Vacation rentals have become an increasingly popular accommodation option over the years, especially for those looking for more space. However, there’s no denying that vacation rental platforms can also lead to some frustration, both among hosts and guests.
From the perspective of guests, one increasingly common issue has been hosts with unrealistic expectations. You pay a cleaning fee for your rental, and then they still give you a laundry list of tasks to complete before you can leave, or else you’ll be charged a fee. Airbnb is finally addressing this frustration with some new rules…
Airbnb’s new rules ask hosts be more reasonable
Airbnb has updated its rules, banning hosts from requiring guests to perform time consuming chores at check-out in most situations. This includes things like washing dishes, stripping beds, doing laundry, and taking trash offsite. The new policy applies for reservations booked on or after November 20, 2026.
As part of this, Airbnb is also more prominently displaying the requests of hosts, with a new “rules and requests” section. This can also have an “includes cleaning requests” warning, if a host leaves chore requests in the listing after the new policy is implemented (as this will be allowed in a limited set of circumstances). So at least there will be clear disclosure there.
Here are the updated rules, per Airbnb’s community policy section:
Be reasonable. For example, 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.
- Restrict access to any feature that’s advertised as part of the listing. Any fees for an advertised part of the listing must be included in the price shown to guests at the time of booking. Hosts may include information about fees for optional add-ons, like breakfast service, in their requests.
- Impose fines or other penalties on guests. AirCover provides protection for hosts in the rare event that their place or belongings are damaged by a guest during an Airbnb stay. If there is a risk a community association (such as an HOA or building security) or local government might impose a fine, hosts can provide notice to guests in the designated section of their listing.
We understand every home is unique. In assessing whether a request is reasonable, we strive to understand the listing’s context, including the type of listing or stay and any relevant local considerations, and may grant exceptions to the general guidelines above based on those factors. For example, it may be reasonable to ask guests to limit shower time due to local drought-related water restrictions, or to dispose of trash in an animal-proof container in bear country.
These are some common sense changes from Airbnb
I don’t envy Airbnb’s role in liaising between guests and hosts (admittedly that’s their whole purpose), but of course you have people with wildly different expectations.
I’m sure there are a lot of really frustrating things that guests do that hosts have to deal with. However, the big issue is that guests typically have to pay a cleaning fee for a stay (and it’s often quite high), and are then still told they need to complete tasks. So it’s good to see some reasonable rules added here.
Bottom line
Airbnb is demanding that hosts become more reasonable when it comes to their expectations for guests, including banning requirements for guests to perform time consuming chores. This is a positive change, as I see it. There’s a difference between asking guests to not leave a place a mess, and asking guests to essentially perform cleaning services, while also being on the hook for a cleaning fee.
What do you make of this Airbnb policy change?
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