Airbnb hosts will no longer be allowed to require guests to wash dishes, strip beds or take rubbish off site, under global rules that apply to bookings made from Friday 20 November.
The platform says house rules had become confusing and hard to manage. ABC News reported that hosts can still ask for simple courtesies, such as putting used dishes in the sink.
What changes for guests
The date matters. The rules apply to reservations made on or after 20 November, not to stays that begin then. Trips booked earlier keep the rules shown on the listing at the time, according to a guide for property managers.
Hosts will pick from a fixed set of seven binding rules. Those cover maximum guest numbers, quiet hours, events, pets, smoking and vaping, commercial filming and photography, and locking up on departure.
Anything else becomes a request. Guests are encouraged to follow requests but cannot be forced to.
The policy also bars hosts from imposing their own fines, and limits separate contracts to cases such as legal or homeowners’ association requirements, ABC News reported. Time Out said hosts can still ask guests to gather damp towels or sort recycling into indoor bins.
Guests are not let off entirely. Hosts can still leave a poor review for a property left in a bad state, and can claim for damage through Airbnb’s AirCover scheme.
Why hosts are split
Guests who have faced long checkout lists have welcomed the change, the BBC reported. Jessica Newhook said her family reunion party of 11 in Florida was told to wash and fold towels, clean the kitchen and mop floors, despite a $250 (£187) cleaning fee.
Krissi Foskett, a cleaning company owner from Glasgow, paid a £35 fee for a stay in Stafford but was still asked to strip beds and carry bins down a long track. She said professional cleaning is a cost of running a rental business and should not be passed on to guests.
Some hosts are alarmed. Lisa Clewes, who lets a three-bedroom property in Wales, described finding broken glasses, cans on the floor and fish guts in the garden after one group left. Her cleaners need about four hours per changeover, and she fears extra mess will push up costs that end up with guests.
Anthony Marsh runs cabins in North Yorkshire with his husband. He has cut his Airbnb listings from five of 12 properties to two. He said asking guests to wash pots and put out bins is “common sense and common decency”.
Laura Lewis, who runs a directory for holiday-let owners, said most of her clients are unhappy. She plans to take her three treehouse listings off Airbnb. Many owners are already trying to win direct bookings to avoid commission, which rose last year.
Others are relaxed. London host Matt Prosz only asks guests to lock up and give back the keys. He said mutual reviews discourage bad behaviour on both sides, and that Airbnb is cutting out “the silly stuff”.
Cleaning fees are common. Data from AirROI cited by the BBC shows 63.2% of Airbnb listings charge one, at an average of £55.
Airbnb said in a statement that house rules should help guests understand what hosts expect. The new policy applies to every booking made from 20 November.
Sources: ABC News, Time Out, Clearing, BBC News
This story was compiled by the MDW Newsdesk with AI-assisted tools, using the reporting credited above.
