How are others practicing responsible hosting during COVID-19? In Sonoma County, our shelter-in-place that was intended to end on April 7 is almost certainly going to be extended through the end of the month. This hurts -- like many hosts, we don't have the luxury of not paying mortgages, property taxes (which are due in a couple short weeks in the US), expenses etc.
However, if we keep allowing vacation rentals to operate like "business as usual" in jurisdictions where these type of regulation are in place, we'll likely see these measures continue -- compounding an already dour situation. If your listing is in a location with shelter-in-place laws but lacks the same type of enforcement we see in areas like Italy and South Africa, what have you chosen to do? For hosts in areas like Italy and South Africa with fully enforced lockdowns, what words of advice do you have for the rest of us?
We've chosen to shut down our listing in rural Sonoma County for the duration of shelter-in-place for non-essential travel -- in the face of everything, it seems like the only responsible thing to do. It also begs the question -- why is @Airbnb not doing more? Why not work with public officials in getting the word out where vacation rentals are explicitly banned instead of encouraging hosts to bend their cancellation policies and welcome more bookings? I've seen Airbnb issue notices in the UK regarding policies in place that prohibit non-essential lodging -- why not do this across the board (Florida has explicitly called it out, as has counties like San Bernardino and Sonoma County)? Instead of thinking about making it "easier" for guests to book, how about making it safe and more responsible, so that we CAN travel freely again.
