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Airbnb hosts can't make guests do chores under new rules

Mashable

Safety Net Creator Playbook Trending Now Mashable Selects Look Up Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Getting Technical with Mashable Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Say More Versus In My Bag Mashable @Home All Series Airbnb hosts can't make guests do chores under new rules Don't strip the bed: Airbnb's new policy limits checkout chores, prompting travelers to share horror stories. Olivia Tauber is the deputy editor of digital culture, covering creators, media, movies, beauty, and more. Based in New York, her work has appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Cut, Teen Vogue, Complex, and Interview Magazine. She holds a Master's degree in Journalism from NYU and a Bachelor's from the University of Michigan. She also runs Fan Mail, a weekly pop-culture newsletter.


Airbnb hosts can no longer make guests strip beds and wash dishes under new rules

BBC News

Airbnb has changed its rules to limit what property hosts may ask guests to do - including when it comes to cleaning. The updated guidelines state that hosts can now set seven standard house rules and can also add other reasonable requests. Airbnb states that guests - who are required to pay a cleaning fee - should not be asked to complete tasks normally done by a cleaner, including washing dishes and stripping beds. The new rules will apply to all reservations booked on or after 20 November on the accommodation marketplace. House rules help guests understand what hosts expect, but we've heard from our community that they can be confusing, onerous and hard to manage, Airbnb told the BBC.


Chip muffin? Bacon and egg soda? How Just Eat's AI struggled to depict Britain's regional dishes

BBC News

Just Eat has apologised after it was ridiculed online over a series of mistakes with AI-generated pictures for some of its restaurants' food items. The online food delivery platform had been testing out the tech to showcase food which didn't have images yet - but not all turned out as planned. Instead the AI invented several bizarre concoctions, from bacon and eggs floating in a glass of cola - a confusion between soda and soda bread - to chips poking out of muffins. A Just Eat spokesperson said the firm was in the process of removing the incorrect images, and would stop making more until the AI was further developed. We work with tens of thousands of small restaurants on their food imagery, including funding professional local photographers, the spokesperson told the BBC. We've been trialling AI-enhanced images, and as with any new technology, it isn't always quite right the first time.


Can We Eat Our Way Out Of An Ecological Disaster?

TIME - Tech

Follow this section to personalize your feed and get instant alerts. Follow Go to your personalized feed WHY FOLLOW? Smart Alerts: Get notified about major news as it happens. Follow this tag to personalize your feed and get instant alerts. Follow Go to your personalized feed WHY FOLLOW? Smart Alerts: Get notified about major news as it happens.


Starbucks Red Cup Day 2026: When to expect your free reusable holiday cup

Mashable

Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Mashable Selects Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Say More Versus Trending Now Look Up In My Bag Mashable @Home Top creators, ranked Creator Playbook AI at School All Series We're all waiting for that date to drop. Joseph Green is the Global Shopping Editor for Mashable. He covers VPNs, headphones, fitness gear, dating sites, streaming, and shopping events like Black Friday and Prime Day. All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission.


Burger King's new Hello Kitty collab features 6 exclusive toys inside blind boxes -- how to get yours

Mashable

Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Mashable Selects Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Say More Versus Trending Now Look Up In My Bag Mashable @Home Top creators, ranked Creator Playbook AI at School All Series Burger King's new Hello Kitty collab features 6 exclusive toys inside blind boxes -- how to get yours The new collab also includes a special golden Hello Kitty toy. Joseph Green is the Global Shopping Editor for Mashable. He covers VPNs, headphones, fitness gear, dating sites, streaming, and shopping events like Black Friday and Prime Day. All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission.


Calls to strengthen workplace privacy in Australia as employers turn to AI to track staff

The Guardian

Employees are increasingly being surveilled through CCTV, tracking instant messaging and monitoring card swipes and keystrokes. Employees are increasingly being surveilled through CCTV, tracking instant messaging and monitoring card swipes and keystrokes. Employers are increasingly using technology, from CCTV to keystroke monitoring, to track workers' moves and it is being accelerated by the use of AI, the Human Technology Institute has warned. Examples provided to Guardian Australia by the institute include a fast-food restaurant using surveillance cameras to stop workers using their phones, and AI tracking leading to a cashier warned over making a mistake once every 533 scans. In a report released on Tuesday, the University of Technology Sydney institute said workplace monitoring tools were increasingly common in a range of workplaces, including in factories, office jobs, delivery work and in retail - often without employees being aware of the monitoring.


Shop the Shark Rocket Pet Plus corded stick vacuum for under 150 at Amazon -- save 50

Mashable

Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Mashable Selects Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Say More Versus Trending Now Look Up In My Bag Mashable @Home Top creators, ranked Creator Playbook AI at School All Series Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer with Mashable. She's written for various entertainment websites since 2017, covering everything from tech to games to film. You'll currently find her work on IGN and Fangoria alongside Mashable, but she also has bylines at Rock Paper Shotgun, Collider, Screen Rant, and more. When she's not writing, she enjoys catching up with the latest films and shows -- horror, in particular -- and has a deep love of FromSoft games, which she continues to happily replay. All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers.


The New Age of Reading

The New Yorker

Alarm about declining interest in books is perpetual. But, as bookselling reaches unexpected heights, James Daunt, the chief executive of Barnes & Noble, thinks a different future is at hand. Daunt, the most important man in bookselling, maintains that a literary culture is something booksellers are well placed to build. It was the Friday before Labor Day, a lowering sun, when James Daunt, the most important man in bookselling, spilled off a train and turned to work. He had reached the end of the track in New Jersey. His destination, the Barnes & Noble in Eatontown, was three miles in from the shore. In the normal course of things, Daunt, who is tall and English and who often has the look of someone trying and failing to be invisible, would weave across the final stretch by bicycle--he has a folding Brompton--but the afternoon was muggy, and the traffic unkind, so he crammed into a rideshare car. On the map, Eatontown looked minuscule, but on the approach it unfurled: shopping mall ...


The 65 absolute best stocking stuffers for 2026

Mashable

Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Say More Versus Trending Now Look Up In My Bag Mashable @Home Mashable Selects Top creators, ranked Creator Playbook AI at School All Series We all know stockings are the best part of Christmas morning, so don't screw this up. Leah Stodart is a Philadelphia-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable where she covers and tests essential home tech like vacuums, TVs, beauty devices, and eco-friendly hacks. Her ever-evolving experience in these categories helps her make thoughtful recommendations for how to spend your money during shopping holidays like Black Friday, which Leah has been covering for Mashable since 2017. Haley Henschel is a Chicago-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable who reviews and finds deals on popular tech, from laptops to gaming consoles and VPNs. She has years of experience covering shopping holidays and can tell you what's actually worth buying on Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. Her work has also explored the driving forces behind digital trends within the shopping sphere, from dupes to 12-foot skeletons . Stacia Datskovska is an NYU journalism major (graduating this December). Her work has appeared in USA Today, Boston Globe, Teen Vogue, HuffPost, Bustle, and more. When she's not writing something or other, Stacia can be spotted crying over poetry, making a home-cooked meal, or walking on an NYC pier. Samantha Mangino, is an e-reader expert.