Please make "fragrance-free" a filter

Brian450
Level 10
Tempe, AZ

Please make "fragrance-free" a filter

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!

214 Replies 214
Zheng49
Level 10
Toronto, Canada

I just recently hosted my first guest who is allergic to fragrances. I found out when I showed her where the laundry detergent is and she said she brought her own because she is allergic to scents.

I asked if she smelled anything in the room, she said nothing. So that was a relief 🙂

 

I do use an air purifier in the room though, but otherwise nothing special is done. Oh, and I don't use any plug-in air fresheners in the house. 

Kerry574
Level 1
Vero Beach, FL

i met my family at an Airbnb that my sister booked for us. It was so stinky from plug-ins and laundry detergent that I ended up sleeping in my car.

I don’t bother to even attempt renting a house anymore. I use Hipcamp and camp out of my car. It would be amazing to be able to find Airbnbs that don’t make me ill.

Jennifer5018
Level 1
Plaquemine, LA

This! 💯

Tracy1108
Level 2
Westwood, CA

**bleep** I can't agree with you more people are some clueless about this I literally am no longer able to travel

Stacey413
Level 3
Buena Vista, CO

I'm not looking up MCs because I don't have one -- but companies (P&G's Downy Scent Beads for one) are putting out incredibly overwhelming products that seem to be appealing to more and more uninformed airbnb hosts -- These products DO NOT wash out or wear off, in fact, they are incredibly powerful [forever] chemicals designed to be motion-activated. After purchasing a resale fleece sweater online that was treated with something that wouldn't wash out and then staying in an Airbnb with the exact same smell, I had to investigate. These smells are 1) absolutely overwhelming, and 2) impossible (so far) to wash out. We've tried baking soda, vinegar rinses, repeated washings, and leaving the clothes in the sun/outdoors for days -- none of these practices touch it. When I stayed at the airbnb, I couldn't sleep and my pajamas came home smelling of the product -- that's when I asked the host what she used, and she gave me the product name. Point is, it's not just sensitive people, it's a products that are much more powerful than the traditional softener or rinse aid of old. I will be asking before every airbnb I stay in now, and certainly not using it in my own listing.