Airbnb guests no longer have to do chores. Furious hosts say they’ll raise cleaning fees instead

Key Points:

• Airbnb's new policy, effective for bookings from Nov. 20, 2026, prohibits hosts from requiring guests to perform significant cleaning tasks such as stripping beds, taking out trash offsite, or washing dishes, aiming to address complaints about cleaning fees coupled with chore demands.
• The policy standardizes house rules into seven categories and restricts hosts from adding new rules after booking or imposing fines, with violations potentially leading to warnings or reduced listing visibility; however, lighter requests like leaving dishes in the sink remain allowed.
• The announcement has sparked backlash from many hosts, with over 10,000 signing a petition against the rules, plans for booking blackouts, and threats to leave the platform or increase prices, while some hosts support the changes as reasonable.
• Guests have largely welcomed the new rules, viewing them as long overdue and a correction to excessive chore demands that have driven some travelers back to hotels, though concerns remain that hosts may raise cleaning fees or prices to offset increased cleaning costs.
• Airbnb continues to grow strongly, reporting a 17% revenue increase in Q2 2024 to $3.6 billion and raising its full-year outlook, with over 5 million hosts and 2.5 billion guest arrivals since its 2007 founding.