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.

[Carmen1596]

Some further common sense from a csr but I’m disappointed that there are penalties for hosts not wearing masks, but not fir guests. 

Wearing mask and gloves while cleaning is not compulsory, cleaning or wipe down hard surfaces with soap and water are floors and counter tops.

Once you sanitize and clean the room and reset everything that is the time we encourage not entering the room.

If a guest refused to wear a mask they are all aware once they book a reservation we encourage them to have safety gears like face mask and social distancing again we cannot force them if they removed the mask or refused to use it.

[Ria16]

Kia ora koutou 
I just don’t get it.

Yesterday I got my hair cut, went shopping (used my contact tracer phone app) 

Watched the lads play footie then went out for a meal with my partner in a wonderfully busy eatery.  I did this because there is no stipulation or ruling in New Zealand to wear a mask .

Im sad because I don’t even talk to my guests anymore. They might get a quick elbow bump and that’s it 

I won’t be wearing a mask and I won’t sign that I will wear one and so I will explore other hosting agencies.

Sad again @Airbnb  Just want to thank you for the last couple of years and for paying my mortgage .

nga mihi nui

[Emilia42]

I had a similar day yesterday . . . sans contact tracer phone app + mask. Best of luck to you @Ria16 . It's a confusing time indeed!

[Patricia1008]

Airbnb has done nothing to prevent guests from transmitting Covid.  How about a guest questionaire to screen out potential carriers...Maybe Airbnb should require guests to prove negative Covid test when checking in, list where they've been and with whom the last 14 to 20 days , have temperature checked daily during stay..wear masks continually and chsnge to new masks every 4 to 8 hours, not use host kitchens or dishes bring their own bedding; provide proof of medical insurance, agree to check out timely even when evictions have been suspended by local government  and decontaminate their own room before leaving or pay much higher cleaning fee and an extra days rental to cover the required shut down time under the new policy.  I'm further suggesting that guests don a bunny suit booties gloves head gear mask and shield when accessing any part of the house shared by others. Failure of Airbnb to impose these standards for guests represents lack of care due diligence for the health of hosts and their property  and staff. 

[James2541]

Just as hosts need to clean, sanitize, wear masks, follow Airbnb’s protocol guests should also have a protocol to follow. I have had guests “clean dishes and put them away with lipstick and greasy fingers still on them, leave food smeared on coffee table, pee all over the toilet and not even try to wipe it up, leave their garbage laying on the floors, etc etc and is hosts or cleaners need to spend our time and risk our health to clean up and sanitize for the next guests. I think guests should have a list of things they need to do to help just as us hosts do. (Strip the beds, wipe out the bathroom sink if they spit toothpaste all over it, take out their garbage, actually clean dishes, and also check out on time (And send a msg when they do check out) so cleaners can actually wait the 3 hours to enter and clean!

[Kelly149]

@James2541 the requests I'm getting are for guests to come to baseball tournaments, groups travelling with multiple guests from various households, they go out in the evening and return at 3am, so I think they aren't hiking and enjoying the great outdoors from a safe distance... Where is the part that asks guests if they have symptoms, where have they traveled, are they complying with state mandates, to list all guests????

oh, right, it isn't there. As per all ABB risk management assessments, I agree that we should all be careful right now, however, as per usual ABB thinks all burden/risk should fall to the host and the platform is "just a booking service" and guests may go on about their merry way however they like.

ABB needs more balance. And choice.

[Emilia42]

@Kelly149 I wish I has the gall to report one of my many maskless guests and see what would happen . . . 

[Kelly149]

@Emilia42 goodness, someone should!! I changed my listing last week to say that I'm available for hosting single family groups who will not be mingling with others. The IB last night was from people coming for a child's baseball tournament with 5 children and 2 "free" infants. Hard no.

[Sarah977]

Every host should report them. It should certainly be mentioned in the review. Hosts should make Airbnb realize that they can't penalize hosts for the same behavior they let guests get away with. @Emilia42

[Malc174]

Agree with all the comments from Aus and NZ hosts. We haven't had a community transmission in Queensland Aus for months, international arrivals are subject to 14 day quarantine and interstate travel is subject to strict border controls.  

I have no problem with the cleaning protocols, but the new mask and 2m distance requirement is OTT for Brisbane. Life here is pretty normal (yes, we're very lucky), there is no public health requirement to wear a mask, and our social distancing requirement have always been 1.5m (not Airbnb's 2m).

Airbnb's one-size-fits-all policy is US- and Euro-centric. WHO precede their guidelines with the statement that "If COVID-19 is spreading in your community, stay safe by taking some simple precautions, such as physical distancing, wearing a mask". They also instruct that you should follow national and local guidelines .

But Airbnb is going further and requiring hosts to comply even when covid isn't spreading in the community, and to follow rules over and above those from our national and local public health bodies.

I'm definitely not anti-mask and am only too willing to wear one if/when the situation requires it. However I can guarantee that if I greet a guest a wearing a mask and standing 2m away, as things currently stand in covid-free Brisbane, they will assume I'm crazy, rather than a respectful host!

Airbnb, please behave like the international organisation you should  be and adapt your policy to local conditions.

[Tina--And-Oscar-0]

I would assume there are housekeeping services in local communities that have geared up and are prepared to take on the new Airbnb cleaing protocols.  I have two questions.  Does Airbnb have a way of assisting hosts locate cleaning companies/services in local areas and can Airbnb provide a means for hosts to review the average fees housekeeping services are charging in local areas?

[Gary869]

Let's ALL not sign up for this! What are they going to do? cancel all of us? we created their business

[Kareen22]

My thoughts exactly or we find someone to create another platform for us to rent our homes through that gives us more freedom.

[Lynne373]

WE'D LIKE TO COMMIT TO COMPLYING WITH THE COVID-19 SAFETY PRACTICES, NUT WE CAN'T FIND WHERE TO ACTUALLY DO THAT ON YOUR SITE.

[Rob-And-Shan0]

Where do i go to to agree to new covid practices standard