Airbnb to hosts: no more asking guests to wash the dishes

In addition to increasingly strict rules for hosts renting out their homes on Airbnb – including limits on the number of nights, guest caps and permit fees – there are now new rules to abide by: they can’t ask their guests to do the dishes or remove bed sheets.

Airbnb introduced a new policy on house rules earlier this week that will go into effect on November 20, 2026. Among them are what the company considers “reasonable requests”, which Airbnb defines per chore.

“You may not ask guests to wash everything and store the dishes, but you may ask them to put the dishes in the sink,” says the site.

“You may not ask guests to pick up the bed linen or put the laundry in the washing machine, but you may ask them to collect used towels.”

And: “You may not ask guests to take the garbage and dispose of it elsewhere, but you may ask them to separate their residual waste and recyclable waste in the designated waste bins in the accommodation.”

But “reasonable” appears to be a relative term. Airbnb will let hosts, for example, ask guests to put their garbage in animal-resistant containers if there are bears in the area.

“It’s ridiculous,” said one former Airbnb host who doesn’t want to be named. “The rules were changing all the time, getting more restrictive, which made it increasingly hard to make any money at all. I’m glad I got out of it before I can’t tell my guests to clean up after themselves. What’s next? Will we have to provide sunbeds for them?”

According to the booking website, the world’s largest for private stays, landlords already charge their guests a cleaning fee. Making them clean more is unfair, says Airbnb, and leads to guest dissatisfaction.

Airbnb has faced criticism for years in many cities where it operates, with detractors saying it leads to higher rents, less housing for locals and less livable neighbourhoods, especially in smaller cities with huge tourist populations like Amsterdam and Barcelona.