Airbnb tells hosts: stop making guests do the cleaner’s job

Your next Airbnb checkout may involve putting used dishes in the sink, not stripping the beds, starting a wash cycle and hauling rubbish somewhere else.

What changed: Airbnb is barring hosts from requiring guests to do tasks that take significant effort or time, or jobs normally handled by a cleaner. For reservations booked on or after Nov. 20, that generally includes stripping beds, washing and putting away dishes, starting laundry and taking trash offsite.

The distinction is deliberately fussy, because Airbnb checkout instructions have become fussy. A host can ask guests to put used dishes in the sink or separate trash and recycling. They cannot require the dishes to be washed and put away, or demand that garbage be taken to an offsite facility. Hosts can also make locally sensible requests, such as limiting shower time during drought restrictions or using an animal-proof bin where wildlife is a problem. Bear country gets an exception. The dishwasher does not.

Why it matters: Guests have complained for years about paying cleaning fees and then receiving a checkout list that looked suspiciously like a cleaner's shift. Airbnb said community feedback described house rules as confusing, onerous and difficult to manage. The company is also putting hosts' rules and requests more prominently in listings and reservation reminders, so guests should see the chore list up front, not while holding a suitcase and looking for the door.

Hosts can still set seven standard house rules and add other reasonable requests. But they cannot work around the policy by sending extra chores in guest messages or leaving them on signs at the property, according to The Verge. The BBC reported that hosts also cannot impose fines under the new rules, and requests that violate the policy can be flagged, with an appeal available to the host.

The pushback: Some hosts argue that basic cleanup is part of treating someone else's property decently, and that paying cleaners for more work could raise prices or make hosting less appealing. CBS News reported that more than 5,000 people had signed a Change.org petition asking Airbnb to reverse the policy. It also reported that repeated violations could lead Airbnb to reduce a listing's visibility or show guests a notice about the host's violation. The thing to watch after Nov. 20 is whether cleaner checkout rules make listings simpler, or merely move the argument into the nightly rate.