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

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

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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.

383 Replies 383
Katie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hi @Lynne373 @Rob-And-Shan0, sorry to hear you cannot find a link to agree. It should be apparent when you enter your account as a prompt is shown - I will check in with the team to see if we can get to the bottom of it, and let you know 😊 

 

@Lynne373 I notice you are getting in touch from a guest account - do you have your listing under a co-host's account maybe? 

Dawn6
Level 3
San Diego, CA

Integrity matters.
First, I've noticed that most hosts I've heard from are investors, not homeowners. They built businesses on buying and renting homes on AirBnB, not the original intention of the home share platform. 
The 5 step process still refers to the cleaning check lists, which include things like washing the walls and baseboards, and AirBnB gives conflicting responses when hosts asks about the details. As many have mentioned, they're just pushing the liability to the hosts. 
I call BS on anyone who says they're following these cleaning instructions. I've noticed that most hosts don't clean their own listings and say the cleaning person is doing the required cleaning. After working in a hotel for 10+ years, I'm telling you they're not. 
Again, integrity matters and I will not certify. Grateful for the last 5+ years of hosting w AirBnB, but will let them kick me off the platform and will push my future reservations through other platforms. So long AirBnB!

Adeana1
Level 3
Melbourne, Australia

@Catherine-Powell @Katie 

Has there been any resolution to the multiple comments (particularly from Australian and New Zealand hosts) regarding the non-applicability of these rules to listings where there is no community transmission and life has pretty much gone back to normal? Our queries are all extremely important and valid yet any response that an admin has provided has simply ignored our comments.

Helen427
Level 10
Auckland, New Zealand

@Adeana1also @Brian CEO of AIRBNB

 

 

Katie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hi @Adeana1, thanks for the tag. I've shared the latest info we have with you, and since then there have been no further updates. Of course, if this changes then I will let you know 😊 

Lisa723
Level 10
Quilcene, WA

@Airbnb @Katie and everyone else:

 

I received a private message from @Catherine-Powell as follows:

 

"The 5-step process states 'Wash all dishes and laundry at the highest heat setting possible,' meaning all dishes in the listing. Unfortunately, it is not possible to tell which may or may not have been used, so any and all linens and dishes that have been made available to guests will need to be washed to ensure no contamination."

 

So, hosts who are understandably interpreting Airbnb's apparently deliberately murky wording here to mean that re-washing is not required are "wrong."

 

As others have pointed out, the result of this policy seems likely to be that conscientious hosts who actually care about truth in advertising will leave the platform, and guests will assume a false sense of security from the ECP badge, putting them at greater risk.

Aidan65
Level 6
Great Malvern, United Kingdom

Well I've just received an email entitled "Immediate action required to continue hosting" - "All hosts are now required" ... blah blah blah. The phrasing is getting worse - it's as if it was coming from some bailiffs office threatening to show up at your door and demand the return of the free fire alarm I was awarded a few years back. As it happens being in England I'm not allowed to host until early December anyway while the country is in lockdown.

 

Whoever is behind these demands have lost the plot in terms of communicating with their customers - i.e. us. Compare the language with the general announcement last week by the founder Brian Chesky about him starting small, being a host etc.

 

He specifically then said "We held meetings with over 3,000 hosts around the world, and read countless emails and comments in the Community Center. We heard you loud and clear":

 

  1. You wanted to be treated as partners
  2. You want more control over how you host
  3. You want the tools to grow as a host

 

So my question is how does that ambition fit with these threats to remove us from the system unless we bow to these dictates in controlling how we host? What will be next? "You can't host unless you have the vaccine" - something most of us will have very little control over in terms of priorities within countries.

 

Seems like the left hand of Airbnb doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

@Aidan65 

It is loud and clear, i hope Mr. Chesky is still listening...
Sue-and-David0
Level 2
Kareela, Australia

Yes, I have even rung asking for a proper address for Au and NZ  but still silence

Lisa723
Level 10
Quilcene, WA

Well, it's Nov. 21 and I have not signed up. The banner now says "You must agree to the COVID-19 safety practices as soon as possible." Since "as soon as possible" is "never" I guess I am good to.

Laura3135
Level 3
Taupo, New Zealand

@Katie  last page not going to name names, someone asked how to sign up to the enhanced cleaning process, you were more than happy to help them sign up, im sure after you looked at there 3.something rating for cleanliness after only 9 guests, you had more information you sent them, as obviously they are struggling with just normal cleaning for guests... I would love to see that please 🙂

Im sure you would not just sign them up no questions asked?

 

Maybe like all the others in my area that just signed up, with very questionable cleaning ratings..

 

We have blocked off our calander and just having our last guests that have booked, why do none of them know anything about this new enhanced cleaning thing?  and they all have said "thats ridiculous we would never use airbnb if we knew that " or something on those lines...

 

have i been had here? or can we just agree to this and just do the same.

 

 

Katie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hi @Laura3135, thanks for the tag. 

 

Sure, so I don't tend to check someone's reviews or star ratings before assisting them. As a Community Manager here in the CC, if someone reports having issues with something then I do my best to assist them however I can 😊

 

I haven't yet heard back from either of the hosts, so I haven't been able to send them any more info.

Ian-And-Christine1
Level 2
Gold Coast, Australia

@Catherine-Powell @Even hosts in countries like Australia and New Zealand, that are covid-19 free are required to sign up. Totally ridiculous.

 

@Ian-And-Christine1  We don't want the Certificate of Vaccine ID  (CoVID) former PM of UK has been pushing everyone to have left, right and centre either to travel and go about our lawful lives, do we?