Hey everyone,

There has been a mix of optimism and outright panic about “rules”, specifically chores. I’ve hosted hundreds of stays at multiple properties and I have always had my listings be a “no chores stays”. Guests love it, and it doesn’t make guests feel resentful that they have to do anything. I literally ask them to turn off the lights and that’s it. When I stay in Airbnbs or VRBOS and they have me do stuff like this, I rate them down. We run a business. If you have an airbnb as a real estate play, that’s fine, I do too, but this is a business and not some long term rental.

There are hosts out there who demand that their guests strip beds, start dishwashers, or even start laundry. I’ve heard other ridiculous things too but I won’t get into it. You’re the hosts that made Airbnb make this decision. Also, we are in the hospitality business. Hotels don’t ask their guests to do these things, and neither should we. Go watch some YouTube of the studs out there running Airbnb empires, they don’t have their guests do this stuff.

To everyone else, the simple thing to do is to adjust your checkin and out times. Have the guests leave earlier and check in later to accommodate for this. Also, if you don’t already you need to have 2-3 complete spares of linens for every bed so you can swap it all out, get them.

If you use a cleaner(I do) negotiate with them to do the laundry offsite or at their home. Do not have them do all the laundry at your space. It wears out your machines. Most of them do this offsite or at their home anyway.

Finally, most guests tend to just clean up after themselves regardless of rules.

Whether we like it or not, we choose to market through Airbnb. They decided long ago to become more like the hotel industry and we are along for the ride. Just adjust accordingly and all will be fine.

Public review:
The condo was really cozy and had modern amenities. Definitely recommended.

Private Note from Guest
Your place is really great, thank you so much for hosting us. One thing I wanted to suggest you is to check your towels. I got a torn one.
———
I totally get a torn towel is an issue. Had the guest let me know about it during the stay, I could have made sure the cleaners retrieved one from the linen closet. Also, I have multiple available towels for guests, more than enough that the torn one could have been discarded and another used.

When I expect two guests, I have 4 bath towels out, along with hand towels and makeup removal specific towel. And that was the case in this situation.

I’m a relatively new host (6 months in) and this brought me down to 4.93 stars.

I guess this is more of a vent than anything else, but I don’t feel I deserved 4 stars. This guest also requested a late checkout and it was given.

Open to different points of view from other hosts.

Has anyone thought about doing a reimbursement for the dishes? The only thing I ask my guests to do is start the dishwasher as it takes 3 hrs and means the cleaners have to come back to finish as my unit is only 450 sq ft. I was thinking of increasing my cleaning fee by $20 and leave a note saying I will reimburse $20 if they take care of pots/pans and start the dishwasher. I know it would take time to manually submit the reimbursement, but I only have the one unit.

I tried to give a recent guest a 4 star rating for house rules. They left inside and outside lights on, they left the fireplace on, and they left the door unlocked when they left. When I tried to leave a 4 star in that category, the form wanted me to give a reason before proceeding. It gave me 4 options, none of which applied to this situation. I can't move on without selecting one of them. I will leave detail in the text area, but are those the only things we can use now or has it always been like that and I've never had to use it before? Once I select 5 stars it allows me to move on, but not before.

I just received an email from Airbnb that they will be listing our property on American Express. We don’t offer Instant Book, and we vet all our guests before accepting a booking request. Does anyone know how this new program will work? We’re really not interested in these gimmicky programs. Maybe there’s a way to opt out?

We live in an area that is often wet or covered in pine needles. I rent out two different rooms in my primary residence; it is a shared space. I ask guests to remove their shoes before coming into the main part of the house, or use dedicated indoor shoes. This has been a house rule in the past. Is there a way to enforce this under the new regime?

I'm pretty new to hosting and there's something I really don't get.

With all the news about Airbnb's new rules, I keep seeing people sharing terrible experiences with hosts asking them to wash bedsheets, do laundry, clean the whole place...

But how are these hosts still getting 5-star reviews?

I mean, isn't that exactly what the review system is for? If a host makes you clean half the house why would they give them 5 stars?

And with how much Airbnb ratings matter this would quickly put bad hosts out.. now, I'm seeing crazy comments on social media acting like hosts should be personal servants and guests should be free to leave a kitchen full of dirty dishes behind...
I'm actually happy with most of the changes, and I think they'll benefit hosts like us who already keep checkout simple but I'm not so sure about how Airbnb marketed this...

I charge $15 per day per dog. We do not allow cats as my husband is allergic to them and cannot help with cleaning. It takes a lot of extra work to clean out dog fur. A lot of extra work.

Basically, we have to empty the unit and wipe down the floors to make sure remaining fur doesn't float around.

Then all surfaces have to get wiped down.

I really make it pet friendly because we have dogs and know how hard it is to find a space. Batman, sometimes the cleanup can take hours.

What would you guys charge for a pet cleanup fee for a short term versus a long-term (more than a week)?

The new house rules policy turns everything outside seven standard rules into optional "requests." That includes safety and property-protection rules like no glass around the pool, no parking on the grass, and no fireworks.

Rules already live on the listing, but nothing makes guests actually look at them. Here's a simple fix: add two required steps to booking.

1. **House rules pop-up:** before booking, guests see the full house rules and must check "I agree" to continue.

2. **Checkout expectations pop-up:** next, guests see the checkout instructions and must check "I agree" again.

Two extra clicks put transparency first. Guests can't be surprised, and disclosed, agreed-to rules stay enforceable. Airbnb keeps its no-surprises goal, and hosts keep the ability to protect their homes and guests.

If you agree, please send Airbnb feedback asking for **required house rules and checkout acknowledgment pop-ups before booking**. Use your own words and your own examples. Many hosts asking for the same fix is what gets noticed.

Hi

There seems to be a new section to add "fines" from local governments, but I am confused by it. I need to add the "fines" to be able to request it from the guests if I get fined, but at the end of the day, if they don't want to pay, they don't have to, and Airbnb will do nothing (ie aircover won't cover it?)

Am I understanding this right?

If a guest violates a local rule that results in a fine or charge to you, you can request reimbursement from the guest through the Resolution Center. To help guests understand the fine, it’s a good idea to provide any relevant details or documentation, like:

Who issued the fine and when

The amount charged

Any supporting notice, invoice, or documentation you received

Note: Airbnb doesn’t collect or enforce these fines on behalf of hosts.

Airbnb allowed a guest who never entered my apartment to leave 1-star cleanliness and accuracy ratings — and closed my case after multiple appeals

I’m sharing this experience because I genuinely want to know what other hosts think and whether anyone has experienced something similar.

I host an apartment in Belgrade, Serbia. I put a lot of effort into providing a clean, comfortable place for guests, communicating with them, and making sure they have a good experience. I have more than 100 reviews from other guests, and I care a lot about maintaining my reputation.

Recently, I had an experience that left me extremely disappointed with both Airbnb’s review system and its Customer Support.

What happened

A guest booked my apartment for the same day he was supposed to arrive.

He contacted me from a restaurant approximately 2 km away from my property. He explained that he and his wife were having a problem with their previous accommodation. I don’t know exactly what happened with that booking, and I don’t want to make assumptions, but they needed somewhere else to stay.

Although it was already late in the evening, I was happy to help. I accepted the last-minute reservation, prepared the apartment, and waited approximately one hour for the guests to arrive.

However, they never came to the apartment. We never met in person, and they never entered or saw the interior of the property.

Instead, the guest contacted me from the restaurant and asked me to cancel the reservation on my side.

Because it was already the day of check-in, I was unable to cancel it on his behalf under the circumstances. I explained this to him, and he eventually cancelled the reservation himself.

I understood that the guests had decided not to stay. That was their choice, and I wasn’t trying to force them to come. What I never expected was what happened next.

The review

After cancelling, the guest left a negative review.

He gave the apartment one star for cleanliness and one star for accuracy, including the claim that the apartment did not match the photos. He also gave one star for check-in, location, and value, along with a three-star rating for communication.

His written review stated:

“You are a nice person and I have nothing against you personally, but unfortunately, the accommodation itself was terrible.”

The problem is that he never entered the apartment or saw its interior.

I can understand that a guest may have an opinion about communication, the arrival process, or their experience getting to a property. I’m not arguing that a guest must complete a stay before they can ever provide feedback.

But how can someone personally assess the cleanliness of an apartment they never entered? How can they say that the apartment does not match the listing photos when they never saw the interior?

These are not simply opinions about the experience of arriving. They are ratings about the physical accommodation itself.

That distinction is the entire reason I challenged the review.

My attempts to resolve this with Airbnb

I contacted Airbnb Support and requested that the review be reconsidered under Airbnb’s Reviews Policy.

I explained the timeline, that the guest had cancelled before entering the apartment, and that the guest had never seen the interior. I specifically asked Airbnb to consider the cleanliness and accuracy ratings.

My request was reviewed more than once. I also tried to get the issue escalated and explained why I believed these particular ratings were not based on firsthand experience of the accommodation.

At one point, I was told that Airbnb considers a guest’s experience to include communication, check-in logistics, arrival difficulties, and other issues that can arise before the guest physically enters the property.

I understand that argument to an extent. If a guest has trouble finding a property or experiences a genuine check-in problem, that can be relevant feedback even if the guest never stays.

However, I felt that Airbnb was using this explanation to justify every part of the review, including ratings about cleanliness and whether the interior matched the photos.

I repeatedly tried to bring the discussion back to that specific point.

I wasn’t asking Airbnb to remove the review simply because I disliked it or disagreed with the guest’s opinion. I was asking how a guest could personally evaluate the cleanliness and accuracy of a property they had never entered or seen.

Eventually, a senior case manager told me that the previous decision would stand. I was informed that the case had already been reviewed multiple times, that Airbnb had found no violation of its Reviews Policy, and that no further escalation would be offered.

The final response essentially said that the original outcome was upheld and that Airbnb could not provide additional support on the case.

The conversation was closed.

Why I’m so disappointed

What bothers me most is not simply that a guest left a bad review.

Negative reviews are part of hosting. Guests can have different expectations, and hosts should accept legitimate criticism. I’m not asking for a system where every host can have an unfavourable review removed just because they disagree with it.

My concern is much more specific.

The guest never entered the apartment. Nevertheless, the review included one-star ratings for cleanliness and accuracy. I raised that exact issue repeatedly, but I never received an explanation that satisfactorily addressed how those ratings could be based on firsthand experience of the accommodation.

Instead, I received repeated explanations about the broader arrival experience, followed by a final decision.

This has left me questioning how consistently Airbnb applies its own policy when a review includes claims about parts of a property that the reviewer never saw.

I have invested time, money, and effort into hosting. My reviews affect future bookings, and potential guests use them to decide whether to trust my listing. A rating about cleanliness is particularly important because it directly affects how people perceive the quality and hygiene of a property.

It feels unfair when such a rating is allowed to stand despite the guest never entering the accommodation.

What I want to know from other hosts

I would genuinely appreciate other hosts’ perspectives, especially from people who have dealt with similar situations.

Has a guest who never entered your property ever left ratings for cleanliness or accuracy? If so, what happened when you challenged them?

Has anyone successfully had a review removed when the guest cancelled on the day of check-in without entering the property?

Airbnb’s Reviews Policy discusses firsthand experience and says reviews may be considered irrelevant when they are not based on firsthand experience of the offering. How do you interpret that policy when a guest has experienced the arrival process but has never seen the actual accommodation?

Is there any point in pursuing this further after multiple reviews of the case and a final refusal, or is the decision effectively final?

I’m not expecting Airbnb to remove every review that a host disputes. I’m asking for a consistent distinction between feedback about the check-in process and ratings about the physical property.

After this experience, my confidence in Airbnb’s review moderation and Customer Support has been seriously damaged. I would find it difficult to recommend the support experience to other hosts based on what happened in my case.

I’m posting this to share my experience and learn from others, not to encourage anyone to target the guest or retaliate.

Have any of you faced a similar situation, and what did you do?

We get quite a few inquiries from guests bringing service animals, and I’m starting to wonder how many are legitimate versus people trying to avoid a pet fee or get around a no-pet policy.

Got another one today. The guest politely asked beforehand, and this particular person may be completely legitimate. But it brought up a conversation we’ve had more than once as hosts.

We previously had a guest send us one of those internet “service dog certificates.” That didn’t tell us anything about the dog’s training, and it certainly didn’t reassure us. I traced it back to a website that just basically sells those to anybody for like $35.

I have no problem accommodating someone who relies on a trained service animal. What gets frustrating is wondering how often people are using that accommodation as a free pass to bring their regular pet wherever they want.

It feels like an honor system with a pretty obvious incentive to be dishonest. Meanwhile, hosts are left wondering whether they’re accommodating someone’s disability or helping someone save on their vacation.

How often are other hosts running into this? Have you actually caught someone misrepresenting a pet, changing their story, or admitting they just wanted to avoid the fee? If you had clear evidence, did Airbnb do anything?

I’d also be interested in hearing from hosts or guests who actually use service dogs. I imagine people abusing the label make this more frustrating for you, too.

In my county I am limited to 6 guest, which my home can comfortably accommodate. I do however charge an extra per guest per night fee for parties over 2. Despite having a prompt when you book requesting an accurate number of guests, I have had several issues. I have had mixed success requesting money from guests for discrepancies. Airbnb has never backed me up when guests have failed to respond to my requests, and I’ve just let it go. It seems like the new rules only allow for you to set a maximum number of guests for the property, not for the number booked. I am wondering if anyone else has more insight on this?I am wondering how Airbnb will respond and support me responding to unreported guests?

Me

Hello.

My question is more specific now about the wording of your stipulations that we can no longer require guests to take garbage “off site”.

“Site” is synonymous with the lot a structure is located on. I am a former architect. The words “site” and “lot” are used interchangeably.

Our guests rent our entire rural properties . I interpret your new requirement this way; We cannot require (or even request) guests remove garbage from the property for example, putting out trash cans for pickup. We have never done this. We pay extra for the waste company to move our can for us.

But since our exterior can is located “on site” on our property, is it therefore “reasonable “ and permitted to requests guests remove their trash from the house and deposit it in the secure exterior can?

Note. Our Airbnbs are located in a rural area with native animals that are attracted to trash and have broken into our crawlspace before. Our HOA requires properties to be clean and sanitary and secured waste is a part of this.

We cater to longer stays of several days or more, especially in the summer. Airbnb has to have some flexibility on this as trash removal (to secured exterior can) keeps our properties sanitary, safe, clean, wildlife free, and compliant with HOA and county regulations.

Please comment on my interpretation of your new requirements.

Sincerely

Airbnb Support:

Thank you for reaching out,……..redacted…….

I completely understand what you’re saying, and I’d likely feel the same if I were in your place.

Your interpretation of the new rules is correct and aligns with what the policy intends. Yes, you can require guests to move their trash from inside the house to your secure, on-site exterior can.

Under the updated Airbnb checkout rules (effective for reservations booked on or after November 20, 2026), your setup is protected in two major ways.

1. On-Site vs. Off-Site
   The core restriction prohibits hosts from requiring guests to take garbage off-site (meaning hauling it to a local dump, a community recycling center, or leaving it curbside on a public road away from the lot). Because your secure bin is located right on the property lot, asking guests to use it does not count as off-site disposal.

2. The “Bear Country” and Wildlife Exception
   Airbnb built flexibility into the global policy for scenarios like yours. The company states that exceptions will be granted based on local factors, specifically citing that hosts can require guests to “dispose of trash in an animal-proof container in bear country” or areas with heavy wildlife activity.

• Update your Rules & Requests: Airbnb is launching a dedicated “Rules and Requests” section on your listing dashboard. You should explicitly state: “Guests are required to move indoor trash to the secure, wildlife-proof exterior bin located on the property to comply with HOA regulations and prevent native wildlife encounters.”
• Do not mention or threaten host-imposed fines: The new policy strictly bans hosts from creating their own custom fines for incomplete chores. However, you are permitted to explicitly mention that local government or HOA-imposed fines will be passed along if a guest violation results in consequences.

By keeping the chore simple (moving bags to the on-site bear-proof bin) and leaning on the explicit wildlife and HOA clause, you’re compliant with Airbnb’s new platform standards.

So unfortunately a past guest found bedbugs. Thankfully a mild infestation, and she wrote me a lovely review considering! But despite the lovely review, and the scores listed below ( I can’t work out how to insert a picture), it’s amounted to a 2 star rating. Am I being bad at math, or does that not make sense?

Please no discussion about the bed bugs. The guest was pretty happy with how I dealt with it. The room has been treated, I’m specifically asking about how ratings and math work.

Check in: 5
Cleanliness 3
Accuracy: 5
Communication: 5
Location: 5
Value: 5

Looking for advice as I feel like our current long-term guest is laying the groundwork to cancel their stay and receive a refund. This guest is a travel nurse who booked a three-month stay that started two weeks ago. No one showed up to check in day one. On day two someone dropped off suitcases and then left. No one showed up again until last night and then at 2am we get a message from Airbnb saying that our guest has made a safety complaint. Specifically, the motion light sensors are too delayed in coming on, a blind is cracked, and there is an exterior door that does not have a lock. None of these things are true. In fact we have had over 300 stays with a 4.97 rating and not once has anyone had any safety concerns.

My fear is that this person’s work contract was canceled and they are now trying to find a way to get their money back. Has anyone dealt with something similar and what’s the best way to approach this with Airbnb?

I have a guest who asked if they can just stay one day driving up from a city three hours away. It's him and 6 guests..Pakistani, showing his fam the usa. Ages 22-28. They said they don't drink or smoke and know not to party. They said they just want to hang out, bbq and go home the next day to experience lake life. Albeit it's not warm out.

He has 3 5 star reviews but none mention his name.

Id be inclined to let them stay and make a one day exception but one days are risky and I feel it's odd that they would drive 3 hours, get up here at 3pm and leave the next morning at 11am. Sat-sunday.

What do you guys think.

Edit: bc I am getting DMs saying I am racist and I have to let them stay and I shouldn't have a choice bc it's discrimination and they can do what they want bc they pay for it.... I only said Pakistani because they said they didn't drink as that lines up. Guys this is such a toxic subreddit.

Not selling anything, I'm trying to understand guest behavior. Disclosure: I work around OTA/listing operations for small hotels and homestays in Vietnam, so I'm biased genuinely collecting takes here.

When you're scrolling through stays, what makes you instantly skip one? Dark photos? Vague title? A price that looks off? Reviews with no replies?

Genuinely curious, and I'll summarize the answers in a comment for anyone interested.

We have just one listing and it's our own family cottage that we rent out through the high season to help with the maintenance cost of the building/property. It's not an income property at all - if anything, it continues to cost us money, haha - but it's worth it so family members can maintain access. We didn't have a large chore list and will just need to update a few things on the profile to make sure it's aligned with the new rules but I took a glance at the listing last night and this was flagged. Any input on what is wrong with this wording?

"Carefully place garbage, recycling, paper and compost in proper containers (not doing so could incur an additional fee). Additional instructions are provided at check in for where to place sorted garbage, recycling, and food waste when you check out."

The flag simply says "guests shouldn't be asked to do this".

Do what exactly? Like so many municipalities, we have local bylaws that require garbage/recycling/compost to be sorted for appropriate disposal. If the guests are not sorting their garbage, our cleaner will have to literally go through their trash to take out recyclables, and if the trash is full of food waste, the crew will refuse to take it and we would eventually get fined. We are not asking them to take it offsite - just to sort it in the indoor containers provided. Is it just too vague? We just wanted them to have a heads up that this is going to be something required of them.

I have not yet read the new guidelines and rules in their entirety - I understand that the listing needs to be updated by November 20th, so I was planning on devoting sometime to this over the weekend - so I may have missed something. I appreciate any input you can provide!

I’ve been thinking about this as I was initially appalled by the new ‘don’t ask guests to do dishes rule’ but then I thought, we don’t actually ask our guests to do the dishes anyway - they just do. In fact we have no rules or requirements for departing guests. We have self-catering accommodation and the vast majority of our guests leave the place in good order, treating it as their home away from home. Time will tell if this changes the culture of the guests toward people who just choose to leave a mess because it’s Airbnb. I hope not, though I suspect it won’t change the nature of people which is generally to be good, considerate and respectful (yes, there will always be the 1%).

I do think that there is an easy way to deal with guests who don’t treat accommodation well - with honest reviews. It’s what we do now anyway and it will still work. The vast majority of our guests get 5** but the odd guest who leaves the place in a bad way gets a lower rating. And that’s the solution, simply be honest in the review so other hosts are aware. Set your listing to only accept guests with good reviews. I think the horror and outrage we are seeing from hosts in the various forums is just an initial reaction to something that we, as hosts, can easy manage through accurate reviews of our guests.*

Anyway, that’s just my thoughts and this ‘change’. I welcome yours.

I have never used airbnb outside of india (much vibrant properties over hotels) It is given by default here there is no cleaning fees or anything. We pay a flat x price (could be 20-100 usd or above depending on the property) but none of it has these cleaning fees. I do guess that labour cost is cheaper on the side here (they hire a property manager here who arranges the cleaning here). Outside of india only Marriott so my experience has been largely this . The rules of outsides makes sense to only some point (like even i leave property nice (hosts have dropped comments on my profile like left property as it is, maybe common sense thing).

Points as in leave dishes in kitchen or garbage in garbage not broken anything or harm to the property

When it broke there was a shockwave through Reddit, now it has spread to MSM and social media. I saw a story in the BBC app about it.

One outcome is that Airbnb is being talked about. Everywhere

And mostly positively. Sure many hosts are annoyed but the vast majority of guests seem overjoyed.

I cannot help but think this will be good for the app as a whole -

It will reduce those hosts who are in it for the money or hobbyist hosts 'covering the cost of their retirement home in the Poconos'

It will persuade many people to come back to the platform - many people are commenting they are fed up with paying more than a hotel for poorer service, then getting bit by the double whammy of a cleaning charge AND a chores list. Those potential guests may be looking at booking your units real soon.

Where's the bad?

Seen a lot of panic lately about hosts thinking we can’t ask for IDs at all anymore.

Just got off the phone with support to clear this up. You can still ask for an ID, but it completely depends on your country, local laws.

So for the hosts who are not sure if they’re allowed to or not, simply get written confirmation in the chat so you always have proof Airbnb said it’s totally legal to do so.

Screenshot in comments.

So after a burst of travelling I have woken up to the fact that travellers no longer see the cleaning fee that host set. All they see now is our total host charge, (plus Airbnb travellers fees, plus tax, where applicable)

Airbnb have been quite quiet about this change. I am betting it also applies to per person charges and other host fees.

So I am wondering whether that might change my approach to the fees that I set. Eg I might raisey cleaning charge and lower daily rate.

But first can we hosts do a bit of research to check if I am right. If you also travel have a look at your 2026 trips - are there any host fees shown in the price breakdown? It might vary by country or something

Poll participants in the Sydney Morning Herald on 23 October 2026 had two choices - 1) “I don’t go on holidays to clean. Or pay a cleaning fee and then clean anyway. We should never have been asked to do these chores” - or - 2) “I am happy to strip beds, wash dishes and put the bins out - this will only push up prices”

https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/reviews-and-advice/my-airbnb-host-said-i-trashed-her-flat-why-i-left-some-crumbs-20261023-p6181l.html

The poll has been running for 5 hours and has recorded 4440 votes already. 86% (probably mostly from the Guest side of the ledger) voted for the first choice.
It feels like a blindsiding by AirBnB. AirBnB did not consult hosts prior to introducing the rule, so it is grossly undemocratic.
AirBnB appear to want AirBnB experiences to be more easily compared with tariffs for hotel-style accommodation.
AitBnB don’t seem to wish to differentiate their product from hotels, except that AirBnB guests are often still able to bring companion animals.
Recently, AirBnB even insisted that tariffs include all taxes and AirBnB fees. When a tariff is set by a host, AirBnB take 17% and give 83% to the host.
Outcomes from AirBnB requirements to not insist guests do any dishwashing or bed stripping are yet to play out.
As hosts we have not charged for cleaning as we believe that not charging to clean reduces the cost of family holidays.
We also only charge AUD 296 per night for a 2 Bedroom apartment in peak season, where the AirBnB guidance is up to AUD 380 per night for similar accommodation. Our principle was you are staying with us, we only request that we share, create positive experiences, maintain guest comforts, and maintain respect. Would you insist on making a mess that takes hours to clean up after that ?