October 22, 2026, 11:34 am | Read time: 4 minutes

When booking a place on Airbnb, guests agree to adhere to the required house rules. These include quiet hours, the prohibition or allowance of pets, smoking, and events. Depending on the host, basic rules may also cover check-out procedures, cleaning during the stay, or other topics. Airbnb disagreed with some of these and has now introduced corresponding changes that will take effect on November 20, 2026.

These New Rules Apply at Airbnb

Previously, some listings included specific instructions on how and where to dispose of trash, strip the bed linens, or sweep the house. Starting next month, hosts will no longer be allowed to demand such cleaning tasks. Instead, only “reasonable” instructions are permitted.

For instance, guests can no longer be asked to wash dishes and put them away in cabinets. Airbnb now considers it reasonable only to request that dirty dishes be placed in the sink. Similarly, guests are no longer required to strip the beds and put the linens in the washing machine at the end of their stay. However, hosts may ask guests to gather used towels.

Starting in November, guests will only be responsible for sorting their trash into designated containers within the building, not for disposing of it outside the accommodation. An exception exists in areas with bears and similar wildlife, where guests may be asked to “dispose of their trash in a container inaccessible to animals,” according to Airbnb. Another exception is during “times of local drought-induced water shortages,” when it may be “reasonable to ask guests to limit their shower time.”

Guests cannot be required to refrain from using amenities listed in the advertisement. However, owners may still ask guests to turn off air conditioning and similar devices when leaving the accommodation.

Airbnb justifies the new rules by stating that “most guests want to avoid unexpected housework.” If a host asks them to “do things that a cleaning service should handle,” it could negatively impact their stay and review.

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Hosts Criticize New Rules

Many hosts offering their accommodations on Airbnb criticize the new rules. Comments on the platform, such as these, suggest that Airbnb confuses self-catering vacation rentals with hotels. “Expecting guests in self-catering accommodations to wash up after their stay and responsibly dispose of their trash is a basic expectation within this agreement and not an unreasonable cleaning task. It would be unacceptable to ask hotel guests to do the same,” writes one host. Another asks, “Isn’t it normal to throw away food scraps and wash used dishes? By explicitly forbidding this, tenants are expected to leave everything behind. All the cleanup and cleaning work will fall on the landlords’ shoulders.”

Others predict a bleak future for Airbnb and its customers. One host explains that prohibiting requests for guests to start the dishwasher, throw trash in outdoor bins, and leave the accommodation free of food waste will “lead to a lower quality guest experience across the platform.” He believes Airbnb will suffer long-term reputational damage because guests will associate the platform with “low-quality, shabby accommodations.” He adds, “Food waste left by guests at room temperature poses a health risk for future guests (cockroaches, flies, ants, mice, rats, mold, and unpleasant, persistent odors) and diminishes the quality of future guests’ stays as well as the accommodation itself.” This host, like others, urges the company to reconsider the changes.

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In other comments, alongside dissatisfaction with the new regulations and requests for their reversal, there are mentions of ending rentals through the platform. One host writes, “I think after 13 years, it’s better for me to leave this platform. I must admit it has given me a lot, but lately, it ‘simplifies’ in its way, always to the detriment of the host.”