No more washing up: How Airbnb's new house rules have divided hosts and guests

The changes have come as a relief to guests like Jessica Newhook, who says she has been faced with lengthy checkout lists, often on top of hefty cleaning fees.

She booked an Airbnb in Florida for a family reunion of 11 guests and says they had to "leave the property move-in ready for the cleaners", despite paying a $250 (£187) cleaning fee.

Newhook says the host told them to wash and fold towels, clean the bedding and kitchen, and sweep and mop the floors. She was also warned by the host that their behaviour needed to improve or they could be told to leave, because they had left chairs blocking bins.

"We had rules about everything and it was not relaxing at all."

While Newhook likes the home comforts of staying in an Airbnb, she says the combination of relentless rules and rising cleaning fees has taken away much of its appeal.

"It is getting to the point where a hotel is cheaper and I know what to expect."

Krissi Foskett, 46, from Glasgow, runs a national cleaning company and regularly stays in Airbnb properties so "can see the issue from both sides".

During a recent stay in Stafford, she paid a £35 cleaning fee but was still asked to strip the beds, put on a wash, empty bins and carry rubbish down a long track to a recycling area.

"I don't particularly mind doing those things, but it did make me question what exactly I was paying the additional cleaning fee for," she says.

For Foskett, there is a difference between being a considerate guest – "putting your dirty dishes in the dishwasher" – and being "expected to prepare the property for the next guests".

Through her cleaning business, she has also seen the other extreme, with teams arriving to find broken furniture, vomit and pet urine.

While she sympathises with hosts facing tight turnarounds and rising cleaning costs, these should not be passed on to guests, she says.

"If you're running an Airbnb as a business, professional cleaning is a cost of doing business."

Anthony Marsh, who co-owns a cabin retreat in North Yorkshire with his husband, used to list five of their 12 properties on Airbnb, but says the new rules have prompted him to reduce this number to just two.

His concern with the changes is that "Airbnb has effectively given guests permission to come and leave properties a tip, and a host can't do anything about it".