Airbnb was once a solid alternative to hotels, hostels, and other accommodations. Travellers could rent an apartment, condo, room, or entire house, enjoy more space, and typically save money in the process. It was a refreshing concept that changed the way people travelled. Even though most people think of it adding an accommodation option similar to a hotel, I think of those early days as closer to a mix of hotel and hostel in that it was a cheap place to stays that had various amenities. But somewhere along the way, things started getting ridiculous.
Between rising prices, hefty cleaning fees, and increasingly absurd checkout instructions, some Airbnb hosts seem to have forgotten that they’re running a hospitality business. Guests are paying customers, yet certain hosts have expected them to double as unpaid cleaning staff. And perhaps the most ridiculous part is that guests are increasingly being charged cleaning fees while also being expected to clean the property themselves.
I understand that business models change, pricing changes, and business ideas evolve. I’m okay with all of that. With that said, asking people to clean and then charging them further is an insult to my intelligence. I recently watch TikTok videos with a couple who were so neurotic that they shouldn’t even be hosts at all. Someone moved a TV remote control and they were losing it. Yeah, take your entitled, unrealistic, money-making fantasy elsewhere, as clearly don’t live in reality.
I’ve stayed at Airbnbs for years, and things have changed
I’ve stayed at many Airbnbs around the world over the past decade, including numerous properties in Toronto. My experiences have ranged from excellent to bizarre, with most falling somewhere in between but leaning toward positive. Some hosts have been wonderful. I’ve stayed in comfortable properties, met interesting people, and enjoyed accommodations that offered excellent value for the money.
On one early Toronto visit when Airbnb was getting going, I rented a spare room from a friendly artist. We got along extremely well, although the towel he provided smelled so terrible that I seriously questioned whether it had ever been properly washed. I politely let him know. On another occasion, I rented a tiny downtown Toronto condo from a woman who had just purchased the property and was hosting me as her first Airbnb guest. The place was practically the size of a closet. I could barely believe people lived in spaces that small, much less paid for them! Meeting her to collect the keys was a bit of an ordeal because she was late and having difficulty finding parking. Nevertheless, I left the condo immaculate, gave her a positive review, and even spent considerable time writing detailed suggestions to help her improve her hosting experience. Shortly afterward, I discovered she’d decided to move into the condo herself instead, deleted her account on Airbnb and didn’t get my kind list of suggestions to help her be a better host. A list I took the time to write. Not to mention that my review was deleted along with her account. Of course, that was entirely her decision, but it was another reminder of how unpredictable the Airbnb experience could be.
And that’s always been part of the deal. Sometimes you get a fantastic property with a wonderful host. Other times, you get a few surprises. For years, those little inconveniences were easier to overlook because Airbnb often offered such good value. But when prices start approaching or exceeding hotel rates, customers have every reason to expect more professionalism and consistency.
On a trip to Nashville, the “super host” was not available and I walked around this apartment building for an hour trying to find a way in. Then someone literally called out to me from a balcony and explained how to get into the building and find the keys. I was just about to leave and get a hotel for the night. Total waste of time. And if you know me, you know that one of my biggest pet peeves is time-wasters. So I saved some money but had to go through that ordeal. Uncomfortable and frustrating. Don’t get me wrong, check in at hotels can sometimes be a pain but on the whole they are not remotely close to this.
A bunch of friends and I rented a lakeside cottage in Blue Sea, which is a couple of hours from Ottawa and had such great hosts that they told us we could stay until the cleaning crew got there which, on a beautiful sunny day, gave us a couple of extra hours on the lake. Wonderful!
You never know, but things are getting worse.
Airbnb hosts can charge whatever they want, but guests have expectations too
I’ve always believed that businesses have the right to charge whatever they want. I’ve written extensively about pricing, and my position has never been that someone should be forced to charge less simply because customers don’t like the price. Small businesses can charge what they want. Want to charge $500 a night for your condo? Go right ahead. If the market supports that price, congratulations. Customers can decide whether it’s worth paying for. But charging guests a cleaning fee and then expecting them to do the cleaning themselves? That’s where things get absurd.
When you ask guests to strip the beds, wash the dishes, start the laundry, take out the garbage, there’s a problem. What’s next? Vacuum the living room? Scrub the toilets? Wash the windows? If I’m paying a cleaning fee, why am I being asked to perform the very work that fee is supposed to cover?!
My bizarre Airbnb experience in downtown Toronto
Interestingly, I first encountered this sort of checkout requirement years ago, long before I realized it was becoming a widespread complaint among Airbnb users. I had rented a condo in a relatively new, very tall residential building in downtown Toronto. The experience was memorable for several reasons, and very few of them were good. For starters, getting into the place was an ordeal. There was a problem accessing the key, and the host had instructed me not to approach the building’s security guard if anything went wrong. Naturally, something went wrong. Eventually, I spoke to the security guard anyway, who was thoroughly unhelpful and essentially brushed me off. The building itself was another adventure. It seemed as though a million people were constantly waiting for the two elevators serving this enormous tower. Getting upstairs was practically an event in and of itself. I remember looking around and thanking the old gods and the new (Game of Thrones style) that I didn’t actually live there. But I digress.
Inside the condo, I discovered instructions requiring me to deal with the bedsheets and perform some basic checkout chores. I thought it was strange. At the time, I’d already stayed at numerous Airbnbs, and this was the only property where I’d encountered anything like that. I complied, mostly because it wasn’t worth arguing over. Besides, I was spending almost all my time running around Toronto doing my own thing. I barely used the apartment for anything other than sleeping. Still, I remember thinking that these were odd expectations for a paying guest. Only years later did I begin hearing increasingly frequent complaints about Airbnb hosts handing guests elaborate cleaning checklists. Apparently, my Toronto experience had been an early glimpse of something that would eventually get completely out of hand.
Some Airbnb hosts think guests should do their housekeeping
One of the more astonishing aspects of the debate over Airbnb cleaning rules has been the reaction from certain hosts. Some have argued that allowing guests to leave dishes unwashed could attract vermin, create unsanitary conditions, or leave hosts with additional cleaning responsibilities. Seriously?! Of course, guests should respect the property. Nobody is suggesting that people should leave half-eaten meals scattered across the furniture, damage the premises, or turn a perfectly nice apartment into a disaster zone. There is an obvious difference between respecting someone else’s property and being expected to perform housekeeping duties. A few dirty dishes after breakfast are hardly a crisis requiring intervention from pest control.
But if you’re operating a short-term rental, cleaning up after guests is part of operating that business. If you don’t want to do it yourself, hire somebody. Factor the expense into your nightly rate or cleaning fee. That’s precisely what those fees are supposed to cover. And if managing the property becomes too much work, perhaps running a vacation rental business isn’t for you. As someone who advises small service businesses on how to grow build and grow their company, I always make it clear that if you’re losing money and can’t fix that, then you are not running a viable business and it’s time to stop.
Next, I’ve heard that many hosts argue that Airbnb accommodations provide a more personal experience than hotels and that guests should accept different responsibilities as a result. That’s fine when it comes to respecting house rules, observing quiet hours, or taking reasonable care of the property. But a personal experience doesn’t give hosts a free pass to assign chores to paying customers. Imagine checking into a hotel and finding a note instructing you to strip the bed, collect the towels, wash your coffee cups, and bring your garbage to a dumpster before leaving. You’d probably wonder whether the hotel’s management had lost its mind.
Airbnb’s rising prices should come with higher standards
One of the things that originally made Airbnb appealing was the opportunity to stay somewhere interesting, often for considerably less than a comparable hotel. The trade-off was that the experience could be a little unpredictable. You might have to coordinate with a host to collect keys, navigate an unfamiliar residential building, or put up with a few peculiarities. Many users say that that was part of the adventure. I don’t really think so but I’ll accept that to a minor extent as the cost of using the service. Okay, fine.
But as prices have climbed, the value proposition has changed. Some properties still offer excellent value, particularly for families, groups, or travellers staying somewhere for an extended period. Others have become so expensive that hotels are increasingly competitive. I was recently looking for an Airbnb in downtown Toronto (yet again!) and the prices were outrageous. I ended up at a high-end hotel for far less than the cheapest worthwhile Airbnb accommodation. And that has been my experience for the past few trips to Toronto.
Higher prices aren’t inherently a problem. If a property is worth the asking price to enough customers, good for the host. But charging premium rates comes with certain expectations. Guests shouldn’t have to chase down keys, decipher confusing instructions, discover questionable cleaning standards, and then complete a list of chores before checkout.
Airbnb hosts who operate professionally, maintain clean properties, communicate clearly, and treat guests with respect deserve recognition. Many do an excellent job and I very much do appreciate them for it. Unfortunately, the hosts imposing unreasonable demands risk damaging the reputation of everyone else using the platform.
There’s now a big push to have themed Airbnbs that can offer unique experiences, for couples, as an example. I love the idea and could see myself paying a premium for that experience. But it’s not the norm. I’ve witness the slow and steady increase in prices for what used to be an option that had tremendous value. To be fair, this is not always the case. A couple of years ago, I stayed in a trailer behind someone’s (very nice) house for a night and we loved it! It was priced perfectly and the owner was fantastic. But the ones who set it up and think the big bucks are going to roll in, or those that buy properties just to rent them on Airbnb are placing far to much emphasis on income and missing the point. It’s also quite the financial gamble for buyers. But that’s a whole other story.
Airbnb’s cleaning fee problem
Cleaning fees have become one of Airbnb’s most irritating features, especially for shorter stays. You might find a property advertised at an attractive nightly rate, only to discover that the final price increases considerably once cleaning fees and other charges are included. Airbnb has taken steps to improve price transparency, including displaying total prices with fees before taxes by default in search results worldwide. It took them long enough but fine. If it’s one thing my ENTJ self hates, it’s blatant lies and deception, especially when you are going to see the final price after a few clicks. So add frustration to that too, I guess.
This change is helpful, but it doesn’t change the underlying economics. For a one-night or two-night stay, a substantial cleaning fee can make an otherwise appealing rental far less competitive with a hotel. And when hosts have added demanding checkout instructions on top of those fees, the experience has become particularly frustrating. To be clear, cleaning fees themselves are perfectly legitimate. Properties need to be cleaned between guests, and somebody has to pay for that work. The issue is the expectation that a guest should pay for cleaning and then do a significant portion of it. A customer should be able to enjoy the property, treat it respectfully, and leave without worrying about whether they’ve completed every item on somebody’s housekeeping checklist.
Airbnb changes its rules on checkout chores
After years of complaints about excessive checkout instructions, Airbnb announced new house rules in October 2026, restricting the chores hosts can require guests to perform. The updated policy, applicable to reservations booked on or after November 20, 2026, generally prohibits hosts from requiring guests to complete time-consuming tasks normally handled by cleaners, including stripping beds, washing and putting away dishes, or taking garbage off the property. Hosts can still make reasonable requests, such as asking guests to place dirty dishes in the sink, gather used towels, or sort garbage and recycling into designated bins. Exceptions may apply in special circumstances, such as wildlife precautions.
The changes also require hosts to disclose their rules and requests before guests book, helping travellers avoid unpleasant surprises after arriving. I have read that some hosts have criticized the restrictions, arguing that they undermine their ability to maintain their properties or impose additional cleaning burdens. But the fact that Airbnb needed to establish these boundaries speaks volumes about how far certain expectations had gone. It should never have taken a formal policy to establish that paying guests shouldn’t be responsible for doing a cleaner’s job.
Are Airbnb hosts driving people back to hotels?
Airbnb still has plenty of advantages. Entire homes, kitchens, multiple bedrooms, accommodations in far off places, and unusual accommodations can make it an excellent choice for certain trips. But hotels have advantages too, and some are becoming increasingly attractive as Airbnb prices and expectations rise. At a hotel, you generally know what you’re getting. There’s usually a reception desk (sometimes staffed by robots), staff available to help when something goes wrong, regular housekeeping, and a fairly predictable checkout experience.
Nobody expects you to remove the bedsheets or start a load of laundry before returning your room key. And when something goes wrong, you can usually speak to someone who actually works in the building. After my experience with the Toronto condo, I can certainly appreciate that last point.
For short stays in particular, I’ve increasingly found myself comparing Airbnb prices with hotels rather than automatically assuming that Airbnb will offer better value. It’s not like the old days/early days of Airbnb, sadly. Complaints about fees, checkout requirements, and inconsistent service have become familiar parts of the broader conversation about short-term rentals. Of course, hotels aren’t perfect either. Some have their own ridiculous fees, service issues, and disappointing experiences. But at least I don’t expect to find a chore chart waiting for me on the nightstand.
Airbnb hosts need to remember who’s paying whom
Airbnb’s decision to restrict unreasonable checkout chores was a welcome acknowledgment of a problem that had been frustrating guests for years. But the larger issue extends beyond cleaning checklists. Airbnb became popular by offering travelers flexibility, variety, and an alternative to conventional hotel accommodations. Those advantages are still there, but they can easily be undermined by excessive rules, inconsistent service, and unreasonable expectations. Most Airbnb hosts I’ve encountered over the years have been reasonable people. Some have been exceptionally welcoming, and I’d happily stay at their properties again. But the experience has also taught me that hosting standards can vary enormously. As prices rise, the tolerance for those inconsistencies naturally diminishes.
Most importantly, hosts need to recognize that they’re providing a paid service. Charge whatever price you think your property is worth. Add a cleaning fee if you want, whether modest or expensive. That’s your business decision. Just don’t expect guests to become your unpaid cleaning crew. I’m happy to respect your property, follow reasonable rules, and leave things in decent condition. But if I’m paying you to clean the place, I’d appreciate it if you’d actually clean it. And if that’s too much to ask, there’s probably a hotel down the street that would be delighted to have my business.
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