Airbnb's new checkout rules: guests no longer clean before they leave. So who does?

From 20 November 2026, Airbnb no longer lets hosts ask guests to wash up, strip the beds, put a wash on or take the rubbish out of the property. It applies to bookings confirmed from that date. For hosts, the upshot is simple: the checkout clean is now entirely your job, or your cleaner’s.

If you own a flat in Andalusia and live in Manchester, Dublin or Madrid, that matters more than it sounds. The guest was often the only person who did anything between one stay and the next. Here is what changes and how to set things up.

What changes on 20 November 2026

Airbnb published the policy in its Help Centre as House rules and reasonable requests. There was no press release. Most hosts heard about it through coverage such as TechCrunch, which reported a fair amount of pushback from hosts, and elDiario.es here in Spain.

The core rule: hosts can no longer ask for tasks that take “considerable effort or time”. Airbnb’s examples:

• Washing up and putting the dishes away.
• Stripping the beds or starting the washing machine.
• Taking the rubbish outside the property.
• Restricting an amenity you advertise, such as the air conditioning.

Fines and penalties for guests are out too.

Watch the date. What counts is when the booking is confirmed, not when the guest arrives. A booking confirmed in late November for Easter 2027 is already covered.

What you can still ask guests to do, and what you can’t

Spanish tech site wwwhatsnew put it neatly: you can ask guests not to leave the place in a mess, but not to clean it.

You can still ask	You can no longer ask
Leave used dishes in the sink	Wash up and put the dishes away
Gather the used towels	Strip the beds or put a wash on
Sort rubbish and recycling into the indoor bins	Take the rubbish outside
Switch off the air conditioning when leaving	Limit use of the air conditioning you advertise
Lock up and leave the keys where you say	Pay a fine if something isn’t done

There are two exceptions: limiting shower time where drought rules restrict water use, and asking for wildlife-proof bins in bear country. No bears in Cádiz. Water restrictions after a dry summer, on the other hand, are not unheard of in Andalusia.

House rules: where they go (and why the fridge note no longer works)

Every rule has to sit in the house rules section of your listing, visible before anyone books. If it isn’t there, it doesn’t count.

That ends three very common habits:

• The laminated note on the fridge saying “please wash up and take the bins out”.
• The automated message the night before checkout with a new list of jobs.
• Instructions given in person at key handover.

None of these can add rules after the booking, not even by message. According to wwwhatsnew, checkout instructions no longer have their own tab in the listing editor: it all goes under house rules.

Our reading is that messages and notes are still fine for information: where the key box is, how the hob works, which day the glass collection runs. Explaining is fine. Asking for something new is not.

What happens if your listing breaks the rules

There’s no fine for hosts. Per wwwhatsnew, the listing editor flags requests that don’t comply, you get an email explaining how to fix them, and you can appeal. If you leave them as they are, Airbnb can:

• show a notice on your listing page,
• push your listing down in search results,
• take further action under its terms.

Guests may also see an alert that the listing includes cleaning requests. If your flat relies on ranking well for Jerez’s spring dates, losing visibility is the last thing you need.

What about the Airbnb cleaning fee?

The policy doesn’t limit it. You can keep charging one and set the amount yourself. Airbnb’s guest article on fees says it covers standard cleaning between stays, such as laundry and vacuuming.

Two points to keep in mind:

1. You can’t charge guests for skipping checkout tasks, though you can mention it in your review.
2. Damage is still the guest’s responsibility. If something gets broken, the usual process applies: see what to do if a guest damages your holiday let.

What changes is the work behind the fee, not the fee itself.

So who cleans an Airbnb now?

The host. That means you, someone you trust locally, or a cleaning company. For owners abroad it is almost always the last two, and the difference now is that the turnover no longer starts half done.

When we do it, every turnover follows the same order:

1. Photos of how the guest left the flat.
2. Air the rooms and strip the beds.
3. Apply the bathroom products (descaler, disinfectant) so they can work.
4. Kitchen: wash up and put away, worktops, hob, microwave and fridge.
5. Finish the bathroom.
6. Bedrooms and beds.
7. Living room and terrace.
8. Floors, working back towards the door.
9. Final check, restock the amenities and send you photos on WhatsApp.

Under the new rules, washing up and the rubbish are now always on our list: on every turnover we take the rubbish out to the street bins. A full turnover of a two-bedroom flat takes us about 2 hours, depending on how the guests left it (a bit longer if it’s very dirty). Making the beds with your linen and changing towels is an extra. For the room-by-room detail, see our holiday rental turnover checklist.

If you’d rather hand over the whole thing (bookings, guests, pricing), that’s what Orilla Host does. We stick to what we do: getting the flat ready.

What it means for holiday lets in Jerez and the Bay of Cádiz

You’ll feel it most on the big dates. In Jerez, Holy Week, the Feria del Caballo and the MotoGP weekend fill flats with short stays and same-day checkouts and check-ins. Any 2027 booking for those dates confirmed from 20 November falls under the new rules.

In El Puerto and Rota, summer means lots of short stays and families: more dishes, more towels, more sand. Puerto Real and Cádiz see the same pattern at weekends and during Carnival.

With a few hours between checkout and check-in, every job the guest no longer does is time your cleaner has to plan for.

Checklist: update your listing before 20 November

1. Open your listing and go to house rules.
2. Delete any request to wash up, strip beds, run the washing machine or take the rubbish out.
3. Replace it with what you can still ask: dishes in the sink, towels gathered, rubbish sorted indoors, AC off, keys back in place.
4. Strip any new tasks out of automated messages and notes in the flat; keep the useful information.
5. Review your cleaning fee now that the checkout work is all on your side.
6. Talk to your cleaner about timings for same-day turnovers, especially for Holy Week and the Feria.
7. If Airbnb emails you about your house rules, fix them promptly so you don’t lose visibility.

Next step: a fixed price per turnover

It isn’t just cleaning. It’s peace of mind: knowing that whatever the guest does on the way out, the flat will be ready for the next one. Check the price of your turnover with our online calculator or message us on WhatsApp at +34 604 82 90 44 for a fixed price between guests. More on the service: Airbnb and holiday rental cleaning.