Calendar finally blocked for declining to participate in covid hygiene theater

[Lisa723]

Well, Airbnb finally got around to blocking our calendar. We didn't sign up for the ECP, because according to @Catherine-Powell it requires removing from our homes all cookware, tableware, and linens that cannot be rewashed on every turnover regardless of use. This would eliminate one of our listings' primary selling points, not to mention being entirely pointless according to current science-- especially with our four-day vacancy buffer between guests. And while we understand many hosts are taking the "let's not and say we did" approach to this, we won't advertise falsely.

Fortunately we're pretty fully booked through the summer and this will give us the opportunity to prove or disprove our theory that we can fill the remainder of the year with Vrbo and direct booking.

[Sarah977]

@Alon1  Yes, I' m in no rush to home-share and am aware that getting vaxxed isn't some magic wand. I've been very cautious in my everyday life and will continue to be until this virus just becomes something that's out there, but no more deadly or prevalent than other common illnesses we live with in the world. And hopefully there are successful treatments to prevent people getting more than a little sick, as if you just were laid up with a cold for a few days.

[Robin4]

@Kath9 

As with your state Kath there has not been an un-traced community case of Covid in South Australia since last October, and the wearing of masks has been dropped as a government requirement since early December. I do wear a  mask however when I welcome guests, and if they are local and comfortable not wearing a mask I will then drop the requirement on my part. 

The wearing of a mask is a gesture on our part, we need to be seen to be doing the right thing.

What Airbnb need to realise, this pandemic is not a one size fits all solution! We are not being lead by Donald Trump here.....or other authorities who stick their heads in the sand and refuse to acknowledge how Covid-19 spreads. You can't have a bit of a strategy in handling this pandemic, you have to be serious about it. There is no quick fix.

I am very thankful for the leaders we have here Kath and your premier Mark McGowan has done an amazing job in guiding WA through this pandemic. I am also so happy that the Western Australian  population realised that and virtually wiped out the opposition at the recent poll. What was the final result 54 seats, to the other parties combined 5 seats. That goes to show that if you do the right and sensible thing, the population will put up with the short term pain and get behind you. I am so proud of WA Kath, you have shown what is possible in dealing with a pandemic,

If the situation in the US was here, the entire country would go into mandatory lockdown, nobody would be allowed to leave their residence for a period of 14 days. Essential services would be handled by the Military and police forces, the population would be isolated from each other. That is what stops this virus........ISOLATION.......not constitutional rites. 

But in short Kath we give lip service to the ECP but, for us here,  it's rather like being in a boxing ring, shadow boxing an imaginary opponent!

Cheers..........Rob

[Belinda55]

@Lisa723 So our calendar has now also been blocked because this heavy-handed and bullying approach to Covid hygiene is NOT appropriate in our location (Australia), and we will not comply. 8 years as a superhost with perfect record on cleanliness, and I am insulted and offended by Airbnb's response. Hosts are able to comply with local regulations and requirements.

I will not be coerced into complying with a global policy that is both unrealistic and unfair - talk about ‘biting the hand‘ - we will now use other booking platforms, none of which are taking this approach.

[Ria16]

@Lisa723 

Afternoon all

Yep I’m joining the calendar blocked group.

We are at level one in New Zealand . If I don’t need a mask at my hospital,  at local eateries , shopping malls , I certainly don’t need one to greet guests in. 
Oh well I was moving anyway 🙂 

[Lisa723]

@Belinda55 @Ria16 yes-- the in-person guidelines remain more or less sensible in the US where we have completely bungled the pandemic, but none of it makes any sense in your part of the world.

Here's a thought: Airbnb could require hosts and guests to comply with rules set by regional health authorities!

[Belinda55]

@Lisa723 Yes I suggested that sensible approach back in November when this nonsense was first floated, makes much more sense than coercing an inappropriate global policy. It's all about being seen to manage risk, even where the risk is non-existent. Can only assume that we hold-outs are few enough not to threaten their business modelling 😞

[Ria16]

@Lisa723  Gone to Twitter snd have been passed over to a support ambassador (that new?) 🤪

[Emily1283]

Big Brother came for my calendar today, too. I refuse to force guests who come to breathe fresh country air on our 17 acres to diaper their faces so they can breathe in their own CO2. (Remember one year ago when the narrative to justify all this control was "two weeks to flatten the curve?").

I'm grateful for the time here. Now on to better and brighter avenues of opportunity!

[Sarah977]

@Emily1283  I see you have entire home listings. There is nothing in the Covid protocol that says guests or hosts have wear masks unless they are sharing common indoor spaces or interacting in close proximity. And those two situations do require masks to be safe, there's nothing ridiculous about that to anyone unless they are just an anri-masker.

[Emily1283]

I am pro-science and anti-mask. But the bigger item is that Nobody tells me to cover my face on my private property. Remember what the Soviets called free citizens who sympathized with their tyranny? The world is full of them.

[Inna22]

@Lisa723 @If you are blocked, I am speechless 

[Lisa723]

@Inna22 well I’m not but my calendar sure is!

[Belinda55]

Complaining to Airbnb support about the calendar block got the response - All you need to do is complete the Covid cleaning protocol and all will be well. Well doh, I already know that. My response:
I will not be coerced into complying with a policy that is completely inappropriate for my location. It should be satisfactory to comply with local health regulations. I am insulted that Airbnb would treat an 8 year super host this way, it is corporate bullying. Other booking platforms are not behaving this way so I will be hosting elsewhere unless Airbnb approach changes. Please pass this on to Airbnb management, I am not the only host outraged by this policy.

[Pete69]

And that's exactly what it is.... Hygiene THEATER. COVID is a respiratory virus. Surface transmission is rare with respiratory viruses.

Masks are also theater. The CDC's own metadata says that cloth masks don't work. In actual real world studies, they don't help. There is only one study from the politicized CDC, that was flawed for one thing (didn't consider other factors), but supposedly found masks to provide a NEGLIGIBLE improvement in reduction of deaths of 1.9% after 100 days of masking, which is of course within the margin of error anyway. Hopefully this hysteria ends very soon.

[Sarah977]

@Pete69  A lot of the cleaning protocol is indeed theatre, but you are so misinformed about masking. If masks didn't work to prevent the spread of infection, nurses and doctors wouldn't have been doing it forever. They don't wear masks for show.

There have been tons of reports of families who got together for some event, some wearing masks and some not, with the ones not wearing one coming down with the virus and all the ones masked not being infected. And the areas where lots of people refuse to wear masks have the highest infection rates.

Masking to prevent transmission of diseases isn't theater, it's proven medical science and one of the easiest things people can do to stop the spread.

Everyone else on this thread, with the exception of perhaps one other poster I'm not familiar with, knows masks stop the spread of the virus and that's not the part we object to. We object to being told we have to rewash the muffin tin at every turnover, when no one has baked muffins in it in 3 years.