Airbnb tells hosts to ease up on their demands

Remember how some Airbnb hosts used to demand that guests did a deep clean before they checked out? 

No more. 

Airbnb this week updated its global house rules policy to ban hosts from forcing guests to complete heavy check-out chores and ordered them to reduce surprise requests.

The company told hosts that starting November 20, they can choose from seven standard house rules and are “generally not allowed” to ask guests to wash dishes, strip beds, or take out the garbage, travel newsletter Skift reported.

Hosts who repeatedly violate the policy could face a notice on the listing, lower visibility in search results, or “other actions under our terms of service,” the policy says. Those can include cancelling bookings, removing Superhost or Guest Favorite status, or suspending the host’s account.

Hosts may still ask guests to place used dishes in the sink, put rubbish in designated indoor or animal-proof bins, and lock up. 

Reasonable requests/standard rules can include check-in/check-out times, quiet hours, pet restrictions, smoking rules, and guest limits. And local considerations like limiting shower time due to water restrictions may still apply. 

Guests are still expected to leave properties in a reasonable, tidy condition without excessive mess, stains, or damage.