Please make "fragrance-free" a filter

[Brian450]

There is now a HUGE number of people who are fragrance-sensitive or have MCS. I'm one of them.

The odours of conventional cleaning products, air fresheners, dryer sheets, etc. make me sick. They give me headaches, burning eyes, feelings of tightness and tingling, respiratory irritation, heart palpitations, nausea, dry mouth and many other symptoms. I've had more than one vacation ruined by fragranced bedrooms that were making me ill. Surveys indicate that about one-third of the population in the US and other countries is fragrance-sensitive or has MCS or prefers fragrance-free spaces.

Please AirBnB stop ignoring this incredibly large group of people. You currently have filters for 13 different accessibility features. Could you PLEASE add another one, "fragrance-free"? Fragrance-free properties actually exist, it's just that you can't easily find them, at least not on the airbnb site itself. (Google search can be used as a workaround, but it's far from perfect.) Thanks!

[Lyssa407]

I would so pay extra for fragrance or chemical free space!  Significantly more, actually.  I have lost so much money having to cancel after arriving, having an asthma attack  and, then, find someplace to stay at the last minute (about $500 for a few days this week…).  

Surely there is a way to allow hosts to say they are “fragrance-sensitive friendly” or some other way to help guide our choices without being unreasonable.  Or, better, to develop measurable standards as do some hotels and work places that, then, allows the owners to charge a premium.  This is now a legitimate accommodation request in the US.

This has become such a problem for me that I will only use AirBnB  if I can’t find a hotel or other alternatives that are willing to make this accommodation.  Too many unfortunate experiences for me and the hosts.  Too much money down the drain for me and the hosts!

[Brian450]

Same here. I have lost many thousands on unsuitable accommodations. In some cases, whole vacations were ruined. 

I would gladly pay double the local going rate for equivalent accommodations just to have a scent-free environment. 

[Kelly1817]

Yes!!!  This filter option really needs to be added!  I know many who would greatly appreciate this.

[Gloria893]

My Fragrance Free/MCS Airbnb

Hello, I created my fragrance free Airbnb for people like me who are severely affected by toxic scents and have MCS. My Airbnb functioned beautifully, and I explained in my listing the details that needed to be followed. People loved my beautiful, clean and non-toxic home!  I received rave reviews that were all 5 star.........and quickly became a Super Host.

I decided that I needed to make sure that every guest would understand the rules, and so I chose to provide all the products which were organic unscented dish soap, laundry detergent, dryer sheets, body soaps and small bottles of shampoo (an pretty much plant based) to assure that each guest would abide.

I kindly provided an "Airbnb Rules" document regarding MCS on a clipboard and left it on the dining room table, along with my hand written card to welcome them and thank them for choosing my Airbnb home for highly sensitive people who have MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities).

I sold my Airbnb home this year, but will be investing in this wonderful experience again soon.

[Amy2528]

OMG yes!!!! I have to message all hosts after I book to ask. I would love that filter. Next on the agenda: UBER ability to order cars without those awful air fresheners !!!!

[Samantha1141]

I have to do the same. And then many people lie or don't get it and end up using toxic chemicals that I become ill with. It would be amazing if there was more transparency in this booking process in order to allow us access to safe accommodations. 

[Bonnie460]

I would be really interested in forming a FB group of people who can self-report positive fragrance-free places to stay.

[Lyssa407]

I’m in!

Lyssa

[Brenda901]

Count me in! However, there is a tremendous risk for a host to state listing is fragrance free because one horrificly fragranced guest can wreak havoc on a space. Synthetic fragrances DO NOT degrade in environment. Period. (My daughter sent me an article on topic from a class she was taking years ago in environmental sciences.) As one who has suffered acute MCS I know from experience there have been some fragrances I simply cannot remove from textiles even by laundering with additions of borax, washing soda, baking soda, peroxide and baking soda, etc. Thanks, Brenda

[Claudia3619]

I agree, i soaked a couple of second hand items my daughter bought for three months and then let dry in the sun for another three and fragrance still persisted heavily. How is this even legal? It is a complete environmental disaster! 

[Dawn894]

Here's a group I'm in.

**[Link removed due to safety reasons - Community Center Guidelines ]

People share FF accommodation recommendations. 

[Brenda901]

There's a lovely couple in Folly Beach who have an independent site for fragrance-free, chemical-free. I have stayed in their home as well as one from a former listing that was in Cape Coral a few years ago. Unfortunately, the Cape Coral listing is no longer offered.

[Brenda901]

How do we create a "dating" service of sorts here? Would love to have you folks as neighbors and friends. I am now looking for suitable properties in Nashville, TN area to start one or two fragrance-free NOO STR (non-owner occupied short term rentals) because I cannot trust guests to be truly fragrance free in MY living space. Jan. 2022 planning commision rule requires residential properties to be owner occupied at least half the time. Identified my first commercially zoned home. Unfortunately, my agent learned it was listed in error. Existing business was grandfathered and property will revert to residential with next owner. 💔

[Michael7336]

Just returned from staying in three different Airbnb's. I think this may be the last time I can ever stay in an Airbnb again, which makes me sad. I appreciate having access to a kitchen and saving some money.

Unfortunately the plug-in Air Scents, the scented sheets and towels and perfumed sachets placed in-between extra blankets (which were needed) not only made me ill, but have resulted in all my clothing smelling like the scents. This is because I wore a nightgown and these artificial scents clung to it. (When I realized this was going on I placed the nightgown in a plastic bag in my suitcase. (Sometimes I hung the nightgown out to "air" but that was not always possible. I'm nearly two weeks into the "airing-out" process and my clothes still smell like artificial scents. BTW, you can google this, but many of these artificial scents are endocrine disruptors. We also stayed in two national park lodges. The two we stayed at used NO scents at all with towels, bedding or in the rooms. 

I realize there are many people who associate scented laundry with cleanliness and coziness and I gather I'm in the minority when it comes to becoming ill from these products. I really wish Airbnb could let people know in some way when a place is scent-free. Many thanks for bringing up this issue. 

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Michael7336

Soaking in vinegar definitely helps remove that awful smell!