The crew is in the flat for six months: who cleans it?

80%of our crew stays with a recorded cleaning plan had no clean during the stay (32 of 40)

6 of 8of those stays over 90 nights were cleaned only at the end, or not at all

5%median end-of-stay cleaning fee, as a share of accommodation cost (n=7)

1 JanGermany's minimum wage rises to 14.60 euros an hour, 2027

A hotel cleans the room while the crew is on site. A flat does not. On a two-week job nobody notices. On a six-month job, four or five people share one kitchen and one bathroom for 180 nights, and nobody has agreed who cleans them.

Our argument: on a long crew stay, cleaning is a line in the booking, not something that comes with the bed. If the booker does not write it in, the default is one clean, on the day the crew leaves. The bill for the months in between arrives as a damage claim, a held deposit or a crew that wants to move.

Why is this coming up now?

Because cleaning is labour, and labour is getting dearer. Germany's statutory minimum wage rises from 13.90 to 14.60 euros an hour on 1 January 2027. In the cleaning trade, which has its own higher minimum, the second round of pay talks for around 700,000 workers ended without a deal on 22 October, and the union IG BAU has not ruled out strikes before the third round on 3 November. When cleaning costs more, the clean that was never written into the booking is the first one to go.

The other reason is hygiene. In September, legionella was found in the water system of a base camp in Campagna, southern Italy, that houses around 800 workers on a high-speed rail project. No cases were confirmed, but the affected water points were restricted and the camp went on alert. A flat is not a camp, but the lesson travels: shared housing that nobody looks after for months turns into a health problem.

How are our crew flats actually cleaned?

Mostly once. Of 210 crew stays in our booking system (cancelled stays excluded), 40 have a cleaning arrangement recorded. In 31 the flat was cleaned only at the end of the stay, and one had no cleaning at all. Six were cleaned every two weeks, all of them in the Netherlands and under 90 nights, and two were cleaned weekly.

Length did not change the pattern much. Of the eight stays over 90 nights, five were cleaned only at check-out and one not at all. Those stays ran from 174 to 365 nights, with crews of up to five.

The end-of-stay fee itself is small on a long stay. Where it was billed separately (n=7), it came to a median of about 5% of the accommodation cost: 8.3% on a 20-night stay, about 1% on a 365-night stay. Weekly cleaning costs more, but it is what keeps the end-of-stay bill and the damage claim small.

Is anyone required to clean crew housing?

Not in the way a booker might hope. In Germany, the workplace rule for accommodation that an employer provides, ASR A4.4, makes the employer set rules for how it is used, with cleaning as the first example. In the Netherlands, the industry standard for labour migrant housing (SNF, version 12.1) says hygiene must not endanger public health and there must be no mould in bathrooms or kitchens. In the UK, HSE guidance tells landlords that taps and showers should be used at least once a week, so water does not stand in the pipes. That matters when three workers share a five-bedroom house.

None of these sends a cleaner. They put the duty on the employer or the operator, which in practice means the booker has to arrange it.

What changes between a hotel and a flat?

	Hotel	Crew flat, usual default	What to agree for a long stay
Cleaning during the stay	Usually included, daily or on request	None unless booked	Weekly or every two weeks, in writing
Bed linen and towels	Changed by the hotel	One set at check-in	A change with every clean, or spare sets
Bins and recycling	Hotel staff	The crew, under local collection rules	Collection days in the check-in pack
Kitchen and bathroom	Bathroom cleaned; no kitchen	Used hard and cleaned by the crew	Deep clean of both at each visit
End of stay	Not charged separately	One cleaning fee at check-out	Fee and standard agreed up front
Who checks the flat	Housekeeping, every day	Nobody until check-out	The cleaner reports damage or mould

A flat gives the crew a kitchen and room to live for months. Our clients have saved 20-30% by using the correct market for the length of stay. Part of using that market well is paying for the cleaning a hotel would have included.

What should bookers do differently?

• Ask at quote stage how the flat is cleaned: during the stay, at the end, or both, and whether the fee is included.
• Book a weekly or two-weekly clean on any stay over a month, with linen and towels changed at each visit.
• Use the cleaner as your inspector. Ask them to report damage, leaks and mould, so problems surface in week three, not at check-out.
• Put bin days and house rules in the check-in pack, in the crew's languages.
• Agree the end-of-stay standard and fee in writing, so the clean cannot be used to hold back the deposit.

Related: why the deposit has not come back, the crew damaged the flat: who pays? and can the crew house dry eight sets of wet gear?

FAQ

Is cleaning included in crew accommodation?

In a hotel, usually yes. In a flat, usually only at the end of the stay. In our data, 32 of 40 crew stays with a recorded cleaning arrangement had no clean during the stay.

How often should a crew flat be cleaned?

For stays longer than a month, weekly or every two weeks, with a change of linen and towels. Crews of four or more sharing one bathroom need the shorter interval.

Who is responsible for hygiene in crew housing in Germany?

For accommodation an employer provides, ASR A4.4 requires the employer to set rules for its use, including cleaning.