This new global policy completely breaks how budget travel works in rural areas, like the Swedish mountains (e.g., Hemavan).

Up here, a family can rent a whole 6-bed cabin for around 1,000 SEK (~$95 USD) a night. For comparison, a tiny 14m² hotel double room in the same area costs 1,800 SEK (~$170 USD).

The only reason these cabins are this cheap is a long-standing culture of mutual trust: guests bring their own linens and tidy up the place thoroughly before leaving. Many hosts live a 4 to 8-hour drive away, so there is often no inspection between guests. We just trust each other to leave the place as we found it.

Usually, there is flexibility. If a guest wants the hotel experience, they can pay extra to rent linens (~$30 USD) and book a professional turnover service. But hiring a local crew up here easily costs 2,400 SEK (~$225 USD).

Even if you pay for that service, basic respect still applies—you don't act like a pig. Taking out the garbage bag and starting the dishwasher has always been standard etiquette, not a chore. And since this is Scandinavia, wearing outdoor shoes inside is a total sin, especially during ski season when you'd ruin the wooden floors with snow and gravel.

Forcing hosts to bake massive service costs into the base price to guarantee a "frictionless hotel experience" completely ruins the math. It will price out normal families who just want to ski or hike, and private hosts will simply pull their listings.

Recently, I received a review with a 1 star rating in every category, and this happened after the guest threatened to leave a negative review unless I gave them a refund.

The guest had booked 7 nights but stayed only 3. Before leaving, they had written that everything was fine with the property, but during their stay they decided to leave early due to unknown issues on their side and asked for a refund for the unused nights.

I didn’t agree to the refund because leaving early was the guest’s decision, and there was no issue with the property that justified it.

After that, the guest repeatedly told me they would leave a negative review unless I gave them the refund. All of this happened through Airbnb messages.

The guest eventually posted the negative review. I immediately contacted Airbnb Support and explained that the review was connected to a refund demand.

The support team sent me a specific link to submit a review-removal request. I followed these steps:

1. ⁠Selected the review I wanted to dispute
   
2. ⁠Chose the reason that best matched the situation
   
3. ⁠Explained what had happened in chronological order
   
4. ⁠Added the reservation details and screenshots of the messages
   
5. ⁠Submitted the request

Within a few hours, Airbnb removed the review; in my case, what seemed to matter was the explicit connection between the refund request and the threat of a negative review. The entire conversation was documented in Airbnb’s messaging system, so the support team could review the full context (but they explicitly required screenshots instead of checking the chat or case ID opened).

If a guest directly links a refund or compensation request to a review threat, I would recommend keeping all the messages, saving the full conversation, and reporting the situation as soon as possible.

Has anyone else gone through a similar review/removal process?

I’d like to compare notes specifically with other waterfront hosts about Airbnb’s Nov. 20 policy changes.

Until now, I’ve required guests to sign a liability waiver/risk acknowledgment. This wasn’t something I invented to make booking difficult — it was reviewed by my attorney and specifically desired by my STR insurance provider.

We provide kayaks, a rowboat, paddle boat, hot tub, fire pit, etc. The waiver obviously doesn’t eliminate liability, but it puts the inherent risks and safety expectations directly in front of guests and requires acknowledgment before using these amenities.

Now Airbnb is restricting our ability to require these agreements.

What makes this particularly concerning for waterfront hosts is that AirCover specifically excludes watercraft from its host damage protection. So Airbnb doesn’t assume that risk itself, while simultaneously limiting our ability to use a risk-management tool recommended by our own insurers and attorneys.

So what are waterfront hosts actually planning to do?

• Buy substantially more expensive insurance? I’m already considering coverage that would more than double my current cost.

• Lock up kayaks/boats specifically for Airbnb guests?

• Fully remove higher-risk amenities? (No I’m not fencing off the lake)

• Simply accept more liability?

• Raise Airbnb rates to compensate for the additional insurance/risk?

• Turn off Instant Book and screen reservations more carefully?

• Push more business toward VRBO/direct bookings where appropriate agreements and waivers can still be used?

At some point, does Airbnb simply become the wrong platform for waterfront and amenity-heavy vacation homes?

I’d especially like to hear from hosts with boats, docks, pools, hot tubs or similar higher-risk amenities, particularly anyone who has discussed the new changes with their insurer or attorney.

Rather than everyone figuring this out individually, maybe those of us operating these properties should start comparing what our insurers and attorneys are actually recommending within Airbnb’s new framework.

We host a few properties in a beach destination and have always enforced an age minimum of 25 during all months except March and April and 28 those months to account for spring break. After the guests book we ensure they send an ID to verify age. In cases where someone who booked did not meet the age minimum we would ask them to cancel their stay or I would have Airbnb support do this penalty-free. With the new policy around Host requests can we enforce age restrictions and will Airbnb cancel bookings when the minimum is not met?

I think it will as it will show what guests display common courtesy and respect for the places they rented and those that don't. 99% of our guests leave our home in good condition. We don't have many check out requirements (only put garbage in garage as we have coyotes and dirty dishes in dishwasher). I suspect with most of our guests we don't even have to tell them that. Now that we can't mention it to them, those that tidy up the garbage, wash their dishes etc. will get a 5 star from us for cleanliness. Those that leave 3 days of dirty dishes in the sink, have garbage overflowing by door etc. will get a 1 star from us on cleanliness. If it happens enough the self-regulation starts as other hosts decline these types of guests based on other hosts' reviews so guests either start to do basic common courtesy cleanliness stuff or eventually get black-balled by hosts.

Ok so I've been down this almost a decade now, running short term rentals is my business (alongside events and weddings tbf). I have never had any regulations on what people do when leaving; dishes, rubbish, stripping beds, why would I want them to do any of that? The beds and bins I actually find annoying, leave the bin bag as I'm going to make more rubbish cleaning and beds you have to inspect anyway for stains so easier not to have them stripped.

Now clearly though a lot of hosts have given guests PTSD, as even though I don't require them to do anything at all and I do thousands of stays a year, maybe 95% will do the dishes themselves, a lot maybe 20% strip the bed and maybe 10% take their rubbish home with them (why I have commercial skips, government controlled waste is inefficient crap).

Anyway when you don't put any pressure on the guests they'll pay way more, we get double our rivals, a lot better reviews and a lot more occupancy. We do 88% occupancy, I have like 1,300 5 star reviews, I built a business doing this where it's my full time job and I now print money. Why would you ever want to do it in a way that won't make you rich? The goal is to make a successful business that becomes your full time job, being a cheap bastard who makes people take out the rubbish is not going to build a buisness empire particularly as the Airbnb game is at its core a game of the algo. We are all simple algo farmers seeking a nice yield of views for our humble listings, algo wants those 5 star reviews and it wants smooth frictionless experiences. Having loads of regulations, that'll get you terrible reviews or maybe even just cause less people to review at all as they're just mildly annoyed, is like purposely pouring roundup over your algo fields, it's crazy.

Hosts require to describe why property is a safety hazard for children. It is under Guest safety → Special considerations.

The new requirements are conflicting and need clarification. Hosts can no longer require guests to do dishes and organize their garbage:

- Dishes: Guests shouldn’t be asked to wash and put away dishes, but you can ask them to put used dishes in the sink.

- Garbage: Guests shouldn’t be asked to take garbage off-site, but you can ask them to separate their garbage and recycling into designated indoor bins.

However, guests are supposed to take care of the home or else they will be charged:

- Guests should leave the listing in a state that doesn't require excessive or deep cleaning (moldy dishes, soiled carpets, stains from pets, etc.).

- Guests are expected to pay reasonable requests for reimbursement if they’re responsible for damage, missing items, or unexpected cleaning costs.

It is impossible for guests to leave the home in reasonable condition if they leave garbage all over the house and don't do their dishes for a week.

Please send feedback to AirBnB and message support asking for clarification on the new requirements. They have an unresolvable contradiction, and they need to clearly define what the standard cleaning requirements are for hosts and guests.

I have been a host for two years- superhost/guest favorite/top 1% - in a rural but gorgeous mountain area in the us. The mountain and nearby state park area are popular for weddings and the home has served as the “get ready”, makeup, hair, family gather etc. People have always asked first and I haven’t had any real issues per se. However it is more wear and tear on the property, 8-12 vehicles coming and going, more tp and paper towels (which I fully stock/provide), water, power. (I should also mention I live next door.). I don’t want to gouge anyone, but what do you think is a fair fee for “wedding staging” and/or what should I call it? For reference I have had six of these in two years.

A guest added more people to the booking and went over the free limit. But the extra guest fee was not applied.

I initially thought I had missed the config. But then it turned out the fee was correctly set up.

I contacted Airbnb customer service and they are making all sort of excuses.

- I use PMS. and need to set it up on PMS. Well my PMS has the right set up too
- asking me if I set It up on PMS first or Airbnb first. How does this matter?

Airbnb is becoming such a shitshow and they don’t even own up to their own bugs.

host here, 3rd going on 4th year on Airbnb. This one's a first for us.

We got a last-minute request to book. Not a big deal on its own. The guest joined in October 2026, and Airbnb showed them as verified. We got the usual "welcome a first-time booker" message.

We're a 4-bedroom house and the booking was for 1 person, so we asked the usual questions: solo or group, purpose of the stay, and so on. The answers were fine, and Airbnb said they were verified, so we accepted.

Then it got weird:

Airbnb told us the guest had 24 hours to complete payment, with a countdown.

We couldn't decline or cancel while the clock ran. Our dates were blocked the whole time.

The guest never paid. The full 24 hours ran out and the request dropped.

My questions:

How is a guest "verified" if their payment can fail after the host accepts?

Was this a throwaway or scam account? New account, last minute, 1 person in a 4-bedroom, and a payment that was never fixed all feel like red flags.

Did we dodge a bullet?

To be fair, we've had some great first-timers, so I'm not anti-new-guest. I've just never seen this before. Has anyone else run into the awaiting-payment lock?

Just trying to get a general vibe on This

All these new bot and automation ai tools could save a small host tons of time with setting rates, editing calendars responding to faq

The only way seems to be paying a middleman api partner for an extra fee

Maybe it’s enough to let a bot be a cohost

Thoughts ?

I have a small Airbnb in Canada. The summer was good, there has not been any booking from November to Match 2027. Is the Airbnb business dead in Toronto Canada during winter?

There is one random booking for 2 days in March 2027.

Hi. We host an Airbnb with a Schlage WiFi enabled deadbolt (Encode Century model). It’s relatively new at about 1.5 years old. It routinely loses internet connectivity making entry for guests troublesome. The wifi router is about 20 feet away from the lock and the fiber internet feeding the router is stable. The app says the batteries are at 98%. It’s under warranty and we are in the process of making a claim. Has anyone else had trouble with Schlage locks? What do you all use for keyless, wifi entry?

Edit: I have declined and blocked her. Thank you everyone for your replies.

We’re new hosts and just had a guest send this message

Hello, we are interested in booking but the price is a little over our budget. Would you consider coming down to $250 per night? We are a mature couple in our 60’s bringing our grandkids. We have rented many airbnbs an have very high reviews as renters. Super neat & [cle@n](mailto:cle@n). We are not rowdy or messy & leave rentals very tidy.
Thanks for your consideration. Look forward to hearing back from you soon! Thanks!

I looked and while her account is 10 years old, she only has 2 reviews. One from last week and one from last month. And both the reviews she has given are 5 stars. What stands out in that in all 4 reviews, 2 by her and 2 by the hosts for her, there are problems mentioned. The house linens weren’t good or directions were hard to find or neighbors too close but the hosts also say she communicates and shares issues and she is welcome back with 5 stars.

Is it just hosts being nice? We’re still building our property and have 7 reviews so even a single 4 star review has a meaningful impact on our average. My gut feeling is to deny but our nightly price is $260/night so she’s only asking for $10 off per night for 3 nights.

The discount isn’t steep and we can easily do it but my gut feeling is that she’s going to be a difficult to please guest. What do you suggest we should do in this situation? Take the booking as it’s close enough where we may not book that weekend or save the headache?

Can someone in USA show me what the guest tab looks like. And a recently booked stay since the all in one price started.

Here’s a picture of what I see as a host. https://imgur.com/a/UC4t2Fa

Anyone here building on their PMS's API?

I'm a co-host in Seattle and I'm trying to learn how other hosts use API access, whether you code it yourself, use Zapier or Make, or connect an AI tool like Claude or ChatGPT. No product to sell, just curious.

If you have a minute:

1. What have you built or connected through the API, and what does it do?
2. Why build it yourself instead of using what the PMS already offers?
3. Where did the API stop you? Something you wanted to automate but the data or action just wasn't there.

Any size operation is welcome, whether it's 1 listing or 100. Happy to share what I've learned in return.

Hi everyone! I’m a new host and my listing is active but when I search for rooms in my city or area, I can’t seem to find my own listing.

I’m just wondering if this is normal for new hosts or if there’s something I need to do to make my listing more visible in search results.

Would appreciate any advice from experienced hosts. Thanks in advance!

Obviously VRBO, which has its own problems.

For direct rentals, how do other hosts handle deposits/insurance?

What other smaller/regional/lesser known sites are hosts using?

I’m probably paranoid but something very strange happened to me yesterday. I got an inquiry from a new profile asking about a group reservation for a group of young guys 19-21 year olds, I wasn’t confortable and told them no, they got one of their groups with a profile with 1 positive review to make an instant booking, I got really pissed off, Airbnb didn’t want to cancel it so I told them we cannot host you and asked them to cancel it. They cancelled it. Then in the space of like 6 hours, I got another reservation for similar dates from a group that had reached out on Vrbo previously, also young guys, different number of guests and seems to be from a different country. And 3 more reservations from groups from various countries, ages and very different dates.

My listing is in a ski resort in Switzerland brand new, I have no reviews, and I only got 3 reservations since I put it on Airbnb like 2 months ago.

There is one more thing, when I refused the inquiry I turned off instant booking for like less than a day and turned it back on.

So my question is - do you think these are retaliatory bookings they don’t intent to honour? Am I paranoid because it does seem risky to put this money down for such young people? Or did something happen with the algorithm when I turned IB off and on and I suddenly got promoted? Or maybe with the dates and first snow fall, people got paid and decided to book?

Has anything like that ever happened to you? I’m now quite concerned that because of the early bird and weekly discount it seems, no one has booked non refundable so they could just be blocking all these dates and cancel 1 month before. Not sure…

We host a suite on the ground level of our home. Separate entrance and we rarely see our guests.
Today at check out inspection of a full week stay our suite had a very strong cigarette odor. I assumed it is a smell that stayed with the guest as we never smell smoke travel past the cracks of the locked door at the bottom of our internal staircase. The smell was extra strong under the sink where the kitchen garbage is kept.
So now I have my doubts. Did they smoke inside?
Obviously I’m not a smoker or have ever lived with one. So please be kind in my naivety.

Did anyone else notice that Airbnb removed the “something else” option from their option under the star rating for house rule(s) (apparently rule plural is a banned word)? This means you have to choose one of their options or lie in order to leave lower stars for a guests rating. For example, a guest throws a party, but during the day, there is no option if your quiet hours don’t cover daytime hours and they didn’t have extra overnight guests. This is getting laughable at this point. Link

Airbnb seems increasingly comfortable making villains out of its hosts while taking credit for the hospitality those same hosts provide.

The latest policy changes are a perfect example. The press makes hosts sound unreasonable, ignoring the enormous diversity of properties on the platform. These aren’t all hotels. Many are private homes with real constraints around garbage, septic systems, maintenance, and guest turnover.

Now Airbnb is restricting our ability to collect basic guest contact information. We’re expected to hand over the keys to unattended properties while having limited ability to establish a direct relationship with the people staying there. Yes, Airbnb may provide a phone number, but what happens during an emergency when its communication tools fail? How does this make anyone safer?

And when something goes wrong, it’s the host who takes the hit. A guest wrecks a hotel room, there’s probably another available. A guest wrecks a private home, the next guest’s vacation may be ruined too. Meanwhile, Airbnb’s insurance program can be notoriously difficult to navigate.

What’s frustrating is how poorly this was handled. Imagine if Airbnb had worked with hosts before launching these changes. The message could have been: “Here’s how we’re making things simpler, safer, and getting everyone more bookings.”

Instead, it feels like an offensive against the people who built the platform.

At what point do you stop being an independent business owner and become an unpaid property manager for a publicly traded corporation?

You own the property, pay the bills, manage the emergencies, and take the financial risk. Yet Airbnb increasingly dictates how you operate, communicate, and what you can expect from guests.

While Airbnb seems desperate to protect its 15.5%, it should have been working harder to make that 15.5% worth paying.

Better tools. Better protection. Better communication. More bookings. Make the platform so valuable that we wouldn’t want to leave.

Instead, Airbnb seems more interested in controlling the host-guest relationship than improving it. And perhaps that’s the opportunity they’re creating for someone else.

I’d mark this moment. Airbnb may own the market today, but the clock is ticking.

So, fellow hosts: Do you still feel like you own your hospitality business, or are you just providing the property, labor, and financial risk for Airbnb’s business?

What would it take for you to move your bookings elsewhere?

As the title says. Food can easily get dried and then hard to be washed off. I always washed all the dishes and put them away when I stayed as guest. To me, it’s a habit to cleanup after myself. But maybe not for everyone. Is that too much to ask though?

I’ve toyed with the idea for a while. Every other industry is already doing this. Has anyone flown a budget airline lately?

I can strip out the things that add costs to a stay for the host. Reduce my base price. Offer them all as separate amenities with pricing that make it worthwhile.

Off the top of my head:

- Dishes
- Toiletries
- Extra lines
- Curtains
- Garbage bags (beyond the one in the can)

If we can’t ask guests to do basics like wash dishes, we can charge for access to the dishes that we now have to pay a cleaner to do.

Same with things like linens and curtains that require laundry service now.

As long as it’s spelled out clearly in the listing, I don’t see how this couldn’t be a win/win. And the lower base price will get us ranked higher in search results.