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!

[Lana913]

@Helen744 disinfecting could be upon request instead. Would save you time and money! It’s an air virus. It’s very unlikely to get it from a surface. I travel a lot and I don’t disinfect and haven’t gotten the virus. 

[Lauren487]

Steam cleaning would

[Lana913]

@Helen744 that’s it? What about washing sheets with free & clear laundry soap?

Fragrance free or at least unscented toiletries?
No disinfecting?

Or at least with vinegar (smells disappears after 20mins), peroxide or alcohol, or disinfect upon request (I’m assuming Airbnb’s are still disinfecting

[Helen744]

@Lana913 I personally always use fragrance free products when I can but will not risk the health of anyone by leaving out the disinfecting part of my responsibilities . If in fact you have serious concerns then logic would tell you that this is for many 'hosts' currently in the too hard basket simply because an Airbnb owner , hosts multiple people who choose us ,not the other way around . We prefer to keep our rules few.If people like yourself wish to actually be hosts then go right ahead and possibly others may follow . Guests always have a choice and that choice is ,not to stay or to stay. ITs about time according to you that some hosts made changes of the nature you speak of . I suggest put your money where your mouth is . H

[Ketra2]

Hi, 
All of my family are hypersensitive to fragrances so it would be wonderful if there was a way of filtering low-chemical homes.   19% of Australians self-report that they have hypersensitivities and 6% are diagnosed with them. 

It would help hosts to be aware of this cohort as well. Just recently, after putting **all** the scented products in a bag outside the door, the airbnb host gave my parents a terrible review, presumably because they had to put them all back in the unit after they left.  My stepdad was mortified.   

Now they are going to try camping instead of staying in airbnb's. 

It would be great to see this feature added for hosts and clients. 

Thank you Ketra

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Ketra2  yes, they could ask the host to remove it before or at check-in, or they should put the bag with products back inside after check-out.  What they did was not right. These products cost money and the host paid for them and needs them. I would also be angry if the host throws away anything from the apartment. They can throw away their stuff at their own home but not at someone else's home.

[Linda3636]

I have communicated with many air b&b owners in an attempt to find safe spaces to be able to venture out to and have had them be willing to change the heavily fragranced products they use only once, immediately prior to my arrival, but the regular ongoing use of such strong scents has already permeated everything in that space to the point of me not being able to safely commit.

No one I spoke with was interested in further discussion or learning more about how they're continuously poisoning themselves, their children, their pets, their guests, the air and the water via the products they're choosing. Each time the washing machine drains, where do you think that water goes? When the vent attached to your dryer pumps out the heavily fragranced products, it effects everyone, including the wildlife, your pets, your children, etc. Fragrance is pretty much the new secondhand smoke.

If you're using ANY fragranced/scented products in a space consistently, it won't automagically disappear by not using it once or twice. It leaves behind a chemical residue, just as it's designed to do. All efforts are greatly appreciated, for sure, but learning more about how to protect your immediate environment, therefor paying forward the benefits of living in and creating a much healthier space for your family as well as guests who pay you to stay in your space can only be a win/win for all concerned.

Also, learning how to better recognize when products are "green-washed" could greatly benefit everyone. Companies/marketing gurus use buzz words like "natural", "plant-based", "eco-friendly", etc. to convince you to buy it without disclosing all of the ingredients and potential harm of each. I, too, used to use all of the fragranced/scented/eco-friendly stuff for decades, but now my body recognizes the tox-sick-city of it all and I can no longer safely be around them. It is a cumulative effect. I've yet to be able to find an air b&b I can confidently commit to reserving. I look forward to the day that changes.

Meanwhile, here's some reading material to hopefully help provide more in depth information:

https://www.verywellhealth.com/long-term-covid-19-severe-fragrance-allergies-5087489

https://seriouslysensitivetopollution.org/2019/02/21/harm-reduction-policy-for-people-with-autism/ - has a link to a study and to a fragrance-free checklist (once you click on the "fragrance-free checklist link, scroll to the bottom for the option titled "2019-Fragrance-free-Checklist-FINAL1" that's printable)

http://theairweshare.org/printable-brochure/ - a great brochure that's free to print and share

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345204037_Volatile_chemical_emissions_from_essential_oils_w... -and-  https://www.wildwoodapothecary.org/essentialoilfree - explains why essential oils are also a major barrier, albeit them being marketed as a "safe and natural" alternative to synthetic fragrances

https://invisibledisabilities.org/environmental-illness/cdc-fragrance-free-policy/ - info regarding the fragrance-free policy that the CDC put into place in 2009

https://www.laborlawcenter.com/education-center/new-ada-guidelines-for-fragrance-sensitivity/ - more info regarding the ADA and MCS

https://www.psr.org/blog/resource/fragrances-fact-sheet/ - a link to download a 2-page printable fragrance fact sheet from physicians for social responsibility

[Anonymous]

Interesting how a lot of blank profiles with no Airbnb or CC history suddenly appear to spam the board when certain topics come up. 

[Linda3636]

Some of our profiles (speaking for myself) are "blank" because we can't find safe spaces to rent, therefore there's no history of stays to document. I had to make a profile to be able to ask questions about places I was interested in staying. There's no other options for communicating with air b&b owners that I could find.

If you call speaking on topics that very much concern many of us for the health of it, as well as trying to share more detailed info for folks who simply may not be aware of the rampant toxic chemicals issues that prevent us from being more active in the air b&b scene "spam", then so be it. If we don't speak up about the lack of accessibility and make it a more widely known dilemma, then we can't expect anything to ever change in favor of hopefully being able to rent some air b&b spaces some day.

[Helen744]

@Linda3636 Do you do anything in particular in the Airbnb that you run ? And how do you advertise to other likeminded folk? this is a host to host board . Yeah ?H

[Linda3636]

I do not run an air b&b. I am seeking safe ones to rent, which I've not yet been successful in doing so. In searching for fragrance-free, this showed up. I shared my viewpoints and hopefully increased awareness in some helpful way regarding the obstacles many of us face when trying to support the owners of the air b&b spaces that we'd love to rent. I didn't realize it's a "host only" space. Although knowing that now makes me even more glad it's here so more hosts can read about it and perhaps make some adjustments to improve the chances of us partaking in their rental spaces in the future.

[Lauren487]

I know why the op asked the question in this board. It’s a way to contact hosts more than one at a time to ask them to write fragrance free in their listing and get paid more by changing why would you have a problem with more $$

[Brian450]

Responses from people with a scant or non-existent AirBnB travel history rather prove my point. There is a fairly large, invisible constituency of people who rarely or never travel because of the fragrance problem. An untapped market, in economic terms.

[Andrea5643]

For anyone interested in better understanding MCS and accommodations, askjan is a really good resource. The site is tailored to workplace accommodations, but offers great insight for anyone wanting to understand how MCS affects people and what they can do to help. 🙂

https://askjan.org/disabilities/Multiple-Chemical-Sensitivity.cfm

Something that isn't included on askjan: simply using unscented and fragrance-free detergent on bedsheets would be very helpful, or just offering the option.

My opinion is that a list item saying "fragrance-free amenities available upon request - contact host for details" would be awesome! There could be a *no guarantees* clause for CYA, to prevent the scammers from abusing the feature. Then that also gives hosts the flexibility to offer whichever accomodations would be reasonable for them. If hosts can't accommodate, then they just wouldn't advertise that amenity.

[Brian450]

that is extremely reasonable, would not open the doors for abuse, and be a god-sent for MCS travelers.