Guests staying at Airbnbs may have less chores to do before they check out beginning late November in an effort to streamline house rules that a company spokesperson said can cause confusion.
“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,” an Airbnb spokesperson told Global News in an email.
The short-term rental company has updated its policy on what hosts can and cannot ask their guests to do starting Nov. 20.
The new policy states that there are seven standard house rules that hosts can choose from. Hosts are also allowed to make “reasonable” requests that those who stay at the property are encouraged to follow.
The standard rules pertain to a maximum number of overnight guests, quiet hours, events, pets, smoking, commercial photography and whether or not guests are required to lock up at checkout.
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When it comes to cleaning and tidying up, Airbnb said hosts will not be allowed to ask guests to complete any task that would take “significant effort or time, or would typically be performed by a cleaner.”
The company includes washing dishes, stripping the bed and taking trash off-site as chores that guests cannot be asked to perform.
However, Airbnb said some exceptions may be granted in cases where a request is related to the safety of the guest or the property such as asking guests to use an animal-proof trash bin in bear country or to limit showers during drought conditions.
The company said it would consider the type of listing and other local factors when deciding if an exception will be made.
“Guests are required to follow your house rules, and they’re encouraged to comply with your requests as part of our ground rules for guests. If they don’t, you can contact us for help with the appropriate next steps,” the policy states, adding that a host cannot issue fines or penalties as they are covered under AirCover insurance.
The new policy, effective at Airbnbs worldwide, comes into effect after the company has long fielded complaints from guests about having to complete chores upon checkout and still be charged a cleaning fee.
Since April 2025, hosts have not been required to show cleaning fees and instead have been able to factor them into the total cost.
Airbnb does not set an upper limit to what a cleaning fee can be.
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