March: Host Advisory Board Spotlight‌‌

[Stephanie]

Hiya everyone!

We've been seeing more of the Host Advisory Board members in the Community Center and it was great to meet some of them at our social meet-up the other day too.

It's time for us to share the March Spotlight member and their update from the Host Advisory Board’s activity: the wonderful @Merrydith0  from Tasmania, who is representing the group this month. Take a look at this article in the Airbnb Resource Center for more details of her journey to Hosting, joining the board and what the board members have been up to last month.

So you are able to start a conversation, we made this thread so you can reply below. 

Many thanks,

Stephanie

[Mary996]

Wonderful @Dale711. Totally appreciative post.... so uplifting to read xxxxxxxxxx

[Dale711]

Hi @Mary996,

Great to see you here 👏👏👏

[Regina114]

We women are winners and together, no one, I mean no one can put as down.  Congratulations and Thank you Merrydith Callegari

[Merrydith0]

Thank you @Regina114  I love it when woman do things unexpected too! And believe me, being on the HAB was so unexpected. I love it though. 

[Belinda55]

@Merrydith0 I am so happy to see someone on the HAB representing Australian and NZ hosts interests. So I hope you will be tackling the vexed issue of coerced global compliance with the Covid Enhanced cleaning protocol. I am an 8-year superhost, but my calendar has been blocked because I am damned if I will agree to wearing a mask when interacting with a guest, when we have no local Covid transmission and this is not required or recommended by my local health guidelines. As a Tasmanian host, surely you also have issues with this global approach!

[Merrydith0]

@Belinda55 thankyou for your message. I understand your point of view and many Tasmanian hosts have told me they feel the same, but every time there is a traveller with covid who manages to get on a plane and possibly infect other travellers, I think that, wearing a mask for a few minutes while I greet my guests, is not too much for me to do to keep my family safe. Tasmania was very isolated for a long time with no covid, but once our borders opened we had to hope that people from mainland Australia didn’t bring the virus back in. I do find it an alien thing to do, and can’t wait to get it off, but I am finally about to travel again (within Australia) and now I have to wear a mask for the whole trip to Darwin and in the airports, so those few minutes whilst greeting my guests wasn’t much at all. I hope you start hosting again we need our Superhosts.

[Belinda55]

@Merrydith0 Thanks for your response! But what you say just reinforces the fact that Covid risks and experiences vary greatly globally, and over time. Local authorities are the ones to implement health policy and manage risk appropriately. This corporate bullying by Airbnb is overreach, and it is NOT what other hosting platforms are doing. If you really believe that wearing a mask whenever you interact with a guest is 'keeping your family safe' from a virus that barely exists anywhere in Australia then you are more gullible and compliant than I am. And yes, I DO care about my family, insulted that you imply otherwise. 

Feeling disappointed that host representatives just turn out to be apologists for Airbnb, not really prepared to represent any dissenting opinion. Fortunately I do have alternatives to the Airbnb cult.