Airbnb to ban excessive cleaning tasks

Airbnb has moved to ban two practices that have had users of the platform up in arms.

Hosts demanding departure “tasks” while also charging cleaning fees, and hiding the costs until the point it comes to pay, has had travellers up in arms and many vowing to never use the service again.

In Australia, all fees must be made clear at the point of booking, but in many other countries, the fees do not become clear until the last step.

In a twitter post Airbnb chief executive Brian Chesky said he had heard travellers “loud and clear”.

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“You feel like prices aren’t transparent and checkout tasks are a pain,” Mr Chesky said.

He said that starting next month Airbnb will be making four changes including making all prices and fees – before taxes – available in the search results as well as on the map, price filter and listing pages.

Guests will also no longer be expected to do household chores, but how the service intends to police this is not clear.

“You shouldn’t have to do unreasonable checkout tasks, such as stripping the beds, doing the laundry, or vacuuming,” Mr Chesky said.

“But we think it’s reasonable to turn off the lights, throw food in the trash, and lock the doors – just as you would when leaving your own home.

“If hosts have checkout requests, they should be reasonable and shown to you before you book.”

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The backlash to Airbnbs has been gaining momentum across the internet with travellers trading stories of being asked to do checkout tasks such as stripping beds, mopping floors and even mowing lawns, and then being charged a cleaning fee of up to $200 as well.

There has been growing disquiet with Airbnb and many have questioned the value of the service when they could pay a similar price, with all fees and charges clear at the point of booking, for a hotel and not be expected to complete household chores.

Not in Qatar

Virgin Atlantic recently announced changes to its dress code to allow crew members to wear whatever pieces of the Vivienne Westwood-designed range best represents their gender or gender identity.

However, the policy has been partly rolled back to protect its staff travelling to Qatar for the World Cup.

A spokesperson for the airline said that staff on board the England team’s flight to Doha would not be able to choose their uniform.

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The spokesperson said the airline’s gender-neutral uniform policy would be rolled out in “more accepting” countries “on a case-by-case basis to ensure the safety and security of our people and customers at all times”.

“Initially the UK, US and Israel are the territories where the uniform policy is being rolled out for our people, as those countries are more accepting of non-binary identities allowing more self-expression,” they said.

The World Cup has focused attention on Qatar’s discrimination against the LGBTQI+ community and several teams, including the Socceroos, have protested

Virgin has long been on the forefront of shaking up traditional expectations of airline uniforms. In 2019, it scrapped mandatory make-up requirements and allowed crew members to wear flat shoes or trousers.

Have you had to clean an Airbnb? Do you think their fees are reasonable? Why not share your opinions in the comments section below?