Photo Credit: An unmade bed in an Airbnb in San German, Puerto Rico. Skift / Dennis Schaal
Airbnb is limiting what hosts can ask of guests at checkout. In a Tuesday email titled “Important Changes to House Rules,” the company told hosts that starting November 20, they can choose from seven standard house rules and are “generally not allowed” to ask guests to wash dishes, strip beds, or take out the garbage.
It is the first time Airbnb has published a house rules policy that spells out which host requests are reasonable and which aren’t.
Hosts who repeatedly violate the policy could face a notice on the listing, lower visibility in search results, or “other actions under our terms of service,” according to the policy. Those can include canceling bookings, removing Superhost or Guest Favorite status, or suspending the host’s account.
A new provision in Airbnb’s terms bars hosts from requiring separate rental agreements, with exceptions for monthly stays, Airbnb Luxe, and optional amenities such as golf cart use, or where loca