This topic is part of the CC Hospitality Festival.
The original topic was posted on the German-speaking Community Center by @Till-and-Jutta0, and we have translated it below.
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This period has been a real challenge for society as a whole, and here I'd like to focus on the aspect of hosting and traveling. While many have stopped offering their private rooms during the pandemic, others have come up with alternatives. For instance, we have changed our processes so that the guests have their own entrance and kitchenette, and they already have their own bathroom anyway - so our paths don't cross.
Communication has been always essential for us, so we want to know who we're sharing our home with, what brings our guests to us, and who we can expect.
At times, we were affected by an accommodation ban for tourist stays, but this has been relaxed now and, depending on the incidence, our guests no longer require Covid certificates.
It's obvious that as a host you have to take special hygiene and cleaning measures and that, if you test positive, you can't travel or host guests. This is required by law in most countries, as well as by Airbnb itself "Guests who've been diagnosed with COVID-19 should not book a space on Airbnb to quarantine themselves." The user's account may also be temporarily restricted.
New, stricter entry requirements have come into force recently in Germany requiring non-vaccinated and non-recovered people from high-risk areas to self-quarantine, which isn't possible with a private room in a shared apartment because there's always some kind of contact, even if it's only behind a screen (like in our case).
That's why we ask our guests where they've been in the last 10 days before check-in and, if they're coming to us from a high-risk area, what they've done to reduce their risk of getting infected (as required by the new entry requirements). All we want is to make sure our guests don't turn up at our door later and find out they're not allowed to check in.
Airbnb recommends that all hosts send guests the following message before booking:
Nevertheless, it's possible for a guest to check in having tested negative, and then suddenly turn out to be positive. Now what? The same thing has happened to us, and I'd like to briefly share our experience:
We had a long-term guest who was working nearby and wanted to go home to his family one weekend. To go back to his home country, he had to take a test, which turned up positive! We were informed immediately and took special isolation measures, including putting up an airtight partition across our apartment and ventilating it at all times. We also self-isolated until we got our negative PCR results.
What were our options? Where could the guest have gone? He wasn't allowed to go back to his home country, and he was supposed to self-isolate for at least two weeks. Ultimately, our measures worked: the guest was able to recover with peace of mind, and we remained healthy.
Self-isolating means zero physical contact with anyone else. Modern means of communication help, but they're still not enough to deal with the loneliness of isolating, so we went shopping for our guest and asked if he wanted some hot food. He was very grateful to get one hot meal a day at least, and we wanted to cater to the guest's taste and remain faithful to our favorite Asian-vegetarian cuisine.
Important to know: When preparing meals for others, there are special precautions you have to take – possibly including a COVID certificate as well as hygiene training – please check local regulations.
One of our favorite dishes is bibimbap, a Korean specialty, and we weren't sure what our guest would think of it. The secret is the special sauce that includes miso and paprika paste, oil from roasted sesame seeds, and a healthy amount of fresh garlic and chili powder. A very intense, "resonating" taste that's initially unfamiliar to our palates. The temporary loss of the sense of smell and taste that often occurs with the COVID infection may well come in handy.
In any case, our guest loved the dishes, and we were happy to fulfill his next food request: more bibimbap!
Looking back, despite the drama and the restrictions, this was one of the most enjoyable experiences of our 11 years of hosting. But in this particular case, it was also thanks to our extremely friendly and sociable guest. That's how, despite the pandemic, Airbnb is still great fun!
I totally agree @Jessica-and-Henry0 , Bibimbap is such an easy but delicious dish! I think the secret is the sauce, which we always have on stock.
Put in a large bowl:
Mix and add some hot water to get it smooth, fill it in a jar, and keep it in the fridge.
Yummy – goes with everything! Dose carefully.
