The short version
- Applies to Airbnb bookings made on or after November 20, 2026.
- No required checkout chores, no host fines, and new limits on collecting guest emails and IDs.
- Fix anything flagged in your listing editor now, or risk lower search placement.
What’s changing on November 20
Airbnb is changing what hosts can ask of guests. The new rules apply to every reservation booked on or after November 20, 2026, even if the stay is months away. Bookings made before that date keep the old terms through checkout.
Seven standard house rules
Guests must follow the rules you set for overnight guests, quiet hours, events, pets, smoking, commercial photography and locking up. Everything else becomes an optional “request.”
No checkout chores or host fines
You can’t require cleaner-level tasks like stripping beds, washing dishes or taking trash off-site, and your own fines and deposits are out. You can still ask guests to put dishes in the sink, gather towels, use the indoor bins and turn off the AC.
Limits on guest data and contracts
You generally can’t collect guest phone numbers, emails, ID copies or home addresses, require a separate app to get in, or use a Wi-Fi login that asks for an email. Separate rental agreements are allowed only for legal or HOA requirements, optional amenities, stays of 28 nights or more, and Airbnb Luxe. Rules can’t be added after booking.
Airbnb says it will start with warnings. Listings that don’t comply can be flagged to guests, pushed down in search, and eventually suspended.
What hosts should do before November 20
- Open your listing editor and fix anything Airbnb flags.
- Remove chore lists and fines from your house rules and checkout instructions.
- Switch any email-capture Wi-Fi portal to a plain password.
- Drop extra forms that ask for an email or ID photo, unless your town or HOA requires them and your listing says so.
What this means for you
These rules only apply to Airbnb bookings. When guests book on your own direct booking website, you set the policies and keep the guest relationship, including their email for next season. If repeat guests still book you through Airbnb, now is a good time to give them a direct way back.
Sources: Airbnb Help Center, “Reasonable house rules and requests” and “Limiting host-imposed contracts and other requirements”; summaries from Touch Stay and Guest Manual.