Airbnb Bars Checkout Chores and Hosts Push Back

Airbnb has changed what a host may demand of a guest at checkout, and the people on both sides of the booking are reacting very differently.

What the new house rules allow

The updated guidelines apply to bookings made globally from 20 November. Hosts can no longer ask guests to do work normally done by cleaners. Among the banned tasks are dishes, bedding and bins.

Hosts may set seven standard house rules and add other requests, provided they are "reasonable".

Hosts count the cost

Lisa Clewes, who runs a holiday let in Wales, came back after one group left to a wrecked house: broken glasses, cans underfoot, pans of food left out and fish guts in the garden. Her cleaning fee covers about 75% of a cleaner's cost, and a turnaround of her three-bedroom house typically takes four hours. She fears more mess will mean more cleaners and costs that end up with guests.

Anthony Marsh co-owns a cabin retreat in North Yorkshire. He has cut his Airbnb listings from five of 12 properties to two. "It's common sense and common decency," he says of expecting guests to clean their own pots and take the bins out.

Laura Lewis runs a directory for holiday-let owners and says most of her clients on Airbnb are unhappy. She plans to take her three farm treehouses off the platform, since most of her bookings are already direct. The change adds to owners' frustration after last year's rise in Airbnb's commission rates, and many are building their own websites to avoid platform fees.

Guests describe long checkout lists

Jessica Newhook booked a Florida house for a family reunion of 11 and paid a $250 (£187) cleaning fee. The host still told the group to wash and fold towels, clean the bedding and kitchen, and sweep and mop. "We had rules about everything and it was not relaxing at all," she says.

Krissi Foskett, 46, from Glasgow, runs a cleaning company. She paid a £35 fee for a stay in Stafford and was still asked to strip the beds, run a wash and carry rubbish down a long track. In her view, for hosts running Airbnb as a business, professional cleaning is a cost of doing business, though she has also seen teams arrive to broken furniture, vomit and pet urine.

Fees and reviews

Data from AirROI shows 63.2% of Airbnb listings charge a cleaning fee, averaging £55.

Matt Prosz, who hosts and manages other properties full-time, is relaxed. His guests in south-west London only lock up and return the keys. He expects Airbnb's mutual reviews to keep behaviour reasonable.

Our View

The dispute comes down to what a cleaning fee is supposed to buy. Hosts like Clewes see it as only part of the cost, while guests like Newhook see it as payment for the job. Whether fees climb after 20 November will show up in listings, and guest reviews will show whether mess gets worse.

Source: BBC News