for though is incredibly impressed with our results. Everything else has to get better in time. Not sure what else I can do right now...

 

[Cleanworks]

I'm 3 months in. I understand that $100 an hour is low. Maybe I work slow, although I move like it's an olympic sport and work as intelligently as I can. The prices I charge now will equate to $150 when I get a truckmount by having better completion times. Not sure how I can raise my price until we grow more as we already lose a decent amount of jobs by being underbid by people in our area. SS is insanely cheap. Not sure how much others in our area charge exactly but I've been told by some that they got 4 quotes and ours is the highest.

It's difficult starting out. I charge the same price whether it's a truck mount, portable or encap cleaning. The problem is starting out with low prices, it's very difficult to raise them later on. In 1990 we were charging $.25 per sqft. What are you charging in 2024?

 

[Bryce C]

It's difficult starting out. I charge the same price whether it's a truck mount, portable or encap cleaning. The problem is starting out with low prices, it's very difficult to raise them later on. In 1990 we were charging $.25 per sqft. What are you charging in 2024?

$.45/square foot. How am I supposed to raise my price right now when we are not even close to the cheapest people in our area, and we struggle to book out for 4 or 5 days?

I would charge the same price for the different methods too. All I was saying is that my times will speed up with a truckmount, so at the same price I'll make more per hour.

 

[Kenny Hayes]

I'm 3 months in. I understand that $100 an hour is low. Maybe I work slow, although I move like it's an olympic sport and work as intelligently as I can. The prices I charge now will equate to $150 when I get a truckmount by having better completion times. Not sure how I can raise my price until we grow more as we already lose a decent amount of jobs by being underbid by people in our area. SS is insanely cheap. Not sure how much others in our area charge exactly but I've been told by some that they got 4 quotes and ours is the highest.

If you can do $100 per with a porty starting out, you’re doing good. Cause some days you’re the statue, some days you’re the pigeon.

 

[Bryce C]

If you can do $100 per with a porty starting out, you’re doing good. Cause some days you’re the statue, some days you’re the pigeon.

Yesterday I made almost $150/hour doing carpets and tile. Those are my very best days. I sense that as I learn I'll be able to improve my portable job times a bit, but with setup and breakdown, bucket brigade, and low mechanical cleaning power there's only so much I can improve them.

 

[Bryce C]

I didn’t get the idiot nickname for being positive

I find your unapologetic and negative attitude to be quite charming half the time.

The other half of the time I find it to be exceedingly charming

 

[sassyotto]

I said it before and will say it again.

If you dont know what to charge, you should not be in business.

 

[Kenny Hayes]

Yesterday I made almost $150/hour doing carpets and tile. Those are my very best days. I sense that as I learn I'll be able to improve my portable job times a bit, but with setup and breakdown, bucket brigade, and low mechanical cleaning power there's only so much I can improve them.

Can’t argue with that. There’s just a limit you can go with porty or truckmount. As long as you’re efficient, productive and doing quality work.

 

[Bryce C]

I said it before and will say it again.

If you dont know what to charge, you should not be in business.

I had no idea what to charge when I started just a bit ago aside from Cleanfax stats and wildly different numbers mentioned across forums. But I low balled it a bit to start and then figured it out as I went and raised all my prices about 1 month in. Had to use chems on a bunch of jobs and reorder them to figure out my costs there, had to drive across my service area for a few weeks to figure out my costs there, had to do a few dozen jobs and dial in my techniques to figure out my labor hours there.....

I think in some situations its fair to figure it out along the way, and even ask for help too. But maybe there are plenty who think people like me shouldn't be and have no right doing this.

 

[Kenny Hayes]

That’s your own brain saying that. Everyone don’t care. There’s plenty to join the party.

 

[Mikey P]

I find your unapologetic and negative attitude to be quite charming half the time.

Did I sell you a stair wand this morning or did you buy one from me?

 

[Bryce C]

Did I sell you a stair wand this morning or did you buy one from me?

Neither? Felt like a gift despite giving you some money for it.

 

[Cleanworks]

$.45/square foot. How am I supposed to raise my price right now when we are not even close to the cheapest people in our area, and we struggle to book out for 4 or 5 days?

I would charge the same price for the different methods too. All I was saying is that my times will speed up with a truckmount, so at the same price I'll make more per hour.

The cheapest people in your area are probably not the best. Just you being here and learning puts you a step ahead of most of your competition. As you grow in experience, you will grow in confidence. When people ask if you can match someone else's price, you have to learn to say no but then be able to explain why you are more expensive. You can't land every job but you can make sure the ones you do, are worth your while.

 

[Bryce C]

The cheapest people in your area are probably not the best. Just you being here and learning puts you a step ahead of most of your competition. As you grow in experience, you will grow in confidence. When people ask if you can match someone else's price, you have to learn to say no but then be able to explain why you are more expensive. You can't land every job but you can make sure the ones you do, are worth your while.

Yea the cheaper guys are wet n jet status, and we find that around once a week people are telling us about horrible experiences that they had with those types. We strive to be the exact opposite, and we are. What kills us right now is how long it takes us to complete a job. Unless they are really puny jobs we can only do 2 a day. I have no idea how to speed it up, we're slowly dialing everything in so that we aren't wasting any time from what I can tell. People tell me at .45/square foot we should be making much more than $100/hour...

All of this is great advice man. I'll keep it with me as we move forward. Thank you!

 

[Jim Pemberton]

People tell me at .45/square foot we should be making much more than $100/hour...

Are those people aware that you are using portable equipment?

I also find that cleaners who give advice measure production times and dollars per hour with the same accuracy that fishermen use when relaying the size of "the one that got away"

Work on efficiency, especially filling and emptying your portables, furniture moving, etc.

Time killers are all those things that cause you to put the cleaning tool down, as well as set up and tear down issues.

 

[Cleanworks]

Yea the cheaper guys are wet n jet status, and we find that around once a week people are telling us about horrible experiences that they had with those types. We strive to be the exact opposite, and we are. What kills us right now is how long it takes us to complete a job. Unless they are really puny jobs we can only do 2 a day. I have no idea how to speed it up, we're slowly dialing everything in so that we aren't wasting any time from what I can tell. People tell me at .45/square foot we should be making much more than $100/hour...

All of this is great advice man. I'll keep it with me as we move forward. Thank you!

You need to develop good systems. After you've inspected the carpet and decided what furniture to move, (I move very little furniture these days) vacuum well, bring in your portable, while filling a bucket in the bathtub or sink, plug the machine in, stretch out your pressure line and connect your inline sprayer. If your not using an inline sprayer, that's part of your problem right there. Inline sprayers spray quicker and more efficiently than pump up or battery sprayers. I don't usually spray more than 2 or 3 rooms at a time. Hook up your vac hose and start cleaning. If you have 2 people, the second person should have the next bucket of water ready and fill and empty the machine for you. The more you do, the faster you will get. Takes time.

 

[hogjowl]

Porty hack!

 

[Bryce C]

You need to develop good systems. After you've inspected the carpet and decided what furniture to move, (I move very little furniture these days) vacuum well, bring in your portable, while filling a bucket in the bathtub or sink, plug the machine in, stretch out your pressure line and connect your inline sprayer. If your not using an inline sprayer, that's part of your problem right there. Inline sprayers spray quicker and more efficiently than pump up or battery sprayers. I don't usually spray more than 2 or 3 rooms at a time. Hook up your vac hose and start cleaning. If you have 2 people, the second person should have the next bucket of water ready and fill and empty the machine for you. The more you do, the faster you will get. Takes time.

An inline sprayer is next on the list for us. Pump sprayers are quite slow and frustrating. Do you scrub with a crb or some other agitation machine on all carpets? We do. Definitely helps get great results and needing less water and chems, and it makes up for other aspects of our system that are lacking at the moment. We also always use a 15' vac hose. Seems like I can't afford to lose any vac, otherwise I'm sure a 25' hose would speed things up too...

Great tips again man! Much appreciated!!

 

[Bryce C]

Porty hack!

You know who's really a hack....







All these goobers with truckmounts in our area that do sincerely crappy work. Our new customers are consistently blown away by how better our results are then theirs. Blows my mind too. Not that we do good cleanings with a porty, but that these other way better equipped guys do such terrible cleanings with a tm. Whats up with that? How do they sleep at night?