Airbnb Terms of Service

Airbnb's Terms of Service is the legal contract you agree to when using Airbnb as either a guest booking a stay or a host renting out your property. The most important thing for most users is the mandatory arbitration clause: if you have a legal dispute with Airbnb, you give up your right to sue in court or join a class action lawsuit unless you opt out in writing within 30 days of first accepting the terms. If you are a host, you should also be aware that Airbnb can suspend or remove your listing at any time and that the platform charges guests a service fee on every booking that is set by Airbnb and not negotiable.

Airbnb's Terms of Service is a binding agreement governed by the laws of the State of California (or Irish law for EU/EEA/UK users) that regulates the relationship between Airbnb, Inc. (or Airbnb Ireland UC for non-US users) and all users of its platform, covering both guests booking accommodations/experiences and hosts listing properties or services. The document creates significant obligations including mandatory compliance with Airbnb's Host and Guest Standards, Community Standards, and Nondiscrimination Policy, and requires hosts to maintain accurate listings and guests to pay all applicable fees including a non-negotiable service fee calculated as a percentage of the booking subtotal. Notably, the Terms include a mandatory binding arbitration clause with a class action waiver and a 30-day opt-out window, a broad intellectual property license granted to Airbnb over all user-submitted content, and a provision permitting Airbnb to remove listings or suspend accounts at its sole discretion with limited recourse for affected users. The document engages GDPR (for EU/EEA/UK users), CCPA (for California residents), and the FTC Act Section 5 with respect to unfair or deceptive practices; the arbitration clause and class action waiver trigger FAA preemption analysis and have been subject to consumer protection scrutiny across multiple U.S. jurisdictions. Material compliance considerations include Airbnb's dual-sided marketplace structure creating distinct obligations for hosts as quasi-independent contractors and guests as consumers, with differing liability exposure, refund rights under the AirCover program, and regulatory obligations in jurisdictions with short-term rental licensing requirements.