With Airbnb now limiting its notorious chores list, some hosts are the ones feeling frustrated with the vacation rental platform.
On Oct. 20, Airbnb announced a new house rules policy that would take effect Nov. 20, meant to clarify expectations around house rules and requests and make them more “reasonable.” One of the biggest changes is that guests can’t be asked “to complete tasks that require significant effort or time, or would typically be performed by a cleaner,” like washing dishes or putting bedsheets into the laundry.
Travelers have long complained about long, tedious chore lists that some hosts ask guests to complete during checkout, despite some already paying a cleaning fee.
“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,” Airbnb said in a statement shared with USA TODAY immediately after the new policy was announced.
Hosts Push Back on the Changes
Many hosts are pushing back on the new policy, and not just because of the reduced chores list.
The guidelines also place more limitations on house rules, specifically allowing hosts to add rules only on maximum overnight guests, quiet hours, pets, smoking, events, commercial photography, and locking up at checkout.
Hosts also will be unable to collect guests’ personal identification information or require them to sign separate contracts unless required by law or a homeowners association. Some hosts currently use their own rental agreements to outline more specific guidelines for their properties.
Some hosts voiced their displeasure on social media about the policy change, while others don’t think it’ll cause much impact if they already have minimal requests. Airbnb host Kristin Schuster recently posted a TikTok about how the restrictions could hurt hosts seeking to protect their investments through additional rules and reasonable cleaning requests.
“My biggest concern is that Airbnb is trying to solve the problem of unreasonable hosts by restricting responsible hosts, rather than finding a balance that protects everyone,” Schuster told USA TODAY in an email, adding that she understands some hosts take the “rules and checkout expectations to extremes.”
“I think a lot of hosts are not too happy with the rule change, putting your house out there and then being told exactly how you can use your house, right? And then all those restrictions that they’re adding,” said Katie Johnson, a short-term rental attorney for STR Law and an Airbnb superhost for over a decade.
Johnson is among the hosts who believe that without a rental agreement or creating their own rules, they could lose legal protections in case of damage or a safety incident.
“The hosts are really concerned primarily about any rules that they’re not allowed to put on there that would protect their property, like hot tub safety rules, things like that,” she said.
The new rules were based on direct feedback from both Airbnb guests and hosts, and the standardization of house rules and requests is meant to make it easier for guests to understand what’s expected of them.
Hosts will also lose the ability to fine guests, with Airbnb stating on its website that AirCover will protect hosts in case of damage, and the local government can also impose fines depending on the risk.
Will Hosts Raise Fees?
It’s unclear for now. Some listings may cost more if hosts decide to offset the loss of a rental agreement with insurance.
“So maybe that would be a fee that the guests may see,” said Johnson. “And then you just might see people leaving the Airbnb platform, the host. A lot of hosts are just fed up with this after they recently spiked how much they take from you.”
In June, Airbnb announced the 3% service fee paid by U.S. hosts per booking would rise to 15.5% in September, and guests would no longer pay a service fee.
It wasn’t an easy decision, but Schuster removed her property from Airbnb due to the incoming restrictions.
“I genuinely enjoy hosting and creating an experience for guests, but I’m increasingly concerned about how much control small business owners are giving up to platforms that don’t own the properties they’re regulating,” she said.
Johnson said her own clients have been panicking over the announcement, with some contemplating leaving the vacation rental platform altogether.
“I think hosts are just really frustrated with Airbnb and how guest-centric it is,” she said.
Reporting by Kathleen Wong, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Add a Comment