Airbnb new cleaning policy rules will limit the chores hosts can require of guests, including stripping beds and washing dishes, for bookings starting Nov. 20. The company said hosts must keep house rules reasonable and put them in a designated part of the listing, then stop adding new demands after a booking is made.
Airbnb said checkout chores should not take significant time or effort and should not be tasks a cleaner would normally perform. Hosts who ignore the rule risk a warning or getting less visible in search results, a penalty that could affect how easily future guests find their listings.
Brian Chesky on chores
Brian Chesky said in a May interview that some hosts were asking guests to do too many chores. He said, "For hosts, it’s to remember to be as hospitable as possible. These people are on vacation and they’re on vacation from their chores." He also said, "No one should have to put the towels in the washer and start it."
That view lines up with the narrower line Airbnb is now drawing. Chesky said putting trash in a bin is fine, but guests should not be asked to take the garbage out. The company’s new rules turn that idea into policy for future bookings, not just a suggestion for hosts.
Alec Orenstein in Norwich, Vt.
Alec Orenstein, an Airbnb host and guest from Norwich, Vt., said he had been on both sides of the platform and "I have always really hated it when someone forces me to do laundry" while on vacation. He added that he would "never dream of having my guests do something like that."
His reaction captures the practical line Airbnb is trying to enforce: hosts can still set expectations, but they cannot push routine cleanup onto guests through messages, signs in the home or conversations after booking. If a listing depends on those chores, the new policy leaves less room to write them into checkout instructions.
Change.org petition
Some hosts argue the rule goes too far, and a Change.org petition calling on Airbnb to reverse it had about 4,000 signatures as of Thursday morning. Airbnb also said house rules help guests understand what hosts expect, so the company is not dropping rules altogether — it is narrowing which rules fit within its standard.
For hosts, the practical answer is to review listing instructions before Nov. 20 and remove any checkout tasks that could be seen as cleaning work rather than simple turnover. For guests, the change gives a clearer line to point to if a host tries to add chores after the booking is made. The open question is how tightly Airbnb will police violations once the policy takes effect.
