Airbnb bans hosts from demanding guests strip beds and wash up - as new rules are branded a 'nightmare' and furious owners threaten to QUIT

Published: 05:37 EDT, 22 October 2026 | Updated: 05:37 EDT, 22 October 2026 Airbnb has introduced new rules limiting what hosts can ask guests to do before checking out.From washing the dishes to stripping the beds, holidaymakers have often been left with a list of chores to complete before they can leave their rental.But that is now changing, with the accommodation platform banning hosts from requiring guests to carry out certain tasks before they vacate a property.'All requests must be reasonable under the new policy,' the update explained.It added: 'Guests shouldn't be asked to wash and put away dishes, but you can ask them to put used dishes in the sink.'The rules also cover laundry. Hosts can no longer ask guests to strip the beds, although they can still ask them to 'gather used towels'. Airbnb has banned check-out chores under a new policy set to launch on November 20'Guests shouldn’t be asked to take rubbish off-site, but you can ask them to separate their rubbish and recycling into designated indoor bins,' it continued.'Guests shouldn’t be asked to avoid using a listed amenity like air conditioning, but you can ask them to turn it off when they leave.'The new policy comes into effect from November 20, 2026 but many hosts are not impressed.One person, in an Airbnb host group on Facebook, expressed their concerns over how the regulations 'could potentially double my cleaners time', and as a result, her costs.'If guests now think it's ok to not clean up after themselves, this has the potential to encourage a vermin problem,' she added.'As a cleaner, I can't believe this! I hope guests don't get wind of this. Anyone leaving dirty dishes, empty bottles and bins puts additional strain on cleaners, leaves a smell that has to be aired,' someone else added.'Guests who leave this are more likely to leave the whole property a mess - from experience.' Others warned they may be pushed to move their property to another website.'I will make a complaint - I cannot expect my cleaner to do dirty dishes - and the cost of cleaners is already too high - if Airbnb persist in this I will take my property off the site,' a host fumed. Another added: 'Time to find another letting platform.' Someone else said: 'The new rules are a nightmare - just encouraging people to leave everywhere a mess!'A petition has been launched on Change.org titled 'Airbnb: Keep self-catering self-catering - let hosts ask guests to wash up!'It outlines how they feel the new policy is 'unreasonable, unfair to hosts and fundamentally misunderstands the nature of self-catering accommodation'. At the moment more than 2,900 hosts have signed the form. An Airbnb spokesman said: '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. '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.'