Introducing new COVID-19 safety requirements, updated guest standards, and more in the latest Host Update

[Airbnb]

In the latest Host Update, Catherine Powell discusses quality hosting, updates to guest standards, and new COVID-19 safety requirements for members of the Airbnb community. 

Last year, in an effort to hold guests accountable for their actions during a stay, we announced new guest reliability standards. Since then, roughly 100,000 guest accounts that violated these policies and standards have been suspended or removed. In response to ongoing host feedback, we’re adding five new criteria to our guest reliability standards to address late checkouts, unauthorized pets, removal of approved security devices, and other issues. 

Between now and the end of the year, we’ll be investing in improvements to our systems and processes. These efforts will help us in making progress to ensure consistent enforcement, quicker response times, and higher overall accountability with guests.

As the heart of the Airbnb community, we know you work incredibly hard to provide the highest level of hospitality for your guests. When travelers have a bad experience with a host on Airbnb, it affects hosts’ reputations in their local communities and governments—and hurts our community as a whole. We’ve noticed recently that a group of listings didn’t live up to our expectations for quality. So just as we are removing guests to help protect the Airbnb community, we’ve decided to suspend or remove listings that have a consistent pattern of serious issues or that have regularly received low review ratings and failed to meet guest expectations.

In most cases, hosts with affected listings have already been notified and there is an appeals process in place to help address concerns. To learn more about these updates and how they may impact you as a host, watch the full Host Update. 

To help keep our community safe and trusted, starting October 12, hosts of stays will be asked to commit to a five-step enhanced cleaning process. Hosts will be required to attest to the protocol by November 20. If you’ve already attested, you’ll simply need to follow a quick prompt to agree to wear a mask and practice social distancing. New hosts will also need to commit to the safety practices. According to internal Airbnb data, listings enrolled in the Enhanced Cleaning Protocol are some of the most popular listings and have three times more bookings on average than listings that were not enrolled in the protocol.

We know health and safety has been top of mind for both hosts and guests alike, and we will continue to try and ensure standards are being met. As always, thank you for sharing the topics that matter to you. Please let us know what you’d like us to cover in future Host Updates with Catherine. 

To read a full overview of the video, visit this Resource Center article.

[Alastair0]

Hi Kate

we haven't had any notification on our dashboard yet. We have had an email about a zoom meeting in English and Thai. We dont do zoom so haven't registered. We already have the cleaning materials and read how we should clean. Would love to put it into practice but with our borders closed we haven't had a guest for many months.

Al & Nok

[Michelle53]

@Katie   I'm still not able to access an option to agree. I see a link on the Performance tab which says "New Cleaning Standards" then "Opt into the ECP 5-step process" but it still goes to an education page with shopping options, checklists and resources. 

Edit:   In case not all countries see the same thing, since Oct 12, I have been presented with links to Supplies and Services. This goes to purchasing discount options for Lysol disinfectant products and "Simply Supplies" - "Stock up on hospitality-grade cleaning supplies and personal hygiene products. Get 20% off and free shipping on your first order."

I guess we are being given ample time to browse the shopping partner offerings before the "agree" button turns up.

[Carol280]

@Michelle53,

Now do you see why ABB is insisting on signing up to their cleaning protocols? Commission on all host purchases of 'recommended' supplies!

[Charlene189]

@Katie  I have read hundreds of unhappy comments by super hosts and it seems this new forced enhanced cleaning process is overreach. Here is my reply. Since you are a manager, maybe you can forward it to the right persons.

I have been a happy Super Host with Airbnb (who transferred listings from Homeaway) for several years. As a host, I was shocked at the "mandatory safety practices that everyone must follow" or get shut down by November 20. Surely you do recognize that all properties are not the same, and no one rule could ever fit all situations. At the beginning of the virus in our area, we instituted our own safety rules according to the recommendations of the CDC.

The CDC says risk is minimized when people travel and stay with their own family that they live with. My house rules state that we accept only small families that live together. I no longer have automatic booking so that I can question and decline inquiries which do not fit my house rules. I have declined inquiries from many other groups in these last 5 months. 

The CDC says that risk is minimized when people do not share spaces or bathrooms with outside people. Our cabin is self-contained with no need to mix or congregate with other persons. We have installed electronic locks for self-check in. There is no need for a renter to meet another person to get a key.

The mandatory rules say that "enhanced" cleaning has to be done according to a certain 5-step detailed schedule, with a room-to-room check list. We hire a Spanish-speaking 2nd party cleaning service so there is no way we can guarantee that they will follow all those steps. We have checked the cleaning chemicals they use. We have given them the written cleaning guidelines in the Spanish language, but we are not on-site to check that they follow them. Actually, if our cleaners did agree to all the steps in the booklet, our cleaning bill would be astronomical, which would outweigh any profit from renting at less than $200 per night. So for us, it is financially unreasonable. 

The CDC says that the virus does not live on surfaces for days. Since we cannot verify the cleaning crew's compliance with the stated cleaning rules, we began to leave at least 24 hours which is in effect 2 days between cleaning date and the next occupancy to compensate for that lack of oversight. 

We text renters with that information --when the house was cleaned and how long it is vacant before their occupancy. As a second layer of safety, we also supply the house with hand sanitizer, soap, disinfectant wipes, and disinfectant spray which the renters are instructed to use, on surfaces and frequently touched items. 

We have a very lenient cancellation  policy and renters can cancel for any reason and get refunds up until the very day they are to occupy. 

This type of cleaning regime does not seem to be an issue in our situation. Our place has been booked every available weekend since April. Out of all those 28 renters, I have had only one person ask about cleaning procedures since they had pre-existing conditions. I explained how we clean and how long the house would be vacant before they came and they were satisfied.

I believe that by setting a certain set of rules that "all must follow," you will be shutting down safe businesses who cannot follow your mandatory instructions, or who will not want to lie about their compliance with those rules. Since the hosts and owners did not have a say in this decision, I am appealing to the rule-setters of Airbnb to set up reasonable alternatives for those hosts who cannot follow your one-rule-fits-all mandate. 

Thank you for your consideration.

[Belinda55]

@Katie

I can see the option, in fact cannot enter my Airbnb site without it popping up and insisting that I comply. I won’t be coerced into this unreasonable demand, it is totally inappropriate for Airbnb to be bullying hosts in this way. I would really appreciate it if Airbnb admin would respond to the concerns being expressed in the community https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/COMPULSORY-enhanced-cleaning-protocol-unrealistic-for-ma...

[Katie]

Hi everyone, 

I just wanted to say thank you for sharing your feedback on this, particularly the mask part of the updates to the health and safety mandate, whether this be across different countries or related to medical conditions. 

I know some of you have been tagging me too - please rest assured that we are reading all of your comments, and feeding back to the team on this, so please do keep sharing any new reactions or thoughts around this.

If we have any new information or updates for you then we will share this as soon we have it.

@Marg11 @Lisa723 @Helen427 @Aidan65 @Sarah977 @Belinda55 @Rory15 @Jenny371 @David-and-Gregory0 @Adeana1 

[Alex-and-Rob1]

Thanks Katie, but I still can't see an 'Agree' button anywhere.  I have looked through all the new checklists and protocols.  Would you be able to provide a link direct here?  If not, then tell me exactly where to look?

Thank you for your help.

Alex

[Mark116]

Just as an example of how this protocol is a trap for hosts.  In cleaning after our last guest, the microwave was 1) cleaned/sanitized w/antibacterial spray, later on I  noticed it didn't look quite clean, 2) it was sprayed again with bleach cleaner  then another cleaner and the front wiped down, on my final pass w/the cell phone camera it still had streaks and smudges, so 3) it was sprayed again with a different cleaner and wiped down.

My question is, wasn't it really 'clean' after the 2nd cleaning, even though there were streaks and smudges?  How would I have protected myself if a guest took a close up of streaks and then claimed it was 'dirty'?  Are we going to be banned for things like this?

We've done the phone flashlight walk through for years for just this reason, to identify smudges, streaks and dust that the naked eye alone might miss unless the light was a certain angle.  However,  just because the microwave has a streak on it, doesn't mean it wasn't cleaned and sanitized.  I don't know, I feel like we're all one picky guest away from disaster. 

[Patricia2834]

I use a checklist that details every step with check boxes that I check off when the appliance/surface or switch plate is wiped down.  It includes the type or name of the product used.  At the end of this checklist is a place where I certify that all these things are done and I sign and date it.  It is left in the apartment with the safety sheet and house rules.  I have not had any problems so far.  One guest wanted to know what brands of products I used for disinfectant and if the furnace/AC filter was cleaned.  I addressed this with the recommendations from the CDC and he was ok with that.  

I think transparency and a cooperative, non-judgmental attitude goes a long way toward averting any issues with guests.  

[Emilia42]

@Patricia2834 How long does all of that take you? and is it worth $50 per night?

[Patricia2834]

Emilia,

  I have the check list saved to my laptop and just go through the apartment with it as I clean.  It would take me just as long to clean the apartment the way I would want it cleaned if I were a guest.  The check list is just an added service to show that I am serious about the guest's health and safety.  My own as well since the apartment is in my home.  

  As for the rate, I add $10 for cleaning.  The hardest part has been acquiring the disinfectants.  But the AirBnB service was a great addition.

P

[Helen350]

Exactly @Mark116 ! - Absolutely!

[Marg11]

@Mark116, Wow.

I thought his white glove test was the ultimate. Must try the flashlight to see if I can really clean.

[Amber233]

@Mark116,

You hit the nail on the head. Seems like the people that made these rules have never actually cleaned a property. I have 150 five star reviews for cleanliness and did not agree to the enhanced cleaning badge the first time around.

I clean, sanitize, and then polish because I have noticed everything is streaky and terrible looking if you let bleach water dry. I don't care if the order is wrong, it looks dirty if you don't polish with the appropriate product. I also re-enter the space with a mask and clean gloves an hour after I'm done cleaning because there is always one little stray hair or fuzzball that avoided the vacuum and the mop.

[Patricia2834]

AWESOME and High fives all around.  I have not been able to find Lysol in any form in my area and Amazon sellers are price gouging (as much as $35 per can).  I just ordered my first host cleaning kit.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.