These salaries are usually only paid to top managers – but because cleaning professionals are in high demand in Florida’s upscale areas, some cleaning ladies there are earning six-figure salaries. Small luxury gifts for birthdays included.
Among wealthy Americans, the demand for good cleaning help has risen so much that the annual salary of experienced cleaners is now between $100,000 and $150,000. According to cleaning agencies, villa owners are currently outbidding each other to find good domestic help – especially in wealthy areas like Donald Trump’s adopted home of Palm Beach, where more and more wealthy people have moved during the pandemic.
Anyone who can get an experienced domestic worker for $100,000 a year is lucky, say cleaning staff recruiters. In addition, they get health insurance and paid vacation days – not a given in America. Housekeeper Claudia Guzman tells FOCUS online how she came to the USA from Colombia 22 years ago and went from an hourly wage of $10 to her current six-figure annual salary.
“My son was 13 when I arrived in Florida with him. We needed money. I had studied tourism in Colombia, but that didn’t help me much in the USA. So I cleaned apartments – for ten dollars an hour,” says Guzman. On the advice of a friend, she then applied to a hotel in Miami. “I was nervous because it was a luxury hotel. But at the interview they said I should start the next morning. For 25 dollars an hour. I could hardly believe it.”
She enjoyed the work, says Guzman: “I always tried to do my best. I just pay attention to the finishing touches and to making sure that everything is really spotless. I notice when a plant needs water or a towel isn’t folded perfectly. It makes me proud when a room looks immaculate.” A few years later, she found her first job as a housekeeper in Palm Beach through a domestic help agency. “A beautiful house. And huge: over 4,000 square meters,” she remembers.
Villas of this size often employ several domestic workers, explains April Berube, founder of the employment agency “The Wellington Agency”, to FOCUS online. “And luckily there is usually a cook too. I can make pretty good sandwiches, but otherwise my cooking skills aren’t that great,” admits Guzman.
Through recommendations, she got more jobs as a housekeeper. Today, her annual salary is in the six-figure range – currently the norm in affluent areas like Palm Beach, says Berube. With the influx of wealthy New Yorkers to Florida during the pandemic, the demand for domestic workers here has increased dramatically. “In over 30 years, I have never seen anything like this. Hotels, companies and villa owners are outdoing each other in terms of pay. There simply aren’t enough staff,” says Berube.
According to reports from cleaning agencies, the hourly wage of experienced workers has risen from $25 in 2020 to $45 to $50. Domestic workers in private villas earn $100,000 to $150,000 a year – in extreme cases even over $200,000.
While this is wonderful for domestic help, says Berube, agencies have great difficulty finding staff. She also stresses, however, that “not everyone is cut out for this work. It’s not just about cleaning and knowing how to clean laundry or antiques. Our staff also need to know etiquette, good manners and a sense of when they would be disturbing the family. They need to know how to run large dinner parties and charity events, and also know all the children’s preferences. They know exactly what to pack for each family member before a vacation.”
Sometimes the employees accompany their employers on trips – sometimes they stay behind to look after the house, Berube explains. “In Florida, the season usually runs from winter to May. The work shifts are either Monday to Friday or Tuesday to Saturday, unless there is a party on the weekend.” In the sultry summer heat, the owners often head north to New England or the Hamptons. The villas are usually empty then. “These are the months when the housekeepers can relax. They only have to check on things now and then, but they are still paid in full.”
“At the moment my job is very relaxed,” confirms Guzman. “The owners are away until the beginning of autumn and I only go to the villa two days a week to check that everything is OK. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not happy when they come back, because they really treat me very well.” She has already received Gucci and Fendi handbags as birthday presents – and usually half a month’s salary as Christmas bonus. Business class flight tickets to Europe are also not uncommon as gifts. “I love my work and can’t imagine a better job.”