Airbnb guests will soon be spared the chore of washing and putting away dishes under new short-term rental rules, a move that has triggered an angry response from some Australian hosts.
The update to Airbnb’s community policy applies to reservations made from November 20, 2026. Under the new guidelines, guests generally cannot be required to complete tasks involving “significant effort or time” or jobs that would normally be handled by a professional cleaner.
That means hosts will generally be unable to instruct visitors to wash and store dishes, strip the beds, put on a load of laundry or take rubbish away from the property.
Hosts can still select from seven standard house rules relating to maximum overnight occupancy, quiet hours, parties and events, pets, smoking, commercial photography and securing the property at checkout. They may also include other requests, provided those are considered reasonable under Airbnb’s policy.
Airbnb may flag requests that breach the updated policy. Hosts will then be asked either to remove the rule or lodge an appeal.
The changes have frustrated some Australian Airbnb hosts, who argue they place an unfair burden on property owners. One Queensland host took to social media with what she described as a “simple solution”.
“No dishes provided. If guests want to use dishes, they can purchase their own. I’m not offering kitchen access,” the woman wrote on an online forum. “They’ll use disposable plates.”
Another woman, who said her Airbnb listing earns more than $130,000 a year, claimed she would consider leaving the platform if she started finding dirty dishes throughout the property.
Airbnb guests will soon be exempt from washing and putting away dishes under new short-term rental rules, angering some Australian hosts
“I have never charged a cleaning fee and I don’t even ask my guests to sweep the floor but I’ll be f***ed if I’ll accept people leaving dirty dishes,” she said.
“When we walk in and find a guest has not put away the dirty dishes we automatically would never want them back in our house. I have to say out of over 1000 guests that I’ve had I’ve only ever had dirty dishes left a handful of times.
“Why should people come into my beautiful home and leave their dirty dishes lying around?”
Another host said the policy would effectively give guests permission to leave properties in disarray, warning that food waste could attract vermin and that hosts would have no way to respond.
The Airbnb policy changes have also provoked criticism from hosts overseas, with several saying they intend to stop using the platform.
One US-based host posted a screenshot that appeared to indicate hosts could no longer ask guests to pick up dog poo, although that task was not specifically mentioned in Airbnb’s published guidance.
Another US host wrote: “On November 19th I will be shutting down my calendar and once the years out I will be delisting from Airbnb. They are not a host friendly company any longer and we’ll suffer in the long run.”
A third host claimed Airbnb was trying to encourage owners to increase cleaning fees so the company could take a larger percentage of the earnings.
A US-based host posted a screenshot that appeared to suggest guests could not be asked to pick up dog poo, although Airbnb’s published guidance did not specifically mention the task
Several hosts have threatened to leave Airbnb when the new rules take effect next month
Hosts will be limited to seven standard rules when setting up an Airbnb listing
However, others said they were glad Airbnb was cracking down on the ‘ridiculous’ check out rules.
‘I’m sorry, but if I’m paying hundreds of dollars for accommodations AND an additional cleaning fee, why the hell am I stripping beds, doing laundry, and taking out the trash?’ one person said.
‘At that point, I’m basically paying hotel prices to do household chores on vacation.’
Another said: ‘I don’t get how owners can feel comfortable with other people putting on a load of washing.’
Our News Outlet has contacted Airbnb for comment.
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