My airbnb is located in a very rural retirement town of 100 people. Next to impossible to hire a cleaning service as nearest town with a cleaning service available is 45 miles away. Most of the people in my town are retired or don't want to work even though I am willing to pay premium wages for cleaning. So this summer I decided to do all the cleaning myself and while it has been a lot of work I feel in some ways it has been easier. Don't have to worry about the cleaning person flaking out and not showing up or doing a lousy job.
I also did not agree to the enhanced cleaning protocols which came out in the spring. They were way to stringent and inflexible. Would take hours to do what they are asking? Wash every dish and utensil. I only rent my place one time per week so usually 2-4 days between bookings which I am sure does a great job of reducing the spread of Covid. I have had only one person inquire about my cleaning process out of over 50 bookings. I've had the busiest summer yet so obviously guests are not worried about my place not having the enhanced cleaning badge. People are very happy with my cleaning and all great reviews.
This new mandatory enhanced cleaning option is just feel good policy to keep the lawyers happy at Airbnb and is again impractical and over the top. Something airbnb can impose on hosts because they can. As one writer said I doubt Airbnb has ever even tried cleaning a house with the new enhanced cleaning requirement. Might work for some situations but I have a full size house with a fully stocked kitchen. The linens I use on the beds specifically say "wash in warm water only" as they are some sort of bamboo fabric.
I've been using airbnb for 5 years now. I tried VRBO but got very few listings. From the beginning I have felt like Airbnb is all about the guests and doesn't give a flip about the hosts. If I could switch to a listing service which treated hosts as true members of the team I would switch in a minute. All Airbnb needs to do is take the time to really consult with hosts before making these mandatory policies.
Not sure what I will do regarding the new mandatory enhanced cleaning. May just take my listing off the market for now.
Just my Airbnb rant for the week.