"I'm paying to stay, and you want me to do the laundry and dishes too?" ... Airbnb bans excessive cleaning demands

Applies to reservations made from November 20 onward, including in South Korea
Limits on requiring guests to wash dishes, strip beds, or take trash outside

Airbnb is putting a stop to the practice of requiring guests to perform excessive “checkout cleaning,” such as washing dishes, making beds, and taking out the trash.

Image for illustrative purposes only; not related to the article's content. Magnific

According to The Guardian, Airbnb will introduce new accommodation rules limiting hosts’ cleaning and tidying requirements for reservations covered by its global policy starting November 20.

Airbnb said, “Guests have repeatedly complained that, despite paying cleaning fees that can amount to hundreds of dollars, they are still expected to do various household chores required by hosts.”

Under the new rules, hosts may not require guests to perform “tasks that take a significant amount of time or effort, or are typically carried out by cleaning staff.”

Specifically, hosts will be restricted from requiring guests to strip the beds, wash and put away used dishes, or take trash to a designated location outside the accommodation.

After hearing the news, U.S. users expressed frustration, saying, “It might be polite to tidy up after yourself when you’re a guest at someone’s home, but at an Airbnb, you’re a customer paying for a service.” Others said, “I was stunned when I was told I had to do the dishes separately, even after paying a $180 cleaning fee (about 240,000 won) for a one-night stay.”

The Airbnb cleaning service team is sorting laundry. Hometeam Luxury Rentals

However, not all requests to tidy up will be prohibited. Hosts may make relatively simple requests, such as asking guests to leave used dishes in the sink, gather used towels in one place, or sort their trash in a designated indoor area.

Along with the new rules, Airbnb has organized the standard house rules hosts can set into seven categories. These include check-in and checkout times, the maximum number of guests, smoking policies, quiet hours, and whether pets are allowed.

All such house rules must be disclosed to guests when they book. Hosts may not require guests to follow additional rules that were not disclosed in advance, whether in a separate message after the reservation or in a notice inside the accommodation.

Exceptions may be allowed depending on local circumstances. For example, hosts in areas experiencing drought or water restrictions may ask guests to take shorter showers, while those in areas frequented by wildlife may require guests to dispose of trash in dedicated containers that animals cannot access.

The Guardian reported that Airbnb has long received complaints from guests about cleaning fees and checkout chores. Since April 2025, Airbnb has stopped displaying cleaning fees as a separate item to guests and instead allows hosts to include them in the total accommodation price if needed.

The new rules are not limited to specific countries and will apply to all reservations covered by Airbnb’s global policy. Accordingly, the same standards are expected to apply to accommodations in South Korea and many other countries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.