Overview
If you've ever spent the last hour of a weekend away scrubbing a stranger's frying pan before handing back the keys, Airbnb has some news for you. The platform is rolling out a new global house rules policy that stops hosts from asking guests to do the kind of checkout chores that usually fall to a cleaner.
Kicking in worldwide on Friday, November 20, the guest-favouring changes are based on an updated community policy that generally prevents hosts from asking guests to do anything that requires "significant effort or time, or would typically be performed by a cleaner." That means no more stripping beds, washing and putting away dishes or taking out the rubbish, though hosts can still ask you to leave used plates and cutlery in the sink.
In a statement, Airbnb said house rules "help guests understand what hosts expect", but that "we've heard from our community that they can be confusing, onerous and hard to manage." The company says it has "redesigned them to make them easier to discover and clearer to set", alongside "a new policy that keeps requests reasonable, with no surprises."
Under the new system, hosts choose from seven standard house rules covering check-in and checkout times, the number of approved guests, smoking, pets, quiet hours and commercial film and photography. Those rules now appear on the listing page, in the trips tab and in reservation reminders, so there's less chance of a surprise list stuck to the fridge.
Hosts can still add their own requests, as long as they're reasonable. However, Airbnb will flag any that don't comply with the new policy, and hosts will need to remove them or lodge an appeal. There's some room for local conditions and safety, too — guests in drought-affected areas can still be asked to save water, for example.
The highly contentious cleaning fee has also changed, with the new policy clarifying that it should cover a standard tidy-up between guests. Now, hosts can't charge you for skipping a listed checkout task, nor impose their own fines. For repeat offenders, they risk lower search visibility, losing Superhost status or even having their account suspended.
Airbnb's new house rules policy will come into effect worldwide on Friday, November 20. Head to the website for more information.
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Images: Supplied.