Airbnb Limits What Hosts Can Demand of Guests Before Checkout
From 20 November 2026, the accommodation booking platform Airbnb will bar hosts from making it mandatory for guests to strip beds, take out rubbish or wash dishes. The change follows customer complaints about excessive cleaning duties.
Airbnb, the popular accommodation booking platform, is introducing new rules that restrict the cleaning chores hosts of rented properties may impose on guests before they check out. According to Euronews, hosts will no longer be able to require guests to strip the bedding, take rubbish outside the property, or wash dishes and put them away. The changes take effect on 20 November 2026 and apply to bookings made on or after that date.
Why the rules are changing
Airbnb made the decision after numerous customer complaints about excessive cleaning duties, particularly where guests already pay an extra cleaning fee. Since April 2025, Airbnb's cleaning fee has no longer been shown as a separate line item in the same way as before, and hosts can fold it into the overall price of the stay.
The platform's representatives say guest reviews indicate that earlier house rules were at times unclear, burdensome and hard to follow. They have therefore been reworked so that travellers can see clearly at the time of booking what is expected of them. The new rules will also limit hosts' ability to add requirements after a booking that were not stated in the original listing.
What hosts can still ask for
If a task takes considerable time or effort, or is normally the job of a cleaner, it can no longer be made mandatory. Even so, guests will not be free to leave a property in a mess: hosts can still set reasonable stay conditions. For example, guests may be asked to place used dishes in the sink, but not necessarily to wash them and put them in a cupboard. Hosts may also require a set checkout time, quiet hours, smoking restrictions and pet rules.
In some cases, requirements tied to local conditions are permitted. In regions short of water, guests may be asked to limit shower time, while in places with wildlife they may be asked to dispose of rubbish in animal-proof containers.
Reaction and what it means for travellers
Not all hosts have welcomed the changes. Some argue that limiting extra duties could raise cleaning costs and ultimately make accommodation more expensive.
For travellers, this means that when booking after 20 November they should face a lower risk of a long list of compulsory chores before departure. They will still have to follow house rules and leave the property in reasonable condition.
