Covid positive guests

[Linda324]

I just had a guest admit to being Covid positive and wanted to rent my space to recover ! Eeek! My ranch property is quirky and I cannot do self check in. Since I am over 63 I declined her request. SHE was transparent in her request but I know others are not. As a host I am required to commit to cleaning standards but I am feeling unsafe that Airbnb is NOT equally requiring guests to commit to being covid Free!!!! What is my liability is someone gets seriously sick here even dies and I am unaware? Am I responsible for calling 911? What about my insurance??!!! This is a big issue. How is Airbnb protecting its hosts as well as its guest?????

[Anonymous]

@Linda324 I think a "Covid-free" requirement would be impossible for most hosts to implement. Even if a guest receives a negative diagnosis before their journey, they can still contract the virus in transit or during the stay. A false sense of security could lead to safety measures being prematurely relaxed.

Airbnb policy does grant an Extenuating Circumstances cancellation if the guest or host tests positive. But an any given time, there are going to be a lot of guests who are unknowing carriers. You're not required to accept guests who say they are positive, but for your own safety you have to assume that any guest might have the virus, and set up your home and procedures accordingly. If there aren't any possible parameters that would make it safe to have an infected visitor, it's probably best to hold off for awhile.

[Linda324]

Thank you Andrew, but the big questions about host’s liabilities with a covid sick guest were not addressed. Again I am required to sign an oath re cleaning, are guests required to sign an equivalent oath that they do not knowingly have COVID? 

[Lisa723]

@Linda324 no they are not. And as @Anonymous said it would be pretty meaningless because people are infectious without knowing it. We all have to assume that everybody we encounter could be infected and contagious.

[Anonymous]

@Linda324  I was opposed to the oath from the beginning, and I still won't sign it - and what you're pointing out here is another reason for that:  it is not a reciprocal agreement. All a guest has to do to get their stay refunded out of your pocket is complain that you didn't follow the arcane rules to the letter, but there's no oath of obedience for guests. This is overall a bad contract.

That said, I think the question of whether a guest "knowingly" has COVID is a red herring. As many as 40% of recorded infections are currently thought to have been passed on by an asymptomatic carrier, and this at least illustrates how useless self-reporting is here. I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "host's liabilities" (specifically, liable to whom?) but since your listings appear to be fully self-contained and detached, it appears plausible that they could be used as quarantine locations. And anyway, if you signed onto the cleaning protocol, you're committed to cleaning the property as if it had hosted a Corona-positive guest anyway - so I don't see how it would make much difference if they happened to be aware of it at the time.

Whether you're liable for enforcing quarantine orders (for example, preventing the infected guest from leaving the property) comes down to your local laws.