Airbnb’s new rules limit cleaning chores for guests

Airbnb is changing its house rules, including limiting the cleaning tasks hosts can ask guests to complete during their stay.

Under the new policy, which applies to reservations booked on or after Nov. 20, hosts generally will no longer be allowed to require guests to strip beds, wash and put away dishes or take trash offsite, the company announced on its website.

Hosts can still ask guests to complete simpler tasks, such as placing used dishes in the sink.

“House rules help guests understand what hosts expect, but we’ve heard from our community that they can be confusing, onerous and hard to manage,” Airbnb said in a statement. “So we’ve redesigned them to make them easier to discover and clearer to set, alongside a new policy that keeps requests reasonable, with no surprises.”

The new policy also prohibits hosts from imposing their own fines on guests and limits the use of separate contracts to certain circumstances, including when required by law or homeowners association rules.

Airbnb said hosts can now choose from seven standard house rules and add their own reasonable requests.

The rules will also be displayed more prominently on Airbnb listings, in guests’ Trips tabs and in reservation reminders.

Hosts can continue to update their house rules at any time. If a request does not follow the policy, Airbnb said it will flag the issue and allow hosts to appeal.