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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u/skraptastic 7h ago

I've used air bnb exactly twice now. First time was for a group stay for my sons 30th birthday. The house was fine. But it was not even at Best Western standards. Also there were no smoke detectors in the house.

Second time was in the UK this summer. The booked house had a plumbing issue and the host texted us while we were in the air to tell us they had to cancel the room. Fortunately they also booked us in a similar place, but it was across Cardiff, and we had to drive to the concert we had planned to walk to.

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u/xyourmomx 7h ago

This reeks of them rebooking the original room for way more and offloading you to a cheaper room.

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u/jimbo831 6h ago

This is almost certainly what happened. u/skraptastic probably booked it at their normal rate before they learned there was a concert nearby. So they cancelled the listing and rebooked it at a much higher rate.

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u/xyourmomx 6h ago

Anything that requires cancelling a users stay like this should require documented followup before it can be re-listed.

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u/jimbo831 6h ago

Agreed. As far as I know, Airbnb has no such requirement.

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u/xyourmomx 6h ago

I’m saying it SHOULD require. Of course it currently doesn’t cuz loopholes and exploits.

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u/Hokie23aa 7h ago

What do you do in that situation?

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u/jimbo831 6h ago

Stop using Airbnb.

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u/dishearten 7h ago

Yeah I am starting to think these reasons are bullshit.

I've had an airbnb cancel on me due to plumbing issues a couple years back and the exact same thing just happened to my inlaws.

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u/xyourmomx 7h ago

A lot of people don’t question plumbing issues. Especially if they already have a prepared solution. It just seems these plumbing issues always happen right around big events nearby for Airbnb’s. I’d be curious to see if the listing appeared bookable at that time after they moved you.

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u/Abalamahalamatandra 3h ago

And they could fix that by not allowing a new booking on any cancelled date - I mean, if there's a plumbing problem, there's a plumbing problem, right?

But curiously they don't fix it.

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u/big_trike 35m ago

Someone else offered more money on a different platform.

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u/PhazePyre 5h ago

For me it was nice when my dad and I stayed in a small mountain City visiting some family heritage sites in the region. Can be hard to get hotels, and at the time AirBNB was a bit more niche up here. Haven't used it since, but it sounds awful in major areas. The host was a super nice lady, just had an out building. Met us when we arrived around dinner time. was super nice and gave suggestions for places to eat (typically small city type of person) and just did it on the side during summer to make some extra money. Everything clean and spotless and let us know to text her if we had any issues.

So I can see it being great for small places without a lot of accommodation (small tourist industry or none at all). But outside of that, it just seems crazy to engage in that with someone who isn't certified, registered, or anything else to operate lodgings. Just some random person fucking around on an app. The same way I look at renting off a property owner rather than property management. EVERY nightmare story I've heard, literally every single one has been from colleagues/friends renting off a person, not a via a company. That person being the property owner. They always take forever, they often don't know their obligations or responsibilities as a landlord, and they always charge market rate, even if a dump or their mortgage is half that.

Why go through the shittier less competent people when you could go via the people who actually give a shit because it's their job, not a side hustle?