Airbnb guests will no longer have to do chores involving ‘significant effort’

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If you’ve ever paid a cleaning fee for an Airbnb stay yet found yourself tidying up and doing chores on your way out the day, that is all set to change.

Airbnb is banning hosts from setting house rules that require guests to perform chores and other tasks that require “significant effort.”

The vacation rental platform unveiled its updated policy advising hosts on the seven standardized house rules that can be set for their listings, including the maximum number of overnight guests, quiet hours and pets.

Beyond the standard rules, hosts can now only add what Airbnb calls “reasonable requests.”

What are the new guidelines?

Hosts are generally not allowed to “ask guests to complete tasks that require significant effort or time, or would typically be performed by a cleaner,” according to the new policy, which lists examples, including “stripping the bed, taking trash offsite, or washing and putting away dishes.”

Guests can still be asked to put used dishes in the kitchen sink and collect used towels for laundering.

Trash, however, should remain on site, but hosts can ask that it be separated into garbage and recycling bins inside the rental.

As for utilities, guests shouldn’t be asked to avoid using any listed amenity, like air conditioning, but hosts can ask them to turn it off before they leave.

Exceptions to the rules

There are exceptions, such as asking guests to keep trash in an animal-proof container in bear country or asking them to limit shower time based on local drought conditions — but all house rules and requests must be included on the listing at the time of booking.

“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,” an Airbnb spokesperson told the Toronto Sun.

“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.”

Heads up, hosts

Airbnb says it will flag any requests that don’t follow the new policy to hosts, and the company intends to follow up with an email and provide tips for resolving any issues.

Hosts will also have an opportunity to submit an appeal.

The new guidelines, which affect all Airbnb rental properties, including internationally, applies to all reservations booked on or after Nov. 20.

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