Airbnb Bans Hosts From Making Guests Strip Beds and Wash Dishes Under New Rules
Airbnb hosts will no longer be able to make guests strip beds, wash and put away dishes, or take trash offsite. The accommodation marketplace has changed its rules to limit what property hosts may ask guests to do, including when it comes to cleaning.
The updated policy will apply to all reservations booked on or after 20 November. Under the new requirements on Airbnb's website, hosts are generally not allowed to ask guests to complete tasks that require significant effort or time, or would typically be performed by a cleaner — including stripping the bed, taking trash offsite, or washing and putting away dishes.
Hosts can still ask guests to complete simpler tasks, such as placing used dishes in the sink. Guests — who are required to pay a cleaning fee — have for years complained about unreasonable tasks they were required to complete before departure.
Under the new structure, hosts can choose from seven standard house rules and can also add other 'reasonable' requests of their own. A property's rules will be displayed to guests more prominently going forward — on listings, in guests' Trips tabs and in reservation reminders.
Airbnb told the BBC: 'House rules help guests understand what hosts expect, but we've heard from our community that they can be confusing, onerous and hard to manage. So, we've redesigned them to make them easier to discover and clearer to set, alongside a new policy that keeps requests reasonable, with no surprises.'
The company said it may grant exceptions in some circumstances. For example, guests can be asked to limit shower time if there are local drought-related water restrictions.
Under the new policy, hosts will not be able to impose their own fines on guests. Separate contracts will only be allowed in limited circumstances, including when required by law or homeowners association rules.
Hosts can continue to update their house rules at any time. If a request does not follow Airbnb's policies, the company said it will flag the issue and allow the host to appeal.
The change follows years of guest complaints about unreasonable departure-day chore lists. Recently, TikTok videos from Airbnb hosts Cassie and Jon, showing them closely inspecting their rental property in the US state of Georgia after guests leave, went viral for their attention to detail; in one video, leaving a television remote out of place was accused of 'disrespecting the house rules'.
The couple have been criticised for their strict rules and high standards, though they say their content has been misinterpreted. Their videos have also inspired other content creators to parody stringent hosts.
From 20 November, then, the Airbnb guest experience is set to change: the days of paying a cleaning fee and still being handed a long list of household chores before checkout are, under the new rules, coming to an end.
