Airbnb house rules: Cleaning changes divide hosts and guests
?s revised house rules will stop hosts from requiring guests to handle cleaning jobs such as washing dishes or stripping beds. The rules apply to bookings made…
Airbnb’s new house rules will bar hosts from requiring guests to do cleaners’ work on bookings made globally from 20 November, including washing dishes, stripping beds and taking rubbish off site. The change in washing airbnb's house rules has divided hosts worried about extra cleaning costs and guests frustrated by long checkout lists.
For travelers, the dispute goes beyond chores: some say they have paid substantial cleaning fees and still been asked to prepare a property for the next arrivals. Hosts, meanwhile, say a mess can leave too little time to turn a home around between bookings.
What do Airbnb’s new house rules change?
Hosts can set seven standard house rules and add other requests they consider reasonable, under Airbnb’s updated guidelines. They can no longer require guests to carry out jobs normally handled by cleaners, such as washing and putting away dishes, stripping beds or taking rubbish off site.
The revised rules apply to bookings made globally from 20 November. The distinction leaves room for hosts to ask guests to be considerate, but draws a line at making them responsible for preparing the property for the next stay.
Lisa Clewes, who runs a Welsh holiday let, said she asks guests to empty the fridge, put rubbish in bins and load the dishwasher. Her cleaning fee covers around 75% of the cost of a cleaner. She said it typically takes cleaners four hours to prepare her three-bedroom property.
One recent group left broken glasses, drinks cans on the floor, pans full of food on a table and fish guts in the garden after a dinner party. Clewes said the state of the home could have forced her to cancel or delay a same-day check-in. She fears more mess could mean extra cleaners and higher costs that ultimately reach guests.
Why are guests pushing back?
Jessica Newhook said her family group of 11 paid a $250 (£187) cleaning fee for a Florida Airbnb and were still told to wash and fold towels, clean bedding and the kitchen, and sweep and mop floors.
“We had rules about everything and it was not relaxing at all,” Newhook said. She added that the combination of extensive checkout demands and rising cleaning fees had reduced the appeal of staying in an Airbnb. “It is getting to the point where a hotel is cheaper and I know what to expect.”
That complaint goes to the heart of the customer impact. A cleaning charge does not necessarily remove every checkout task, but guests may question what the fee covers when they are also asked to do substantial cleaning themselves. The new rules respond to that tension by restricting which jobs hosts can require, while leaving hosts to manage the cost and timing of professional cleaning.
Krissi Foskett, a cleaning company owner from Glasgow who also stays in Airbnb properties, said she paid a £35 cleaning fee during a stay in Stafford and was still asked to strip beds, start a wash, empty bins and carry rubbish to a recycling area.
“I don't particularly mind doing those things, but it did make me question what exactly I was paying the additional cleaning fee for,” Foskett said. She said there was a difference between putting dirty dishes in a dishwasher and being expected to prepare a property for the next guests.
Hosts warn about turnaround pressure
Foskett said her cleaning teams had also found broken furniture, vomit and pet urine at properties. She sympathised with hosts facing tight turnaround times and rising cleaning costs, but said those expenses should not be passed on to guests. “If you're running an Airbnb as a business, professional cleaning is a cost of doing business.”
Anthony Marsh, who co-owns a cabin retreat in North Yorkshire with his husband, said the policy change prompted him to cut the number of their properties listed on Airbnb from five of 12 to two. He worries that guests may leave homes in poor condition while hosts have limited ability to require basic jobs such as washing pots or putting out bins.
“It's common sense and common decency,” Marsh said. He said his company does not charge a cleaning fee and that most guests are respectful, but remains concerned that additional mess could leave properties unready for arriving guests.
The disagreement now sits between a clearer limit on guest chores and the practical work of keeping rentals ready for each booking. Airbnb’s revised rules take effect for bookings made globally from 20 November.
