Manual / Products & extras

Mandatory fees (cleaning, linen)

Updated on 2026-07-01

Vacation rentals almost always charge a compulsory final-cleaning fee, and often linen or towels too. Mark such a product as mandatory and BedFlow charges it automatically on every booking — the guest cannot leave it out, but does see it transparently in the price breakdown.

Making a product mandatory

  1. Open Management → Products and create or open the product (e.g. "Final cleaning")
  2. Open the Behaviour in booking widget section and switch on Mandatory on every booking
  3. Also switch on Bookable via widget — otherwise you won't be able to tick the product for your unit later
  4. Set the price incl. VAT and the VAT rate; optionally choose Price per person and/or Price per night
  5. Link the product to your unit(s): Settings → Room types → edit the room type → Bookable extras in widget section → tick the product

The link with the room type determines which units the fee applies to. Without a link, the product is never charged.

How does the guest see this in the booking widget?

  • Next to the chosen room the product shows as a fixed, ticked line with the label "Required" — the guest cannot untick it
  • The amount is automatically included in the running total
  • In the reservation summary it appears as its own line in the price breakdown, with detail for per-person or per-night products, e.g. Linen package €60.00 (€15.00 × 4 pers)

Which bookings does it apply to?

Every booking that originates in BedFlow itself:

  • Booking widget — always. The server adds the fee itself, so even if something goes wrong in the browser it gets charged — and never twice
  • Manual bookings — via the room calendar or the booking form
  • Accepted quotes — when converting the quote into a booking. Tip: also include the fee as a line in your quote, so the quote amount matches the final booking

OTA bookings (Booking.com, Airbnb, …) get their price from the channel. Mandatory products are not added to those automatically — set cleaning or linen fees via the channel's extranet, or bake them into your room price.

How is the price calculated?

  • Base = the product's price incl. VAT
  • Price per night on? → × number of nights
  • Price per person on? → × number of guests (exception: for a product in the Surcharge category only the extra persons above 2 count)

So a fixed final cleaning goes without per-person/per-night; a per-person linen package goes with Price per person.

On quote and invoice

The mandatory product appears as a separate product line on the booking's (proforma) invoice, with the VAT rate you set on the product. That keeps your VAT split correct: accommodation at 12%, the mandatory fee at its own rate.

Frequently asked questions

Can the guest untick the product in the widget? No — that is exactly the point. It is fixed and ticked, with the label "Required".

Is it charged twice if the widget already submits it? No. The server checks what is already on the booking and only adds the product when it is missing.

Can the fee differ per unit? Yes. Create a separate product per unit (e.g. "Final cleaning small house" / "Final cleaning large house") and only tick each product for the right room type.

Does this also apply to existing bookings? No, only to new bookings. On an existing booking you add the fee manually as an invoice line.

Is this the same as tourist tax? No — tourist tax has its own setting that counts per adult per night. See VAT & tourist tax.

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