Airbnb Bans Hosts From Making Guests Strip Beds, Wash Dishes or Start Laundry Before Checkout
The new rules apply to bookings made on or after Nov. 20. Hosts can still ask guests to gather towels and sort trash, and every rule must be posted in the listing before guests book.
Airbnb is limiting the chores hosts can demand of guests on the way out. Fox Business reports the company announced the change Tuesday as part of an overhaul of its house rules.
What changes. The policy covers reservations booked on or after Nov. 20, 2026. Hosts generally may not require guests to wash and put away dishes, strip beds, start a load of laundry or haul garbage off site, or to do other time-consuming work normally done by a cleaner.
What hosts can still ask. They may ask guests to leave used dishes in the sink, gather towels and sort trash and recycling into designated indoor bins. They may ask guests to turn off the air conditioning when they leave, but may not discourage guests from using advertised features. Airbnb gives sample exceptions: hosts in bear country may ask guests to use an animal-proof trash container, and shower-time limits may be reasonable where drought restrictions apply.
No surprises after booking. Every house rule and request has to appear in the designated section of the listing at the time of booking. Hosts cannot add requirements later through messages, signs in the home or in-person instructions. Hosts generally cannot set their own fines or penalties, though they may warn guests about fines from a homeowners association, building security or local government.
Enforcement. Airbnb says it will flag requests that break the policy and email hosts guidance on fixing them, and hosts can appeal. Unresolved violations could bring a notice on the listing warning guests about the cleaning requests. Repeated violations could lower a listing's visibility in search. The company has also boiled its standard house rules down to seven categories: overnight guest limits, quiet hours, events, pets, smoking, commercial photography and locking up at checkout.
Guests must still follow house rules, and Airbnb encourages them to comply with reasonable host requests. Hosts may cancel a reservation without fees if a guest breaks a house rule or says before check-in that they intend to.
Note for readers: details are from Airbnb's announcement as described by Fox Business. Airbnb also warns hosts in its announcement that assigning cleaning work could hurt their reviews. We have not read the full policy text.