Airbnb hosts can no longer require guests to strip the beds or wash the dishes before they check out. The company changed its house rules policy and will apply the new limits to every reservation booked on or after Nov. 20, the BBC reported.
Guests have complained for years about long chore lists at checkout, especially since they already pay a cleaning fee. Under the update, hosts may not ask guests to do work that takes significant effort or time, or that a cleaner would normally handle. Airbnb names stripping the bed, taking trash offsite and washing and putting away dishes as examples.
What hosts can still ask
Hosts can set up to seven standard house rules and add other “reasonable” requests. They keep control of their own rules, but Airbnb will flag any request that breaks the policy, and the host can appeal if they disagree. Hosts cannot impose fines. Airbnb may allow exceptions in some cases. For example, a host can ask guests to limit shower time when local drought restrictions apply.
The company says it also wants to make rules easier to find. A property’s rules will appear more prominently on the listing and in guests’ reservation reminders. Hosts can require a signed contract only in limited situations, such as when the law or a homeowners association demands one.
Why Airbnb made the change
Airbnb told the BBC that its community had found house rules confusing, heavy-handed and hard to manage, so it redesigned how hosts set them and added a policy meant to keep requests reasonable, with no surprises for guests.
The change follows a run of viral TikTok videos from a Georgia couple, Cassie and Jon, who inspect their rental closely after guests leave and call out small slip-ups, such as a television remote left out of place. Critics called their rules too strict. The couple said people misread their content. Other creators have since made parodies of overly strict hosts.
What guests should know
The rules apply only to reservations booked on or after Nov. 20, so trips booked earlier still follow the old policy. For another consumer story this week, see our report on the Amazon Prime refunds.
