Airbnb and the washing-up: what to change in your listing
On 20 November, angry hosts are being called to take their dirty dishes to Airbnb France’s head office. The same day, a new rule takes effect for your gîte. Here is what to fix before the next bookings come in.
On 20 November at 4 pm, Airbnb hosts are being called to gather outside Airbnb France’s head office in Paris, bringing their dirty dishes. So reported the French trade magazine TourMaG on 28 October. A petition asking for the new rule to be withdrawn had passed 21,000 signatures by then. Some hosts were calling for a boycott; others had blocked bookings from 20 November.
Why the dishes? Because, again according to TourMaG, Airbnb’s new policy no longer lets hosts require guests to wash them and put them away. Airbnb talks about reasonable requests. I won’t try to settle here who is right. For your gîte, one thing matters: unless Airbnb withdraws it, the rule applies to bookings made from 20 November.
What the rule actually says
Airbnb’s help page on reasonable house rules covers bookings made on or after 20 November 2026. Hosts generally can no longer require tasks that take real effort or time, or that a cleaner would normally do. Airbnb gives three examples: stripping the beds, taking rubbish off the property, and washing and putting away the dishes.
Two other points matter just as much. Fines and other penalties on guests are generally out. And a rule only counts if it is in the house rules section of the listing when the guest books. Put it elsewhere in the listing, send it by message after booking, pin it up in the house or say it on arrival, and it does not count.
For a gîte, that last point is the most practical one. The note on the kitchen cupboard and the welcome folder full of instructions are still useful for explaining things, but you can no longer enforce anything with them.
There is something in return. If a guest breaks a rule that is properly in your listing, or says before arrival that they intend to, Airbnb says you can cancel without fees. Equally, a listing that keeps non-compliant rules risks warnings, then a notice shown to guests or lower visibility in search.
What to change in your listing
Go through your listings one at a time. Airbnb’s instructions take you to Listings, then the listing editor, then House rules. There you will find the Standard house rules (pets, number of guests, quiet hours and so on) and the Additional rules, where you choose whether a rule applies During the stay or Before checkout.
- Move what matters into the listing. Reread the note, the welcome folder and your saved messages. Anything you really want guests to follow belongs in the House rules, not just on the wall.
- Drop the chores. A line such as ‘dishes washed and put away before you leave’ or ‘beds stripped’ is exactly what Airbnb means. According to TourMaG, you can still ask guests to leave used dishes in the sink.
- Drop the fines. One exception: if a residents’ association, building security or the local council could issue a fine, you can warn guests about it, again in the house rules section of the listing.
- Keep what is reasonable and specific to your house. Airbnb allows rules tied to the place. Its own example is shorter showers during a drought.
- Look at your price again. Anything included has to be in the price shown at booking, and paid extras such as breakfast can be mentioned in the house rules. If cleaning now takes you longer, that belongs in the price. For the sums, see my article on Airbnb’s fee.
Ideally before 20 November
One last point on timing. Changes to your house rules only apply to bookings that come in afterwards, not to pending or confirmed ones (Airbnb). The sooner you fix it, the sooner the right version applies to your next guests.
I quit Google to build PocheBnB, all-in-one software for chambres d’hôtes and gîtes, which I set up myself with each owner on a call. It does not touch your Airbnb listing: this check is yours to do, and it is worth doing before 20 November.