image copyrightLisa Clewes
When Lisa Clewes returned to her holiday rental in Wales to take over a group of tenants, she was shocked by what she saw.
Just a few days ago, she personally received these guests and helped them carry their luggage.
However, after a dinner party, the house was left in a "mess", with broken wine glasses and drink cans scattered on the floor, pots and pans filled with food on the table, and even fish offal left in the garden.
"It's unbelievable," Cruise said. "If I had other reservations that day, I might have to cancel or delay guests' check-in."
She currently charges residents a cleaning fee, which covers about 75% of cleaning expenses, and requires residents to empty the refrigerator, put garbage in the trash can, and put dishes in the dishwasher before checking out.
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However, Airbnb's new rules mean that hosts can no longer require guests to complete tasks that are normally the responsibility of cleaning staff, including washing and putting away dishes, removing bed linens, and taking trash away from the property for disposal.
According to the updated guidelines, accommodations booked globally will be subject to the new regulations starting November 20. Landlords can currently only set seven standard house rules, and can make additional "reasonable" requirements.
Crews said cleaning staff at her three-room vacation home typically have to work four hours each time there is a change of occupants.
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She worries that if residents leave more clutter, she may need to hire additional cleaning staff and increase expenses, costs that may eventually be passed on to residents.
The change came as a relief to residents such as Jessica Newhook.
She said she has encountered lengthy check-out lists many times, often accompanied by high cleaning fees.
She once booked an Airbnb in Florida, USA, for a family gathering of 11 people, and said that even though she paid a cleaning fee of US$250 (1,664 yuan; NT$8,155), she was still required to tidy up the house to a state "ready for the next group of guests to move in."
Newhook said the landlord required them to wash and fold towels, clean bedding and the kitchen, and sweep and mop floors. The landlord even warned them that if their behavior did not improve, they might be asked to leave because they had placed chairs in front of the trash cans to obstruct their use.
"There are rules for almost everything, and there is no relaxation at all," she said.
While Newhook likes the home-like feel of Airbnb, she said increasing regulations coupled with rising cleaning fees have significantly diminished its appeal.
“It’s almost to the point now where it’s cheaper to stay in a hotel and I know what I’m going to get.”
image copyrightKrissi Foskett
Krissi Foskett, 46, from Glasgow, runs a national cleaning company. Because she frequently stays at Airbnb properties, she said she "can understand issues from both sides."
When Foskett recently stayed at an Airbnb in Stafford, England, she paid a £35 (US$47.75; RMB 320.89; NT$1,529.61) cleaning fee, but was still required to remove the sheets, run the washing machine, empty the trash cans, and carry the rubbish along a long path to a recycling area.
"I don't particularly mind doing these things, but it does make me question what I'm doing with the extra cleaning fees," she said.
For Fosquet, being a polite guest, such as "putting used dishes in the dishwasher," is one thing from being asked to tidy up the entire property for the next group of guests.
Through her experience running a cleaning company, she has also seen the other extreme. Some cleaning teams arrive to find damaged furniture, vomit, and even pet urine stains.
She said that while she understands that landlords have to complete cleaning work within a short period of time and that cleaning costs are rising, the related burden should not be passed on to residents.
“If you run Airbnb as a business, professional cleaning is part of the cost of doing business,” she said.
Anthony Marsh runs a chalet holiday camp in North Yorkshire, England, with his husband. They originally listed five of the 12 properties on Airbnb, but said they had decided to reduce the number to just two after the new regulations were introduced.
He worries that the new measures amount to "Airbnb effectively telling guests that they can leave the accommodation after making a mess, but the landlord can't do anything about it."
image copyrightAnthony Marsh
image copyrightGasp image co
Marsh believes that requiring residents to wash kitchen utensils and take out trash is not excessive. Since he has a small cleaning team and a tight schedule to replace guests, he worries that if guests leave more clutter, the unit may not be ready in time for the next group of guests.
"This is common sense and basic courtesy," he said.
Marsh's company doesn't charge a cleaning fee, and he said most guests are respectful of the property.
However, charging cleaning fees has become common on the Airbnb platform.
According to data from the AirROI platform, 63.2% of Airbnb listings have cleaning fees, with the average fee being £55.
Laura Lewis, who runs a vacation rental property promotion platform, helps owners market their properties and connect with potential guests.
She said many customers were listing their properties on Airbnb at the same time, and most were dissatisfied with the new rules, believing that requiring guests to clean was just a matter of basic respect.
"Some people think it's included in the cleaning fee, but I wouldn't leave the property without leaving all the dishes unwashed. That wouldn't be appropriate," she said.
image copyrightLaura Lewis
The announcement further deepens host dissatisfaction, as Airbnb increased its commission fees last year. Many owners are now investing in their own websites and social media channels to attract direct bookings and avoid platform fees.
Levis adopted the same strategy. She has three treehouses on her farm, and most of the bookings have come directly from customers, and she is now planning to remove all listings from the Airbnb platform.
However, not all landlords are worried about the new measures.
Matt Prosz, who runs and manages multiple Airbnb properties full-time, believes the new rules will improve the guest experience without changing most people’s behavior.
image copyrightMatt Prosz
Pross, who runs an Airbnb property in south-west London, only asks guests to lock their doors and hand back their keys when they leave.
"Sometimes guests take the sheets off or do things I didn't ask for, which is certainly a good thing for the cleaning staff, but I don't expect them to do that," he said.
Prowse doesn't think the new rules will lead to guests leaving their homes more messy, noting that Airbnb has a two-way review system.
"If I made a big laundry list, I wouldn't expect to get a five-star rating," he said. "Conversely, if a guest makes a mess, you wouldn't give them a good rating."
He believes that this system will encourage both landlords and guests to behave reasonably, and most guests will still respect the accommodation environment.
"Airbnb is trying to remove those ridiculous requests because that's not a good guest experience."
This article was originally written in English. We used artificial intelligence to assist in translation and was reviewed by BBC journalists before publication. Learn more about how we use artificial intelligence.
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