Airbnb Host Slams ‘Heartbreaking’ New Rule Change as $280 Fee Revealed: ‘Guests Will Pay Eventually’

I’ve never worried so much about a pile of dirty dishes. But when I read the news about Airbnb’s drastic global policy change on October 22, those dishes in the kitchen sink started to really scare me.

The short-term rental platform is introducing a new policy regarding rules set by hosts, meaning that from November 20, they will no longer be able to require guests to complete “onerous” tasks.

“This update comes from direct feedback from guests and hosts that the rules may be confusing or missed,” Airbnb said. Yahoo Lifestyle in a statement.

“By standardizing the rules, we hope to make it easier for guests to understand what is expected of them, and for hosts to set clear and reasonable rules and requests that guests can easily follow.

“Hosts remain in control of their house rules and can change them at any time. Guests who repeatedly violate the house rules may be suspended or kicked out of Airbnb.”

That seems fair enough. But when I dove into the details myself as an Airbnb host, I started to get really frustrated.

Tasks deemed too onerous under the policy change include dismantling beds, washing dishes and removing trash upon check-out.

Instead, guests can be asked to do simpler things, such as placing used dishes in the sink or gathering used napkins.

This is a change that has been touted as a win for the guests, but I’m here to tell you that this is heartbreaking news for the hosts, and in the long run, I fear it will be the guests who will pay the price.

The reality of running an Airbnb in Sydney

So you know where I’m coming from, let me walk you through my own situation and why I ended up listing my 53m² home in Sydney on Airbnb.

In the midst of a cost of living crisis and rising interest rates, my partner and I are stuck in mortgage prison.

This means we are unable to refinance our mortgage to get a better deal, for reasons beyond our control.

In an effort to increase our cash flow, we began renting out our unit as a bed on weekends and holidays, storing our belongings in the second bedroom, while we moved into our small RV.

So far the plan has allowed us to raise a few thousand dollars, which we have put into our mortgage offset to reduce the cost of our monthly repayments.

This feels like a win – and in some ways it is – but there’s an additional cost that constantly eats into what we’re able to save: the price of cleaning products.

I haven’t always paid to have the unit professionally cleaned.

At first I thought I could do it myself.

But after customer feedback, I realized I just hadn’t done a good enough job trying to fit cleaning into a full-time job.

Frankly, I was terrible – and it was affecting my extremely important grading.

So I knew I had to hire an expert to leave the apartment sparkling before each guest arrived.

Hidden costs for Airbnb hosts

The problem is that a clean Airbnb turnover in Sydney costs me almost $140 minimum.

And if I need the housekeepers to do additional tasks, like giving the inside of the oven a good poke, dropping off and picking up laundry, it can run up to $240.

Add in the $40 laundry fee for washing linens, and we’re now looking at a possible $280 cleaning fee before a reservation.

Of course, I don’t charge much to the guests.

I set my cleaning costs much lower, do as many chores myself as possible, and just take care of the extras when I need them.

But the cost of cleaning is why I’m required to have a minimum of two nights on my Airbnb.

It would be ridiculous to charge such a high cleaning fee for a single bed if someone was staying just one night.

The need for hotel-grade cleanliness in Airbnb listings is precisely why these new rules are so completely unfair.

If guests can no longer be expected to do tasks like washing dishes or taking out the trash, then someone has to do it and the cost will be passed on.

I compare this to the Albanian government’s recent ban on additional credit card fees.

This was supposed to benefit shoppers, but as small businesses are forced to absorb the costs, it was warned that overall prices would rise.

I consider this policy a failure, and I see this from the same perspective.

Why Airbnb’s new rules could backfire on customers

Yes, Airbnb’s new rules look good on paper for guests, but they’ll end up paying because hosts are forced to increase their cleaning fees across the board.

Some might say that hosts like me make a mountain out of a molehill.

Most Airbnb guests are great and wouldn’t hesitate to do the dishes or take out the trash before paying anyway.

But I know personally that this is not always the case.

A guest I had recently left trash and tissues strewn across the floor of my Airbnb, along with piles of used plates in the sink and strands of dark, alarmingly long hair spread all over the shower screen.

Under Airbnb’s new rules, I wonder if this would now be considered leaving the property in reasonable condition.

If that’s the case, I’m appalled – and I’m not alone.

I told an Airbnb host friend about the new changes, and she too was worried about the implications.

She brought up a topic that once again worried me: cockroaches.

In a country like Australia, leaving trash cans and sinks unemptied isn’t just an added cost.

It’s an invitation for unwanted visitors to enter your home, especially in areas where there may be a lag between check-out time and cleaning.

The hosts’ nightmare is real – and I hope someone is listening.

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