I audited a real listing — the Nov 20 violations weren't in the listing

Mirza Strujo · 2026-11-14T10:23:09-08:00

I read Airbnb's new house-rules policy (Help 4168/4169) in full and rewrote a friend's cabin listing against it last month — Rick's cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He agreed to be the example; the pack was delivered to him in October. Sharing what I found in case it helps anyone doing the same cleanup this week:- His checkout text asked guests to load and start the dishwasher, "start a load of laundry if you can," and take all trash to the off-site community dumpsters. All cleaner work — out after Nov 20, and off-site trash is barred even as a request. Fix: dishes in the sink, bagged trash left inside, cleaner handles both.- His "Requests during the stay" field said breaking the pet rules "may result in your stay ending early, without a refund," plus an unspecified extra cleaning fee. Fines and penalties are barred outright — documented cleaning or damage goes through the resolution center/AirCover instead.- His quiet hours and community rules (parking with tires off the road, trash never left outside, leashed pets) lived only on signs at the house. After Nov 20 a rule counts only if it's in the listing's designated sections before the guest books — the signs now just repeat what's in the listing.- What was clean: every saved message. No contract, no ID copy, no deposit, no off-platform ask. His exposure sat in the listing fields and the signs, not the messages.If you're cleaning up your own listing before the 20th, check your saved messages and your signs before your listing text — that's where his violations were hiding. Happy to look at anyone's checkout text in this thread and flag what I see.

Andrew SteffensBusiness Member

Tampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes

10h

Good info - although Im likely to test out their enforcement on some items prior to changing everything.

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John RacinePro Member

Rental Property Investor · Casselberry, FL · Member since 2008 · 234 posts · 119 votes

9h

Mirza, good breakdown. The signs point is the one I think most hosts will miss.

The checkout piece was a small change for me. I never asked guests to do the chores Airbnb called out. My only real ask was to load and run the dishwasher, and the cleaner handles that now.

One thing I'd add for anyone running long stays on Airbnb: most of my units are set up for 30+ day guests, and my understanding is that screening on 28+ night stays (ID check and a signed agreement) is still allowed. I'm having my PMS handle both so it happens the same way every time and stays inside the rules, instead of living in one-off messages. So if you run mid-term, don't assume the "no contract, no ID" part applies to your 30-day guests the same way it does to a weekend stay. Read the long-stay language yourself before you strip anything out.

Did your audit get into how the policy treats 28+ night stays, or was the cabin strictly short stays?

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Mirza Strujo
OP
Investor · Manassas, VA · Member since 2014 · 21 posts · 6 votes
2h
Thanks for jumping in, John — and good catch on the long-stay distinction.
To answer your question directly: the cabin in this audit was strictly short stays, so I didn't get into how the policy treats 28+ night stays. I don't want to overstate what that audit covered, and your caution is exactly right — don't assume the "no contract, no ID" part applies the same way to a 30-day guest as it does to a weekend stay. Reading the long-stay language itself before stripping anything out is the safe move.
Having your PMS handle the ID check and signed agreement the same way every time also makes sense to me — it keeps it consistent and out of one-off messages, which is where things tend to drift.
The audit is a standing offer while the run lasts — one page on any listing, free, 48-hour turnaround — if you want yours looked at.
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Lee Futcher

Technology · Vancouver, BC · Member since 2026 · 261 posts · 67 votes

8h

Afternoon @Mirza Strujo,

This is a really useful walkthrough. I like that you didn't just list what's now off limits, you showed the fix for each one, like leaving dishes in the sink and bagged trash inside for the cleaner instead of asking guests to run the dishwasher and haul trash to the community dumpsters. That makes it easy for any host to copy before the 20th.

I'm not a host myself, but my wife and I have spent the past four years living mostly in short-term and monthly rentals, so I can speak to the guest side. The places we trusted most were the ones where the rules were clear before we booked and nothing new showed up when we walked in. A checkout list full of chores, or a surprise rule taped to the fridge, always made the stay feel a little more like a transaction.

If I were cleaning up a listing this week, I'd read the house rules section the way a guest would while deciding whether to book. Anything that sounds like a warning or a penalty probably reads that way to guests too, and rewriting it as a simple, friendly expectation usually lands much better.

All the best,
Lee

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Mirza Strujo
OP
Investor · Manassas, VA · Member since 2014 · 21 posts · 6 votes
2h
Appreciate that, Lee — thanks. The point I kept coming back to is that the violations were in the photos and the gaps between platforms, not the listing text itself. If you want, I'll run the same audit on one of your listings — free, one page, back to you within 48 hours. Just say the word.
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I audited a real listing — the Nov 20 violations weren't in the listing

I audited a real listing — the Nov 20 violations weren't in the listing

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