Airbnb’s new host rule changes are a major problem for PMS users

I want to give a concrete example of why Airbnb’s new House Rules system is problematic for hosts in regulated STR markets.

I operate a licensed STR in Scottsdale, Arizona.

First, to be fair, Airbnb DOES provide standard enforceable House Rules for maximum overnight guests, “No events,” quiet hours, smoking, etc. Those are useful.

Airbnb has also created a separate Local Rules section for HOA/government requirements. But Airbnb specifically describes that section in terms of local rules that may result in FINES, and my editor gives me roughly 140 characters to explain ALL of them.

That still leaves a major gap.

Scottsdale imposes requirements that are more specific than Airbnb’s generic rules and, in some cases, have no equivalent enforceable Airbnb House Rule at all.

For example:

Occupancy: Airbnb gives me a maximum-guest toggle. Scottsdale’s actual STR limitation is more specific: six adults plus their related dependent children.

Events/use: Airbnb provides “No events.” Scottsdale goes further by prohibiting use of an STR as an event center, banquet space, certain commercial/nonresidential uses, etc. Scottsdale also has separate nuisance-party/unlawful-gathering requirements.

Those can at least be partially addressed through Airbnb’s existing occupancy/events rules.

But consider pool safety.

My Scottsdale STR has a private pool. Under the city’s STR pool-barrier requirements, the house functions as the secondary barrier. That means doors and windows providing direct access to the pool must have audible alarms.

Those alarms are not an optional amenity or one of my personal house rules. They are part of the safety system I am legally required to maintain.

A guest cannot disable, bypass or tamper with those alarms without potentially putting my licensed property out of compliance.

Yet Airbnb does not provide an enforceable House Rule for:

“Do not disable or tamper with legally required pool safety alarms.”

Apparently I can put that into “Requests.”

But Airbnb’s own policy says guests MUST follow House Rules while they are only ENCOURAGED to comply with Requests.

That distinction matters when the CITY holds the host responsible for compliance.

And there is another contradiction.

Scottsdale legally requires STR owners to post a detailed government notice INSIDE the home near the front and backyard doors. That notice contains required information about prohibited uses, nuisance conduct, occupancy, safety requirements, waste-disposal regulations and other local requirements.

Airbnb’s new policy simultaneously says hosts cannot introduce new rules or requests after booking—including through signs inside the home.

So what happens when the sign Airbnb says I cannot use to introduce a rule is a sign the local government REQUIRES me to post?

Airbnb does have the Local Rules section, and I want to acknowledge that.

But that feature is specifically structured around HOA/government rules that can result in fines. It asks hosts to explain the rule and the fine.

What about government requirements where the larger consequence is not simply a $250 or $500 fine?

Under Arizona’s STR enforcement framework, qualifying/repeated verified violations can ultimately jeopardize the host’s STR license. A license suspension is dramatically more consequential to a host than the amount of an individual fine, yet Airbnb’s new system seems built almost entirely around disclosing fines.

The host carries that regulatory risk.

Airbnb is also eliminating separate rental agreements for most short stays. My rental agreement is currently where property-specific safety and responsibility requirements can be clearly disclosed and acknowledged.

Other examples at my property include:

• Do not disable required pool safety equipment
• No glass in the pool area
• Report problems promptly and allow a reasonable opportunity to inspect/remedy them
• Visitor/property-use restrictions
• Responsibility for extraordinary cleaning and guest-caused losses
• Other property-specific safety requirements

Most of these are not among Airbnb’s standard enforceable House Rules.

So they become “Requests.”

This is the corner I see Airbnb putting regulated hosts into:

Airbnb gives us seven standard enforceable rules.

Anything property-specific generally becomes a nonbinding “Request.”

The Local Government/HOA section exists, but it is designed primarily around rules carrying fines and gives very limited space to explain them. (around 140 characters TOTAL).

Airbnb says we cannot introduce additional rules through signs after booking.

My city requires me to post government rules and safety information inside the property.

Airbnb is eliminating the rental agreement that currently ties many of these obligations together.

And if a guest causes a serious local-law violation, the host—not Airbnb—faces the fines and potentially the licensing consequences.

I’m not asking Airbnb to let hosts invent endless picky house rules.

I’m asking a much narrower question:

How does a licensed host make a government-required or safety-critical property-specific obligation enforceable when it is not one of Airbnb’s seven standard House Rules?

If Scottsdale requires my pool door/window alarms to remain operational, “Please don’t disable them” should not be treated as merely an optional guest Request.

Regulated hosts need a genuine enforceable Local Government / Safety Rules mechanism that recognizes fines, permit/license consequences and mandatory in-home notices—not just seven generic rules, a fine-oriented Local Rules box, and nonbinding Requests.

I am certainly not going to violate local laws to appease Airbnb.   Airbnb is in effect requiring Hosts to violate local rules and regulations that don’t always have a clear fine associated with them…..just something trivial like losing my license.

Like many others have already said here, I'm concerned that my high-value STR with a pool and hot tub in a coastal area is at risk without a rental agreement.  I also utilize the security deposit feature through Hospitable's guest portal and wonder if that will be an issue under these new rules since the portal requires collection of personal information.  I'm looking to Hospitable for answers to these questions as my PMS provider. 

For those in North Carolina, I'm wondering if under North Carolina’s Vacation Rental Act (N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 42A-4, 42A-10, and 42A-11) would apply.  As I understand it, a compliant written vacation rental agreement is required for covered residential stays of fewer than 90 days for vacation, leisure, or recreation, where guests have a permanent residence they intend to return to. This seems to apply to homeowners renting through Airbnb—not just property managers. In this view, Airbnb bookings are not exempt, and hosts should not assume Airbnb’s standard booking terms alone satisfy the law. 

In your case, you’d just have them sign a rental agreement agreeing to all of those rules.

​@Sam yes, that’s what I do now, but they effectively banned rental agreements for me

Thanks for taking this to Airbnb, ​@Andrew Schorr. Adding our experience as a property management company in Nevada County, CA.

In all our years managing homes on Airbnb, we have never once successfully collected on a damage claim through Airbnb. Every time, they've sided with the guest. Our rental agreement and our Hospitable security deposit are the only real protection our owners have. Taking away the agreement and gating on the deposit leaves us with AirCover, and in our experience AirCover doesn't pay.

Our homes have rules that matter for safety, liability, and legal compliance, and they don't fit Airbnb's standard rules or "reasonable requests":

- Local ordinance. Noise limits, quiet hours, parking limits, and occupancy are all controlled by our local short-term rental ordinance. If a guest violates them, the owner and the permit are on the line. These aren't preferences; they're legal requirements we're obligated to pass on to guests.
- Bears. We're in bear country, so trash handling and cleanup aren't optional. Trash left out or food left accessible draws bears to the property and puts guests, neighbors, and the home at risk. Guests need to follow our trash and cleanup rules.
- Dishes. Our homes host dozens of people. We can't be expected to hand-clean every dish a large group dirties during turnover. We ask guests to simply load the dishwasher and have had zero issues with it. Under Airbnb's new examples, even that could be treated as an unreasonable "chore."
- Hot tub use and safety, visitor limits, pet terms, and responsibility for damage and excessive cleaning.

Specific questions for your meeting with Airbnb:

1. For Airbnb bookings made on or after Nov 20, can Hospitable's security deposit still restrict check-in until the deposit is secured? Or does that count as "registration required to gain entry" under the new policy?
2. If check-in can't be gated, will Hospitable automatically change the deposit flow for those bookings, or do we need to change settings ourselves?
3. Will the free ID screening that's bundled with deposits still run for Airbnb guests, given the new limits on collecting ID?
4. Is there any separate treatment for API-connected/professional managers, or is the rental agreement fully off the table for nightly stays?
5. Airbnb's policy allows contracts when required by law. Does that cover having guests acknowledge rules required by local STR ordinance (noise, parking, occupancy)? What documentation would Airbnb want from us to show it?
6. Will Airbnb treat safety-driven rules like bear-safe trash handling as legitimate requests, and is "load the dishwasher" still allowed for large-group homes?

We'd really appreciate a clear answer before Nov 20 so we can update our listings and messaging rules in time.

Joy, Foothill Management Services