When Do Airbnb Guests Have to Clean Before They Leave?

As an AirBnB host, finding your place a disaster after a guest checks out can throw a monkey wrench in your operation, causing you to push back check-in times and pay overtime for your cleaners. Likewise, if you’re a guest and you’re given a surprise list of checkout chores, you may be inclined to never book that place again.

It happens all the time, so what’s the right way to go about this?

Airbnb guests expect to find immaculately clean lodgings when they book a room, especially if they are paying a cleaning fee. But are they required to leave their rented living spaces equally spotless?

Airbnb guests are not required to clean before they leave. However, Airbnb does encourage guests to tidy up before checking out. Still, hosts are liable for keeping their rentable spaces clean and safe. Hosts must also complete the five-step cleaning process that was implemented after COVID-19.

This article will explore the cleanliness standards that Airbnb enforces and the five-step cleaning process that all hosts must perform. We’ll also be reviewing a few tips and tricks for guests that would like to leave their Airbnb rental space clean, tidy, and attractive as a way to thank their hosts.

What Behaviors Are Expected of Guests?

Both hosts and guests are expected to adhere to Airbnb’s Community Standards. Most of the standards listed are relatively commonplace and common sense.

Hosts and guests are expected to refrain from harming themselves and others, issuing threats, stealing items, and vandalizing property— obvious stuff, right? However, few guest standards detail proper cleaning procedures before check-out.

This gray area can be confusing for guests and frustrating for hosts. In many cases, hosts may be entirely liable for their rental property’s cleanliness and upkeep, regardless of the condition the guest leaves the room in.

In some cases, hosts may be able to file a lawsuit against guests. But the host will need to prove that the guest’s messy habits have contributed to costly damages to the property. As such, hosts are commonly tasked with picking up after their messier renters.

At the very least, guests are expected by most hosts to put trash in the trash can, used dishes in the sink or dishwasher and furniture put back how you found it.

Are Hosts Expected to Clean Up After Messy Guests?

The short answer to this question is: Yes. Hosts must keep their rentable property in excellent condition, as per the Community Standards. If a guest leaves uneaten pizza and messy, used bed sheets on the floor, hosts are technically responsible for cleaning it up.

Airbnb hosts that maintain several properties within a localized area may want to opt for a low-cost cleaning or maid service to alleviate the stress of cleaning multiple properties, as there are only a few hours between checkout and check-in.

However, since the outbreak of COVID-19 the cleaning procedures have changed.

These changes have also removed a ton of responsibility from the shoulders of guests. Hosts can encourage their guests to clean up after themselves, but they’ll still need to enter the rentable residence to perform the new five-step cleaning process.

The Five-Step Cleaning Process

To avoid spreading viral illnesses like COVID-19, Airbnb hosts must comply with the new cleaning standards, most notably the five-step cleaning and sanitation process. These steps are often summarized as:

1. Prepare
2. Clean
3. Sanitize
4. Check
5. Reset

By performing these steps in sequential order, hosts may eradicate any remaining viral infection sources while also keeping themselves safe from harm. Still, this isn’t a five-minute job.

Hosts are encouraged to wait as long as possible before entering a vacated property, as COVID-19 may be able to survive on multiple surfaces for several days. Consequently, guests that clean their space before departure can significantly reduce the host’s clean-up time.

Prepare

The preparation step is one of the lengthiest. During this stage of the cleaning process, hosts must “suit up” by wearing protective gloves, eyeglasses, and a face mask. This is important, because most people only have a 99.9% chance of surviving an encounter with Covid. /s

A waterproof or water-repellent apron is also recommended, as it can keep your clothes safe from cleaning chemicals.

Any leftover trash or belongings must be discarded or recycled before the host can begin the cleaning process. Due to the chance of infection, hosts are encouraged to change their gloves after handling any rubbish left behind by guests.

Once they’ve dealt with the remaining debris, they can begin to clean.

Clean

As you can imagine, the cleaning step is quite involved. Hosts will need to remove any dirt, dust, or grime that may have accumulated on or near appliances and plumbing. They will also need to wash and dry bed linens, towels, and other fabrics.

Still, the cleaning step can be minimized with smart renting and maintenance habits. The sanitation step, however, cannot be rushed.

Sanitize

You might be able to get away with spot-cleaning your property, but you won’t be able to spot-sanitize. Airbnb recommends that hosts sanitize all surfaces that may have had contact with guests. Furniture, counters, appliances, plumbing fixtures, walls, floors, you name it.

You’ll need a sprayable disinfectant to get the job done. You may also need to read the disinfectant instructions before applying it, as some need to sit and evaporate to be effective. Others can be wiped away almost immediately after application.

Check

Before restocking the supplies around the property, hosts will need to double-check that all areas have been properly cleaned and sanitized. This is one of the easiest and shortest steps unless you’ve forgotten a room or two. You may also want to change the property’s air filter during this step.

This is also a good time to develop a routine, procedural, checklist to give to hired cleaners so that your property is cleaned with consistency.

Reset

For this step, hosts will need to remove their gloves and dispose of them before thoroughly washing their hands. They will then need to pull on a new pair of disposable gloves before carefully restocking each room of the property with fresh towels, linens, toilet paper, and cleaning supplies.

As the host completes each room, they’re required to close the door to it to seal it off from the rest of the property. They must then sanitize the door handle and refrain from re-entering the room. This means that hosts often work from the furthest side of a property, slowly making their way toward the front area.

This allows them to clean each space while backing away toward the front door. Once they’ve cleaned the entrance area, they must lock the property’s entrance and then sanitize the door handle for that door.

Only then can you pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

Bonus Tip: Ozone

One final step you can take as a host to ensure the sanitation of your property is by using an ozone machine (Amazon) to disinfect/remove odors for all surfaces and HVAC systems quickly.

As a (former) water treatment specialist, I can tell you that we work with disinfectants to kill bacteria/viruses in your drinking water and ozone is one of the disinfectants we use. The machine listed above is rated to kill Covid-19 as well.

After your 5-step cleaning procedure is done, and there is time to use the ozone machine, run the machine while your property is unoccupied to eliminate odors and viruses.

Note: do not use an ozone machine while in the property, as it may be fatal to humans and pets.

What Can Guests Do to Help Keep Rooms Clean?

There are several things that Airbnb guests can do to help alleviate some of the pressure from beleaguered hosts. Now that we’re living in a post-COVID world, cleanliness is more important than ever.

Hosts do a lot to keep their properties safe and free from infection, and you as a guest should do your part as well.

Simple tasks like removing and trash, wiping down the counters, and reading the host’s cleaning guide can be exceptionally helpful and keep hosts from spending the entire day resetting a single property.

Take Out the Trash

Collecting all of the trash and storing it in one place is helpful, but you could choose to take the extra step in removing the debris and correctly disposing of it. This action will reduce the likelihood of interior pests, mold, and decay.

Additionally, hosts must treat all forgotten belongings or remaining trash on their property as potentially infectious. They must make great efforts to protect themselves from these items, which can make clean-up cumbersome.

Wipe Things Down

Though the supply of disinfectant wipes is still low, there’s a good chance that your Airbnb space will already contain a small cache of cleaning chemicals and supplies.

If you have access to these materials, you may want to use a small amount of surface-safe disinfectant to wipe up countertops and other non-porous surfaces.

Your host will still need to disinfect the property, but at least they won’t be wiping away spilled food, toothpaste, or other debris that commonly sticks to counters. Minimizing the amount of work your host may need to do is a crucial aspect of pre-departure cleaning tasks.

Follow Host Guidebooks

Airbnb recommends that all hosts keep and provide handy cleaning guidebooks in their properties. These books offer easy-to-read walkthroughs of expected cleaning tasks.

If your host has provided such a book for you during your stay, take a few minutes to sit down and read it. Not only will you know what your host expects of you in terms of cleaning, but they may have some exciting information written down for you as well, such as nearby restaurants or supermarkets to shop at.

Do Airbnb Guests Have to Clean Before They Leave?

Airbnb guests do not have to clean before they leave. However, tidying up and tossing away any trash before you head out is part of being a good guest. If you’d like to exercise some kindness and compassion, you’ll want to make sure that your Airbnb accommodation is looking smart before you depart.

Sure, the Airbnb host will still need to come in after you and clean, sanitize, and reset the room. But imagine how much time and frustration you could save them by leaving your space just as clean as it was when you arrived.

Besides, both hosts and guests can review each other, as per Airbnb’s Review Policy. Don’t you want to be a 5-star guest?

Conclusion

Airbnb does not require its guests to perform any cleaning services before leaving their lodgings. However, hosts are allowed to make their cleaning expectations known, and they may file a complaint against guests that leave a massive mess behind them.

Still, hosts are the ones who are liable for the cleanliness of the rentable property.

They must perform a five-step cleaning process for each property that has been recently vacated by guests. Airbnb guests can alleviate some of this strain by throwing their trash and adhering to the host-provided cleaning guidebook.