Airbnb prohibits mandatory cleaning tasks
Airbnb’s new house rules prohibit hosts from requiring departing guests to wash dishes or strip beds, which the company describes as cleaning work. It says imposing such tasks is unfair when many hosts also charge a cleaning fee. The rules, due to take effect one month after publication, separately prohibit requirements that guests take rubbish outside for disposal.
Hosts also cannot require guests to sign a separate contract outside the platform or tell them not to use facilities such as heating or air conditioning. Airbnb will continue to allow requests including placing dirty dishes in the sink, sorting rubbish inside the property, gathering used towels and switching off heating or air conditioning at departure. In areas with bears, guests may be required to secure rubbish in an animal-resistant container.
Philippine ports reopen reservation portal
The Philippine Ports Authority is relaunching its free Online Reservation Assistance System on October 24 for trips from October 28 to November 3. Travellers using Lucena, Balanacan, Calapan and Batangas ports can reserve a trip and save an ORAS Pass for validation. The pass does not replace the vessel ticket, and the authority recommends arriving two hours before departure.
The authority forecasts that 1,934,604 passengers will pass through Philippine ports from October 27 to November 5, 2026, a 1.55% increase from the corresponding period in 2025. Ilo-ilo River Wharf and the ports of Babak, Batangas, Jordan and Sassa are expected to record the highest traffic. Travellers were advised to consult official port notices and contact shipping lines for schedule updates.
Latvia sees steep September fuel-price rises
Latvia recorded some of the European Union’s largest fuel-price increases in September, according to Eurostat data reported by LSM Latvia. The report said motorists in Latvia faced steeper increases at the pump than most others in the bloc amid rising fuel prices worldwide.