r/technology • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • 7h ago

Society New Airbnb rules ban hosts from making guests wash dishes, do laundry & other checkout chores

https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/new-airbnb-rules-ban-hosts-from-making-guests-wash-dishes-do-laundry-other-checkout-chores-3420832/
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346

u/BoringOldGuy76 7h ago

I’ve had 2 Airbnbs where the heat went out, in the mountains, in the winter. I’ll be staying in proper hotels from now on. Cleaning fees are the least of it.

86

u/tallulahQ 7h ago

Ugh yeah or the WiFi is totally fucked and the owner says “oh well.” Like wtf do you think I’m doing in a remote cabin without WiFi (crying, that’s what).

1

u/Grimmy554 7h ago

Enjoying nature, presumably

24

u/tallulahQ 6h ago

Knew I was going to get comments like this lol. Yeah obviously I’m there to enjoy nature! But would also be nice to be able to return a work email or watch a show in bed at night. I didn’t choose to go camping, I specifically pick places with WiFi.

1

u/Firebird437 4h ago

on one hand, it is absolutely not okay to offer a service, then completely disregard repairing said service if it becomes disrupted. the airbnb owner you're talking about was in the wrong and effectively sold you a faulty service.

on the other hand, you are 100% correct - typically, one goes to a place like a remote cabin far from civilization to enjoy... being remote and far from civilization. it is equally nonsensical to go on an outing that is focused around experiencing the world outside of our little boxes, only to bring the little boxes with you.

-22

u/Zikro 7h ago

You got WiFi at home. Why go somewhere remote and dick around on the internet?

18

u/danfirst 7h ago

Because it's 2026 and most people want internet connectivity?

2

u/Saquonathan 3h ago

What do you mean you want running water?

1

u/PiccoloAwkward465 1h ago

One place I went to had the internet fail. I finished a book on my kindle and wanted to download the next in the series.

3

u/FatherDotComical 3h ago

God forbid at the end of the day on a vacation somebody might want to watch a movie or something.

2

u/PiccoloAwkward465 1h ago

Right I went to one way out in nature. Of course I went hiking all day. At night I’d like to watch something or maybe communicate with the outside world. Crazy.

37

u/slytherins 6h ago

I had an Airbnb a couple years ago where the water stopped running, the A/C unit fell off the wall (it was 90+ degrees outside), AND a concrete step broke out from under us. Like we literally could have fallen and died.

It was an expensive place, too. Oh and unbeknownst to us, the landlord was living in the house next door -- he got into the pool with us!!! One of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life lmao. I do hotels as much as possible now.

3

u/greeneyestyle 6h ago

I stayed at an Airbnb where a tweaker tried to get in, we had to call the police, then later the toilet stopped working and the owners told us to shit in a bucket. No joke. Last time I ever paid for an airbnb…

2

u/L0ial 5h ago

I stayed with a group at a very cheap Airbnb for part of a ski trip. Just two nights. We didn't expect much based on the price but when we got there, a pile of dirty sheets were on the kitchen floor by the washer/dryer, and the heat was completely off. That place was freezing and I'm surprised no pipes burst.

Got the heat turned on and pushed the dirty sheets into a closet. We never got an explanation but I guess they just didn't finish turning it around, since otherwise it was clean.

Otherwise it was fine, but if it wasn't such a cheap stay I'd have been furious. We now spend a bit extra if we go Airbnb, but last few years we've just done ski on/off lodging at the resort.

1

u/BoringOldGuy76 5h ago

The cost thing is really operative. I stayed in one Airbnb once that was described as a “glamping tree house.” It was a treehouse, but more like one that a kid would make, not at all glamping. But it was super cheap at a time and place where hotels were running $700/nt. I was alone and it was kinda funny to pretend to be homeless for a night.

2

u/dvdanny 4h ago

I had that happen once, luckily the gas fireplace was working so most people couldn't sleep in the bedrooms they had to sleep in the living room around the fireplace. I actually love sleeping when it's cold AF (the bedrooms without heating were hovering around 40-35degrees) so I was fine but that's the type of stuff you generally can have delt with in an hour or so at a hotel but will basically only be fixed for the NEXT guests at an AirBnB you currently are SoL.

3

u/StopPsychHealers 7h ago

Omg did you get a refund?

10

u/BoringOldGuy76 7h ago

They gave us half off. Ha. I probably could have gotten a full refund, but I didn’t feel like making it my second job.

I know we’re all vilifying the property owners, but my main impression of all the property owners I’ve encountered, even for rentals that turned out ok, is that they were just kinda dumb. There’s a lot of emphasis on things like goofy decor, and no apparent thought given to operational needs. In both cases where the heat went out, the propane tanks had run dry during cold winters. Fuel consumption is a thing that a professional hospitality business would stay on top of. But a run of the mill person who thought they could invest in a cabin and have a turnkey profit center would not.

1

u/gbon21 5h ago edited 5h ago

I once stayed at an Airbnb and left my medicine container on the entertainment center beneath an AC unit. It dripped over night and ruined a week's worth of prescription medication. Owners couldn't have been less apologetic.

Edit: They also sent a repair guy while we were there and told him no one was in the unit. Luckily, he had the good sense to knock when he saw a car parked in front of it instead of walking in on two people who were just getting out of the shower.

1

u/Important_Thought_95 5h ago

I was in Montreal one summer and it was incredibly hot and humid. The AC was a floor unit that would drain into a flimsy plastic tub. The AC barely worked and I have to empty that heavy fucking tub twice a day, the plastic bending and spilling everywhere. Never stayed in an AirBnB since. Such a pain the in the ass.

1

u/Br3ttl3y 4h ago

Had an AirBnB's pipes burst and the landlord told us we had to vacate a day early. Hotel, ppl.

1

u/xmycolumbianx 2h ago

I got locked in the bathroom in one of them lol

1

u/KittenThunder 46m ago

We once checked into an AirBnb and it was absolutely disgusting when we got there. Bathroom floor mats in the washing machine WITH the body and face towels, streaks of blood, hair and toenail clippings in the bed…

Also had one where my entire family stayed for thanksgiving and the oven didn’t work lol

1

u/nails_for_breakfast 7h ago

I've had a hotel where the AC went out, in Phoenix, in the summer. Staying at hotels doesn't necessarily protect you from HVAC problems

7

u/JeebusChristBalls 7h ago

Did you ask for a new room? Most hotels have individual AC units per room.

1

u/nails_for_breakfast 6h ago

They were fully booked. I eventually talked them into getting me a room at one of their other locations but out was already 11pm

4

u/BoringOldGuy76 7h ago

When the hvac went out at your hotel, did you have to coordinate the repair? Wait around for the technician?

Most Airbnb hosts aren’t on site and when something like this goes wrong you’re basically deputized as an associate homeowner if you want it resolved on any kind of a timeline. At a hotel you call the front desk. Usually they switch your room within an hour and someone will help you with the luggage.