10/23/2026
My insight on the new Airbnb rule about guests not having to do the dishes, from the perspective of someone who cleans cabins.
As someone who cleans cabins, I have a lot of thoughts on this.
People don't realize how much goes into cleaning a place after someone checks out. There's laundry, bathrooms, floors, kitchens, trash, restocking supplies, checking for damage, cleaning hot tubs, and all the little details people don't even think about.
Honestly, I think one of the most overlooked parts of this job is how we're just expected to clean up whatever mess people leave behind, no matter how they left it. Dirty dishes piled everywhere, trash left sitting out, food all over the place, things thrown around, and hot tubs left in a condition that takes extra time and work to get ready for the next guests.
I get it. You're on vacation. You're paying to stay somewhere, and you're not supposed to have to do the cleaner's job before you leave. Nobody is saying you need to scrub the bathrooms, wash every sheet, deep clean the kitchen, or clean the hot tub yourself before you go.
BUT there's a difference between normal checkout and leaving a mess that you wouldn't even leave in your own home.
We're cleaning professionals, not your personal maids. We're there to clean and prepare the space for the next guests, not spend extra time picking up after grown adults who act like their mess magically disappears when they walk out the door.
The crazy part is that when we do our jobs right, nobody even thinks about what it took to get that place looking the way it does. They just see a clean cabin, fresh linens, a ready to use hot tub, and move on.
There's a real person behind that clean space, putting in physical work, time, and effort to make sure everything is ready for the next person.
Being on vacation doesn't mean basic consideration goes on vacation, too.
I want to know what other cleaners think about this. Do you feel like some guests forget there's an actual person who has to clean up after them?
