When it comes to choosing between a hotel and an Airbnb, cost is often the deciding factor. An Airbnb can be a cheaper option for a group trip or a long weekend away, and it usually comes with a full kitchen and a lot more space.
Hotels, however, have always had one other advantage: nobody expects you to clean up after yourself.
Most Airbnb users have probably come across a checkout list asking them to wash the dishes, strip the beds, start a load of laundry and take out the garbage. In many cases, guests are asked to do all of that on top of paying a cleaning fee.
But that’s about to change.
Airbnb has announced a new house rules policy that will stop hosts from asking guests to take care of certain chores before checkout. The changes take effect on November 20, 2026. Airbnb announced the update on October 20 in its host resource centre, and also emailed hosts directly. According to the company, most travellers don’t want to be surprised with tasks at the end of their stay.
In its message to hosts, Airbnb said asking guests to do things cleaners should take care of can have a negative effect on their stay, and on the reviews they leave.
www.youtube.com
What your host won’t be able to ask you to do anymore
Airbnb gave a few examples to show where it’s drawing the line:
- Dishes: Your host can’t ask you to wash and put away the dishes, but they can ask you to leave dirty dishes in the sink.
- Laundry: You won’t be asked to strip the beds or start a load of laundry, but you might still be asked to gather the dirty towels.
- Garbage: Taking the trash outside is off the table. Sorting your garbage and recycling into the bins provided inside is still fair game.
- Amenities: If the listing advertises air conditioning, your host can’t ask you not to use it. They can, however, ask you to turn it off when you leave.
Airbnb says it will take the type of property and the local context into account, so there could be some exceptions. For example, asking guests to put garbage in a bear-proof container in an area with bears could be considered reasonable. So could asking people to keep their showers short during a drought.
The only house rules hosts can set
Under the new policy, hosts will have to choose from a list of seven standard house rules. They cover:
- The maximum number of guests staying overnight
- Quiet hours
- Events
- Pets, including how many are allowed
- Smoking, including vaping and e-cigarettes
- Commercial photography or filming
- Locking up at checkout, including where to leave the keys
The maximum number of overnight guests and the lockup rule are both new additions.
On top of those, hosts can add “requests,” but they’ll have to be reasonable in Airbnb’s eyes. Checkout instructions, which used to have their own section, will now fall under these requests too.
No more signs on the fridge
If you’ve ever walked into an Airbnb and found a laminated list of rules taped to the fridge, that’s on its way out too.
All rules and requests will have to be listed in one section of the listing. Hosts won’t be allowed to add extra ones in their description, in their messages to guests or on signs posted around the property.
If a host’s requests don’t follow the new policy, Airbnb says it will flag them and send the host an email with tips on how to fix it. Hosts will be able to dispute the decision. But if nothing changes, an alert could show up directly on the listing, warning guests that it includes cleaning-related requests, for example.
Goodbye to most contracts
Hosts who make guests sign a contract before their stay will also have to rethink things.
Under the new rules, contracts will only be allowed in specific situations, like when they’re required by law, by a homeowners’ association, for a long-term stay, for an Airbnb Luxe property or for optional equipment like a golf cart.
Even then, Airbnb says it won’t require guests to sign anything, and it won’t help hosts enforce their contracts.
Guests still have to follow the rules
This doesn’t mean guests have free rein, though.
Travellers still have to respect a host’s house rules. Hosts can cancel a booking without penalty if a guest breaks a rule during their stay, or says before arriving that they plan to. Guests who don’t follow Airbnb’s policies could also be suspended or removed from the platform altogether.
So you’ll still have to keep the noise down and leave the party plans at home. But at least you won’t have to spend your last morning scrubbing pans.
AI tools may have been used to support the creation or distribution of this content; however, it has been carefully edited and fact-checked by a member of MTL Blog’s Editorial team. For more information on our use of AI, please visit our Editorial Standards page.