THE BUZZ: EXPRESS CHECK-OUT — Anthony Rendon wants to crack down on the laundry list of cleaning tasks that often come with stays at short-term vacation rentals. The former Assembly speaker managed to get his Assembly Bill 2202 through the perilous suspense file process Thursday, pushing to require hosts at sites like Airbnb or VRBO to disclose a detailed list of cleaning tasks prior to booking, and any fees or penalties the guest might incur should they fail to perform them. Rendon’s bill comes amid several headline-grabbing incidents of “out of control” cleaning lists on top of sometimes $150 cleaning fees and follows a slate of consumer-rights legislation proposed in the California Capitol in recent years. The legislation targets a frequent source of complaints for travelers who bristle at the surprising amount of work — like mopping floors, doing laundry, or taking out trash — that sometimes accompanies short-term rentals. The author said the bill was inspired by a recent stay of his own at a home near Tahoe, where he and his sister-in-law discovered a list of cleaning tasks after other members of their party had left, and scrambled to complete them prior to check-out. “We thought, ‘crap, we wish the three other carloads hadn’t left,’” he said. “All that would’ve been fine if we had budgeted it into our day, if we had known ahead of time.” Several laws, passed by the Legislature last year, aim to bring more transparency into the vacation rental market. Starting July 1, California will require short-term lodging to list all fees and charges up front and the state currently requires hosts, hotels and booking platforms to give consumers a 24-hour grace period after booking to cancel their reservations without penalty. Rendon’s bill has no formal opponents and therefore could have a good chance to pass. Airbnb did not comment on the bill. As part of a set of upgrades, the company last year added transparent checkout instructions that guests can see before they book. Expedia, the parent company of VRBO, said it is supportive of efforts to increase transparency and looks forward to continuing conversations with Rendon’s office. “We encourage policymakers to focus on the importance of vacation rental operators sharing clear expectations ahead of the guest's stay,” Alyssa Stinson, Expedia’s senior government and corporate affairs manager for California, said in a statement. GOOD MORNING. Happy Friday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. You can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte. WHERE’S GAVIN? At the Vatican for an international meeting on the climate crisis. CONTEST UPDATE! The winner of our “Kill Bill” prediction game is Emily Zhou, a legislative aide in state Sen. Steve Padilla’s office. Some of you clearly came to compete and listed dozens of bills you predicted wouldn’t advance from the appropriations committees to the floor. But Zhou was the clear winner, correctly guessing a whopping 27 bills which were killed off yesterday in the rapid-fire suspense hearings. They win bragging rights around the Capitol as well as some sweet POLITICO swag headed their way. For those keeping score, this is the second time in a row one of Padilla’s staffers has won our contest. Cameron Sutherland (pictured here with some of his winnings) won our Senate leaders prediction game in February by correctly naming the most committee chairs later picked by the incoming Senate president pro tem. Congrats to Padilla’s office on their dominance. To the rest of you at the Capitol: You’ll have to work harder next time to win the grand prize! We plan to reach out soon to the runners up with an invite to a POLITICO coffee date. By the way, the most popular guess for the bill most likely to die in committee? Assemblymember Ash Kalra’s AB 2200, proposed legislation for “Guaranteed Health Care for All,” which you all correctly guessed would fail to advance.
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