Meet the Palm Beach housekeepers cleaning up – quite literally – with salaries as high as $250,000

Housekeepers in Palm Beach are raking in salaries of up to $250,000 after a labor shortage for wealthy homes and luxury hotels led to a rise in hourly wages.

An influx of wealthy families to the popular Florida city from high-tax areas such as New York has also increased demand, with many now seeking help in their country homes.

This has led to a booming business for butlers, now called ‘hospitality managers’ or ‘estate managers’, private chefs, nannies, drivers, security guards and especially housekeepers.

It means that people in the cleaning industry, while once considered a modest job, can now charge staggering amounts of money.

A typical salary for a housekeeper in 2020 was $25 per hour. Today this has risen to almost $50 per hour. CNBC reported.

Annually, housekeepers with experience earn more than 150,000 plus benefits including 401(k) plans, health insurance and overtime.

April Berube, owner and founder of the Wellington Agency, told DailyMail.com she has more than 30 years of experience placing all types of domestic workers – including private chefs, nannies and housekeepers.

“The biggest demand we’re seeing right now is in Miami, Palm Beach, and still in New York and the Hamptons,” she said – adding that her clients usually have multiple homes. Berube also said there has been a mass migration of customers from California, especially Los Angeles.

Berube revealed that when families move, they often take a head housekeeper with them and find local housekeepers in the new area – which is especially common in areas like the Hamptons, where only summers are spent in the home.

She said there is a huge demand for domestic workers in Palm Beach – and the work is the best paid – but Berube insists not everyone is cut out for the job.

‘We need at least five years of experience in the field you are applying for. So whether you are a nanny or a housekeeper, you need to have a history and background of working in the industry,” Berube said.

“It takes a certain person to work for wealthy and prominent families. So you can’t just come from another industry or be a housekeeper or a cleaning service; it takes a lot of experience and training to engage housekeepers at this level.”

Berube also emphasized that confidentiality is an important requirement for all its employees.

‘They have to sign non-disclosure agreements. We need to make sure that when we call their references, we call all the families they have worked with before,” she revealed.

‘We ask how discreet these people are: are they gossipers? Because our reputation is at stake. We cannot use people who have not worked at this level and cannot be trusted.’

Berube said well-trained housekeepers currently control their own rates because they are in such high demand, and families no longer determine what their salaries are. She revealed that cleaners want $45 to $50 an hour, as well as benefits and paid vacation.

Families in Palm Beach have particularly high standards and expectations for their domestic workers, which makes sense considering the staggering salaries. According to Berube, housekeepers are required to wear special uniforms and keep the sprawling mansions in top condition while staying away from the family.

Housekeepers and cleaners are becoming increasingly proud of their positions as they become more valued and better paid, Berube said.

She revealed that the highest salaries she sees are in Florida, specifically Miami and Palm Beach, where one of her housekeepers just pulled in a $250,000 annual salary.

DailyMail.com spoke to an executive housekeeper who was placed with a New York City family with two children through the Wellington Agency.

Marta Magarelli started working in the industry at the age of 25 and has now built up more than 30 years of experience. Her current family lives in New York, but travels to Palm Beach for four months every winter.

After many years of practicing and trying different roles, she has earned a salary of $120,000 to $130,000 annually. The competitive salary comes as demand for domestic workers in Palm Beach has skyrocketed.

Magarelli said that to successfully run a household, you must be incredibly detail-oriented, precise and organized.

Although she said experience comes with time, Magarelli revealed that she took an organization course to perfect her housekeeping skills.

Magarelli said her favorite part of the job is the people. She likes the family she currently works for and says it is a “healthy environment,” especially compared to previous households she has worked in.

Her top tip for any household staff member who finds themselves in a bad environment is to remember that it’s just a job, and you have to deal with the situation, go home and let it go.

She emphasized that there is a big difference between housekeepers and cleaners.

She says that as a housekeeper you have to “wear many hats” – including nanny, driver, chef. She says you have to be on top of everything and always be two steps ahead.

Magarelli said you have to be willing to drop everything for the family — even if at a moment’s notice they say, “Can you jump on a plane and come to New York City.”

But the Sunshine State’s luster and shine may be dimming as Americans have moved to Florida during the pandemic.

With an average of 250 days of sunshine per year, it’s easy to understand why the state’s appeal is strong, especially for those from northern regions where the cold and clouds prevail – but after a stay in the south, some give up the dream.

And it doesn’t take long before those who wrap their backs list a number of reasons why they’ve had enough.

While many who took part in the national migration south have fallen in love with the state, others have grown tired of the extreme heat, hurricanes, dangerous native animals such as crocodiles and alligators, and the rising cost of living.

Florida experienced population growth during the pandemic, with more than 700,000 people moving there in 2022.

The state with the largest number of transplants was New York, with 90,000 people leaving the Empire State for Florida in 2022, according to census data, as reviewed by NBC News’ Shannon Pettypiece.

Census Bureau data also shows that Florida was still the second-fastest growing state in July 2023, but there could soon be a sharp drop in this number, with more people making U-turns in their U-Haul trucks.

But while hundreds of thousands became Florida residents in 2022, lured by the promise of beautiful weather, no income taxes and generally lower costs, nearly 500,000 residents left that same year.

Some of those who have left blame rising insurance costs, a hostile political climate, worsening traffic and extreme weather.

When it comes to the cost of living, consumer prices in South Florida rose nearly 5 percent year over year, compared to 3.2 percent nationwide.

Just a few years ago, Florida’s housing market had bargain prices, but now it’s the exact opposite, with prices up 60 percent since 2020.

The median home price is $388,500, according to Zillow. This is slightly above the average home price in the US, which is around $384,000.