COMPULSORY enhanced cleaning protocol unrealistic for many

[Belinda55]

Dear Airbnb,

Please quit your paternalistic and bullying ‘one size fits all’ policies. There are many locations in the world with little or no community COVID infections, so to coerce hosts (by threatening blocking of calendar and bookings) into complying with a global policy is both unrealistic and unfair.
There are no other booking platforms doing this! Hosts are able to comply with local regulations and requirements and do not need this heavy-handedness from you. I have been a Superhost, with a perfect record on cleanliness, for 7 years straight, and am insulted and offended by your approach. Talk about ‘biting the hand‘ ... we are now planning to prioritise other booking platforms.

[Christine1805]

Dear Airbnb

Totally agree with Belinda55. Our message to you is:

We cannot agree to comply with this. We are following all the requirements of the Queensland Health Department and following the Australian tourism COVID guidelines. They do not currently include the  need to wear a mask as there are currently only 2 (two) active cases in Queensland and our borders are closed.

We do not want to be listed and not complying - so, should we withdraw from Airbnb or will you just delist us? Our preference is to  stay listed, but the rules need to be appropriate for the local circumstances.

We are fortunate to be listed on other platforms so can continue regardless of Airbnb. However, we do like Airbnb and hope when we stay at other hosted accommodations that the hosts are not wearing masks only because of this sweeping generalised approach. 

Airbnb, can you update policies to reflect circumstances in local jurisdictions?

[BenkaandKeith0]

We have to add to this conversation that we wrote in the review this past month about unacceptable behavior of one of the guests who had come to our property, told us did not believe in COVID-19, shaking hands and hugging. Airbnb removed the review and refused revoking the account or taking any action whatsoever. It those odd times, when we hosts are constantly asked to do more, better to provide safe environment for the company  let dangerous individuals like this float uncontrolled through the system, entering our homes? Seriously?! SHAME ON YOU, DEAR AIRBNB, where is that carrying company we knew years ago. We miss an old version of you terribly 😞

[Helen427]

Thanks @Belinda55 @Christine1805 

Plus you have several Judicial Reviews on your Court Systems re Coronavirus Acts & measures in place, as we do here in New Zealand.

We are living in countries that belong to The Commonwealth and shall not be dictated to by people who have no respect for adhereing to our basic Legal Rights.

 It's time our Government officials are held to account for there roles in creating this world-wide disruption.

 I've my doubts  any of them bothered to factor into account the Economic & Public Health harms they have instigated by going into "lockdowns" when it's not the way the Public Health Acts over the years were ever intended to be exercised.

 The current Coronavirus is not even comparable to the Plague and definitely not the 1918-1919 Epidemic/ Pandemic that the so called " Experts" are comparing.

[Peter818]

I have given my guests the option of a £20 standard clean or an £80 airnbnb 5 stage clean (it would take 8 hours) since they introduced it.  Not one guest has opted for the aibnb clean in either apartment.  Washing 250+ kitchen items per flat (for example) makes no economic sense for an apartment rated at £40 a night before cleaning and guests are perfectly aware of this.  I am not signing the protocol and will switch platform if they are stupid enough to proceed with it. 

[Katie1000]

This is exactly what I want Airbnb to offer us - that the listing will specify what type of cleaning is used, but I love even more giving the GUEST the option!

[Chris773]

My housekeeper charges me $75 to clean a 2-bedroom condo. It generally takes her about 2-3 hours to do so, and she depends on cleaning 2-3 units a day to sustain her livelihood.

To implement the new mandatory cleaning protocol, she'll have to dedicate an entire day to cleaning a single unit. That means my cost will be $200, which I'll of course have to pass along to my guests. That also makes my unit very non-competitive with other units (unless all other hosts in my area do the same, which I'd be shocked to see), not to mention non-competitive with hotels in my area. Not to mention that guests will be unhappy that the cleaning fee exceeds the nightly rental cost by a factor of two.

I don't have any issues with providing a clean environment for my guests, and indeed my housekeepers are already doing the vast majority of the things on the checklist, but some of the requirements strike me as arbitrary and not backed by evidence. Where is the data, Airbnb, that shows that guests have caught COVID from not performing each and every one of these checklist items? Give me one example of a guest catching COVID from curtains that haven't been laundered and maybe I'll back off of my stance, but seriously...stuff like that is utter overkill. I'm all for wearing masks in public and when sharing rooms with others, and it's true that aerosolized particles can carry the virus, but I've seen no evidence that anyone has entered a hotel room or vacation rental and caught covid simply by breathing in air that's been exchanged by ventilation from open windows or exhaust fans.

If you're going to make all this mandatory, you'd better be prepared to force every host on your platform to raise their cleaning fees to accommodate these requirements. Failure to do so and I'll be losing business to those hosts who don't actually implement every last bullet point on your list.

[Helen350]

This latest 5 step protocol does NOT include washing curtains @Chris773 . That was the OLD protocol! Also, the health & safety protocol which Katie posted on another thread said masks had to be worn "when interacting with guests." So unless  you're in the same room, no need.

[Belinda55]

No need for much of this protocol if in a country/state/jurisdiction that has low/no Covid infection, no international (ore even interstate) visitors and does not mandatemask-wearing or other precautions.

[Keith352]

@Helen350 exactly where does it say that, and that statement from AirBnb says that. The link from the 5-step protocol points you to the 36 page doc that says wash curtains and sanitize blinds. It would be nice if the mandatory policy isn't totally bonkers, but no statement from AirBnb says that, and the descriptions and checklists still state things like "move all the furniture and clean underneath".

[Helen350]

@Keith352  - Moderator @Katie posted this on one of the threads:

https://airbnb.co.us/help/article/2839/what-are-the-health-and-safety-requirements-for-airbnb-stays 

[Keith352]

@Helen350 right at the top of that it says "The process is based on Airbnb’s cleaning handbook, which was developed in partnership with experts in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19." In the Check step it says: 

• Refer to the best practices in each room-by-room checklist to make sure that all areas are cleaned and sanitised between each stay

Those checklists says you should wash walls, curtains, sanitize blinds between each stay. If you did everything in those checklists (including washing any dishes the guest might have touched) out would take 8-10 hours or more to turnover an entire unit.

If all we were agreeing to were what it says in the 5-step process I don't see a huge issue as we're doing most of that already. But the Reset part is bonkers and isn't following any current guidance.

[Helen350]

@Keith352 I'm interpreting it as the 5-step process. Scroll down to 'Committing to the cleaning process is required for all listings', and it states ' Hosts who don't agree  to the Covid-19 safety practices, including the 5-step enhanced cleaning process by 20th November....'

[Debra300]

@Keith352,

I am unable to open the link you provided.  Would you please copy and paste where it says that curtains and blinds need to be cleaned?  In the US version of the cleaning handbook in the Preparing for Cleaning section on page 22, it says clean upholstery covers and curtains if necessary,

"Remove all linens throughout the
listing and wash on the highest heat
setting possible. This includes:
• Bathroom towels
• Shower curtain and liner
• Kitchen towels
• Dining linens (napkins, table cloths,
etc.)
• Sheets, blankets and duvet covers
• Pillow covers and pillow liners
• Upholstery covers (if necessary)
• Curtains (if necessary)"

[Keith352]

In that same manual you'll see it says sanitize blinds (i.e. spray sanitizer and let it dry), no "if necessary" in each checklist. Common room checklist says to sanitize garbage cans and reclines bins.  Bedroom checklist says to sanitize clothing racks and hangers, along with moving the bed and vacuuming under it. Kitchen checklist says "Wash all other dishes the guest may access". Bathroom checklist also says to sanitize the garbage can, along with "when done, clean the toilet brush with bleach and flush the canister with soapy water". 

On the page you're copy/pasting from above it says "wipe down he bins with a multi-surface cleaner, then line with fresh bags to help avoid cross-contamination.

Clearly you and nobody else thinking of signing up for this has read the guidelines in detail. Many of these "best practices" are things everyone would do on occasion, but not between each rental. Most of them have nothing to do with COVID. People aren't going to catch COVID from a trash can or the dust bunnies under the bed. The outdoor checklist says to clean all the light fixtures (no when necessary). So we're going to have guests ask for refunds if they see a spider web in an outdoor light fixture? 

Read the entire manual. Every line. Then sign on the dotted line that you're doing that EVERY TURNOVER.