{
  "id": 19197958,
  "title": "Changes are coming to Airbnb. Here’s what travellers and hosts need to know",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/changes-are-coming-to-airbnb-heres-what-travellers-and-hosts-need-to",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-09T18:41:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Conversation AU",
    "slug": "the-conversation-au",
    "url": "https://theconversation.com/changes-are-coming-to-airbnb-heres-what-travellers-and-hosts-need-to-know-295560"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Airbnb is making changes to its rules starting November 20 in response to complaints from travellers about the excessive chores hosts ask guests to do before checking out. The new policy aims to limit what hosts can request from guests, making the checkout process simpler and more reasonable. For hosts, this means revising their checkout chores to ensure they are not considered \"onerous.\" They may ask guests to place used dishes in the sink or gather towels in a designated area, but not wash them or launder the towels. Hosts should disclose these updated rules before guests reach the booking page to avoid misleading guests and potential complaints. While the changes may increase the cleaning workload for hosts, they should adjust their cleaning fees to reflect the additional costs. For travellers, the changes mean less time-consuming checkout chores, leading to a better overall experience. However, they are still expected to leave the property in reasonable condition and should familiarize themselves with house rules before booking. The new policy aims to create a fairer division of responsibilities between hosts and guests, addressing concerns about the fairness of the current arrangement where guests pay a cleaning fee but still perform cleaning tasks. Airbnb is a platform that relies on both satisfied guests and hosts, so the changes must be fair to both parties. However, the policy has faced strong opposition from many hosts, leading to a petition with over 27,000 signatures. Some hosts are considering listing their properties on other platforms to avoid the new rules, which could impact Airbnb's supply of properties and its attractiveness to guests. One potential solution Airbnb could consider is increasing cost transparency by providing a breakdown of cleaning fees in the pricing details, explaining how the fee is calculated and which services it covers.",
  "summary": "Travellers will have a smoother checkout. But the hosts are not happy.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}