23/10/2026
So the new change in policy from 💨🐝&🐝 has REALLY got people talking. Guests, Hosts and Cleaners are all weighing in... Now it's your turn!
From what I have read, it seems like some people are charging extortionate cleaning fees (I have seen $150- $300 mentioned) and then also issuing a long list of chores to their guests; this is what has apparently bought about this situation.
To me, this is a classic case of a few bad apples 🍎 spoiling the whole damn bunch! 😠
If you follow this page, you know that the cleaning fee we charge goes direct to the cleaner, who has just a 2 hour window to make the place both sanitary and comfortable for the next guests. And despite what some guests are saying online, cleaning is more than doing dishes and trash!
During covid, 💨🐝&🐝 introduced a safety protocol which became mandatory (you can read through it here - (https://www.smoobu.com/en/blog/airbnbs-enhanced-cleaning-protocol-reliability-standards/) and cleaners are expected to follow this for each clean to this day.
Given what they had already made mandatory, most folks felt like it was Ok to ask their guests to just do the dishes before they leave and take out the rubbish (and from what I see online most cleaners do not consider these tasks to be part of their duties anyway).
Encouragingly, most people are saying that doing your washing up and tasking the trash out is just a common courtesy when you stay in a self catering property - and tbh that has always been my attitude either as a guest or a host. In fact I usually leave the place just as good, or better than I found it! 😊
But personally, as a host, (and I know everyone has their own thoughts on this) I find this change problematic for a whole suite of reasons:
1. Open doors - This new policy seems to give guests a red light to treat our home badly. We are NOT open to that whatsoever. If people can't be bothered to just do their washing up, it indicates that they are not the sort of house guests that we want in all honesty.
2. NO support from the platform. We have - only on the rarest of occasions - had guests who have treated the place SO badly. The worst case being vomit and bodily fluids left everywhere 🤢 and the platform pretty much just gave the guests a pat on the head! 😠 In this regard our house rules are a form of protection; but that protection has now been stripped away.
3. Check in times - we currently give guests a luxurious 12pm check out and 3pm check in. This will have to change to factor in the extra time needed for chores for the cleaners.
4. Additional costs - we are all struggling with cost of living and cleaners do not work for free! So the cleaning fees will have to rise to account for the extra time needed to clean up after messy guests.
5. This ultimately benefits the platform as they already apply a 20% fee to the cleaning charges, so more time spent cleaning = more money for them ( they only made $2.511 billion in 2025 -- don't worry about them!). Plus you, as guests, already pay them an eyewatering fee for your stay.
I have said it before though - 99.9% of our guests are AMAZING! We are SO lucky and blessed to have such wonderful, respectful and kind guests. And we appreciate each and everyone of you 😊
I suspect we will need to move to another booking platform that offers us, as hosts, more protection now, as this new policy change is simply not good enough. Meantime though, you are welcome to get the best prices for your stay, right here, just by dropping us a message. Thank you for your continued support, and for being a great bunch of human beings!🙏🥰 And please drop your thoughts below.
In the world of travel, trust is the ultimate currency. For the short-term rental market, which thrives on the concept of staying in someone else's home, that trust is built on a foundation of safety, communication, and, most critically, cleanliness. The global pandemic irrevocably altered guest exp...
