Hello, I am Phil and I host a high altitude log cabin in Wyo...
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Hello, I am Phil and I host a high altitude log cabin in Wyoming. It is smack dab in the middle of a consistantly successful ...
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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!
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I can see why you would think that, because you are probably picturing the people who would use this feature as entitled white ladies who put too much faith in Gwyneth Paltrow's take on medicine. In truth, they are people with conditions like MCAS who need to travel and are grateful for any accomodations that aren't a total assault on their bodies. Because of that, as long as the host makes the accomodations the say they will (e.g., no scented products and cleaning with safer products) they can expect very positive reviews.
For example, the only fragrance free Airbnb I know of is near Sedona, is always booked, and has great ratings.
In my own experience, I have managed to find a number of hosts who were willing to work with my medical issues, and we have always been on good terms because the accommodations I asked for were relatively easy (see above) and even though I wasn't perfectly comfortable, I felt much better then I would have in an ordinary hotel or Airbnb. But a fragrance free filter would have saved me SO MUCH work contacting hosts and explaining my medical needs.
The only time I have ever heard of a person leaving a bad review was when a woman was repeatedly assured by a host that the room used unscented laundry detergent and no scented air fresheners, which turned out to be completely untrue.
As for the other points like the healthy bed (i.e. A bed that doesn't off gas the VOCs that trigger our symptoms), those are things that would make a space even better for many, but I don't think anyone would expect those things just because a place is listed as fragrance free.
I think you are also underestimating the prevalence of these conditions because people with them usually don't mention them. People who report any degree of problems with fragrances are about 20% of the population (mostly headaches and such) and severe sensitivities are about 2%. That means a number of hosts may already be practicing fragrance free cleaning of their properties, but are unable to communicate it with the large numbers of clients who would love to rent such a space. At one rental I checked out in 2021, I spoke to a cleaning lady and asked if she could use mostly vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda to clean. She replied that those were all she used because her son was "sensitive to chemicals."
Absolutely agree. No fragrance! The easiest solution airbnb could offer is a request box to check stating "prefer fragrance-free". Since it would be a request, it would not require hosts to be held to provision. But, it would let the host know guest does not want scented linens, air freshners or plug-ins.
I totally agree with this! Currently on a two leg trip and both used normal laundry products for their towels and linens. I have to take antihistamines with me to travel because I’m never sure if the Airbnb I book will have fragrances linens and towels or not. It’s pretty bad. It’s also hard to ask because I also don’t want to scare off a potential host.
I see the worry that a lot of others have regarding abuse of the system, but maybe Airbnb can add the fragrance free button and just let hosts choose to do it or not. I’m sure the ones who are already fragrance free would be happy to add the button. If you’re worried about a scammer or bad reviews, then just don’t add it for your listing! Slowly I’m sure more will start doing it, but at least if a few do it, then traveling in countries where fragrances laundry products is the norm won’t make people like us suffer so much. As a side note, fragranced laundry products aren’t as common in Asian countries, so I love traveling there.
Completely agree.
Did it happen already?