Airbnb Tells Hosts That Guests Are Not Cleaners

In the early days, Airbnb used to be a gold mine when it came to finding cheap places. The service basically pointed the middle finger at more expensive hotels, giving would-be guests an alternative place to stay for less money.

Unfortunately, Airbnb hosts have turned the business into a profit maximizing machine, charging rates similar to hotels, but without some of the added benefits. Lately we’ve seen hosts try to nickel and dime their guests with bogus cleaning fees, trying to tack on extra charges (e.g. for air conditioner use) on arrival, and even asking guests to do moderate to heavy cleaning/tidying up.

Over the past few years, Airbnb has started putting pressure on hosts to do better by forcing them to list all instructions up front on their listing, modifying their booking engine to show the final price up front, and suggesting that guest duties be reasonable.

They also let guests do more quality control reporting post-stay, allowing them to alert Airbnb of any unreasonable requests such as having to comply to rules that were not originally listed on the marketplace ad. Airbnb has also started a mass drive to remove listings that consistently receive bad reviews, and higher than normal cancellation requests and support complaints.

Earlier this year, a Tiktok couple called Cassie and Jon went viral across social media after showcasing their ridiculous Airbnb inspection visits, complaining about guests not not putting back furniture in their original positions, or charging outrageously high fees for unregistered visitors, and limited guests from using most of the facilities available in their Airbnb.

The internet did its thing, and flooded the comments section, highlighting how hosts abuse their privilege and defeat the purpose of what Airbnbs was meant to be. Many even say that they prefer to stay in a hotel than deal with chores like washing up and stripping linens before they leave.

I do have my doubts about Cassie and Jon’s true intention behind their videos, and I suspect they were staged with the intention of drumming up publicity, but that’s just me speculating. However, the general blowback did get Airbnb’s attention.

Credit: Bradley Wint/Gate Checked

In a policy update that is now in effect, Airbnb is once again reminding hosts that guest rules should be included up front in their listing, and should be reasonable. While they do also state that guests should follow the provided rules, they also clearly note that asking guests to “complete tasks that require significant effort or time” would fall outside the realm of what is considered reasonable.

In their update, they say tasks such as stripping the bed, taking trash offsite, or washing and putting away dishes, is something that should be done by cleaning staff, and not left for guests to do. This is fair because why would guests pay a cleaning fee if they still have to do half the work?

They also say that listed amenities cannot be restricted. For instance, if you advertise having air conditioning or heating, restrictions should not be imposed during your stay. If hosts want to limit usage or certain items, they should state this clearly in the listing along with added fees that guests should expect to pay.

Hosts also cannot impose fines and other penalties, as claims would generally be handled through AirCover.

While I empathize with some hosts, I also think it’s about time Airbnb reign in those abusing the system. I’ve stayed at some awesome Airbnbs in the past, and don’t mind doing small tasks like washing up, but I’m not going to spend my vacation time to sweep or pull sheets off my bed when I’m already paying $50+ dollars in nightly cleaning fees.

Sign up for the free Gate Checked newsletter here sent three times weekly.

View All and Comment