Do you ask guests for proof of a negative COVID test or proof of their vaccination status?

[Huma0]

Hello hosts. I know this has been discussed here and there on the CC, but I wanted to start a topic to gauge what people are doing currently. I am a home host with three guest rooms in my own house, so often have a non-related different guests staying. Due to the pandemic, I didn't host for much of 2020 and 2021, but my financial situation (I lost most of my other income due to the pandemic) makes it very difficult to stop hosting altogether. I do not want tourists and other short term guests in and out of my house but I host long term stays anyway. I still want to ensure these are as safe as possible.

The first thing I have been doing is to make sure that guests coming from overseas fully understand the current entry/testing/self isolation requirements and I do not let guests self isolate/quarantine at my house as it's a shared home. This has already caused a lot of strife, but it is clearly stated on my listing and I am sticking to my guns.

I have, sometimes, asked guests about their vaccination status. This is easier to do with overseas guests as their status will determine which rules apply to them on entry to the UK. 

One thing I have never done, until now, is to ask guests for proof of a negative COVID result. The reason I have done this recently is because I had a guest delay their check in when they said they tested positive. However, there is something not quite right here. If a guest sends you a photo of a negative home test, how do you even know A. who took the test (unlikely the guest would lie about this or B. when they took it (more likely they would lie)? As PCRs and even LFTs are becoming quite hard to get hold of here in England, would you accept this as proof or would you want a test certificate?

I don't want to interrogate guests or have to take on the role of a private detective but, seeing as this is the first time I've asked, I've realised that I'm pretty powerless to know whether the test result is valid or not...

[Helen3]

Hello @Huma0 

No not the track and trace app:)  The NHS app - it's the normal app where you can order a prescription, book a GP appointment and where it also shows all the Covid vaccinations you have.

I ask guests to take a lateral flow test before arrival and upload the results via the QR code onto the app. Not had any problems so far with guests doing this.

[Helen3]

That's why you need to ask your guests to upload their test results onto the NHS app. @Huma0 

[Huma0]

@Helen3 

The thing is, most people I speak to these days (or at least for the last couple of months) have deleted the NHS App. They do not want to engage with it at all. They hate being 'pinged' all the time and, I guess since Omicron became common, feel that there is no point using it because of course they are going to come into contact with people who have it and they simply don't want to know anymore.

This did shock me at first, and then I realised how common this attitude is. I still use the App, but feel like I'm in a minority in that respect.

[Stephanie365]

The vaccine does not prevent you from catching *or* transmitting COVID to others.

The vaccine ONLY minimizes YOUR symptoms to keep you out of the hospital. 
Vaccines protect you.
Negative tests (and masks) protect others.

[Debra300]

@Huma0,

The government does the vaccination confirmation before the guests arrive.  As a result, I don't request this information from guests.  In St. Lucia, our guesthouse is approved to host only vaccinated guests, and our property is on the Ministry of Tourism's Certified Accommodations List.  When an island visitor completes the Travel Registration Form, they must select the certified property where they are staying, and submit copies of their proof of vaccination and negative COVID test result.  We have a hybrid home-share in that the guests reside on a separate floor than us, and we share limited hallway/walkway space.  

In the US, my listings are entire house/apartments in the state of Georgia, and although it's legal to ask for proof of vaccination before rendering service, there is no need.

If I was a true home-share host such as yourself, I would be probably require up to date vaccinations (that means boosters, if qualified) just to limit the impact if the virus is brought into my home.

[Huma0]

@Debra300 

I wish it was like that here. 

In a way, it is more straightforward if guests are coming from overseas, because they have to take tests if they are vaccinated and book them/enter the details on the passenger locator form before they fly here, so the government is kind of taking care of that. If they are not vaccinated, they have to quarantine and I make it clear they cannot do that in my shared space. A lot don't seem to get that even though it's stated clearly on my listings in more than one place, but that's fine. I just turn them away or ask them to cancel.

Since the pandemic, a much higher proportion of my guests are from the UK (or elsewhere but already based here) than before. Then it's a bit tricker, as the onus is on me to follow up.

[Beth80]

@Huma0 

I haven't asked guests for proof of anything.  I also am a home share host with three rooms and only do short term.  Almost all of my guests are nationals. On the plus side a lot of them tell me they are vaccinated when they message about a reservation.  I ask them to wear masks while in the shared areas and they have all been great about being extra careful about keeping their distance.  After talking this over with my husband we decided that if a guest came down with Covid we will just let them stay and quarantine them as much as possible. ( we have a very spacious house) Our main reason for this is " where else would they go?"  They're sick and far from home. 

During these trying times there are many hard choices that we each have to make, good luck on making yours. 

[Huma0]

@Beth80 

I would be wary of doing short term right now. That's a lot of people in and out. The shortest stays I've hosted since the pandemic started are 2-3 weeks. Most of my stays are at least a month. That also usually gives me some time to discuss all of this with the guests before they come as last minute long term bookings are rare.

If you have a set up where guests are able to quarantine at your listing without coming into any contact/sharing spaces with you or other guests, then I can see why you would let them stay.

Unfortunately, that's not my situation. The kitchen and bathrooms are shared. Even if they didn't use the kitchen and I was able to allocate them a separate bathroom (which isn't usually possible), they would still have to pass through communal areas to go to the toilet as I don't have any en suites. Even for them to check in, i.e. access the house and go to their rooms, they would pass through communal areas. I don't think it would be fair to put the other guests staying to risk. I understand that the guests with COVID may not have somewhere else to go, but I'm afraid I would have to ask them to go to a self contained studio/apartment or a hotel where they are allowed to quarantine. 

The other thing to consider is that Airbnb can shut down all your listings and cancel upcoming reservations if anyone reports that someone has tested positive while staying at one of them. Then what happens to those guests who were about to arrive? They also may have nowhere else to go.

[Beth80]

@Huma0 

Well, I won't mention what happened this week for fear of Airbnb. 

But I left food at their door and was lucky that I had no other guests coming for two days after they left. A very thorough cleaning and fresh air. 

Yes, I am very blessed with the layout of my house allows everyone lots of personal space. 

I really feel for hosts like you as you wade through all of these decisions! 

[Huma0]

@Beth80 

For sure, if there were no other guests staying, that would be a different matter, but I have to think about all the guests, not just myself.

You are very kind to look after your guests in these difficult times.

[Anonymous]

@Huma0 I can see the benefit of requiring a validated negative test on arrival when the guest reports having had a recent infection. And more generally, they make sense as a condition for single entry to a public venue.

But there's a pretty steep drop-off after day 1, right? I mean, a negative test result presented at check-in tells you nothing about the guest's status after days of going in and out of the house. And while having businesses demand proof of vaccination is effective as a general public incentive, it doesn't scale down to a valid assessment of an individual's risk of transmissibility.

I don't think a goal of keeping the virus out of the home would be compatible with homestay hosting right now, no matter what vaccination or testing requirements you set. But requiring periodic tests for everyone in the house could at least filter out guests who are ambivalent about their status and help contain a breach before it spreads.

[Helen744]

Helen@744 We always ask for double vax cerificates because that is required for many venues . If people provide this and most do then I feel okay to disinfect hands and wear a mask to let them into our house . If not then I will not be running around to assist them during their stay , when they leave all windows and doors are left open and deep clean involving masks is done as per regulations. I worry about my new guest always and assume that we could all have covid and clean accordingly. Yes we can keep our places safe. H

[Helen744]

Also we are not a public venue but in my case a private home where our guests go as we do to feel safe

[Helen744]

Helen @744 I do not know if people are aware of Australias current stats for those who are in hospital and ICU and dying. Most states are double vaxxed up to 95 percent so to ask for certificates is normal. Those dying currently from Omicron are increasingly the unvaccinated in their fifties. I dont know how International travellers could be in the country without vaccinations. i have now three vaccinations and I tell guests because if we ask them they can ask us. noone wants a cleaner with covid changing their beds H

[Huma0]

@Helen744 

I've never had a guest ask my vaccination status so far. 

As I am hosting more and more local, rather than international guests, that's where it can get trickier. Unvaccinated international guests have to quarantine for 10 days (which is effectively more like 11 or 12) and this was being monitored closely by the authorities, although I'm not sure if it still is. So, it's really in their interest to get vaccinated before coming here.

Local guests, on the other had, only face difficulties if they want to travel abroad or visit a limited number of venues where vaccination certificates are required. So, I would actually be more wary about local guests, especially as the number of infections here is so high.