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.

[Debra300]

@Lisa723,

My calendar was blocked yesterday also.  I was refusing to agree to the "safety practices" on the principle that as a private company with no ownership stake in the rental properties, Airbnb has no legal right to dictate health policies inside of the properties.  Also, their hygiene theatre is so fake and transparent.  The really do not care about the health of guests and hosts, because they've made no safety policies regarding smoking in the home, and second-hand smoke is also known to have deadly consequences.  

The main reason why I acquiesced, and agreed to the insidious guidelines is they are practically the same as what the government of St. Lucia requires for short-term rentals to obtain health certificates. The way that our rental spaces are configured, we have practically no shared spaces with guests (and they only share the hallway to the guest suites) and don't need to personally interact with them on  the property.  Unfortunately, the agreement also applies to my listing in Atlanta, and in Georgia not even the government is allowed to set behavioral safety rules in a private home.  But I am not in the US for long enough periods to pursue the legality of Airbnb's policies.  

As travel picks up, Airbnb may be of little impact since other booking platforms are equally or more popular.

[Lisa723]

@Debra300 I don't think there is any doubt that Airbnb has the legal right to require whatever cleaning procedures they choose, as a condition of listing. Nobody has an intrinsic right to list on Airbnb.

Interesting to know that you capitulated-- undoubtedly the outcome Airbnb desired, so this maneuver worked for them in your case. Out of curiosity, are you now rewashing all kitchenware and linens available to guests, regardless of use, on every turnover?

[Debra300]

@Lisa723,

As a result of my prior military and medical background, we have always had stringent cleaning practices long before Airbnb established their policies, and cleaning all of the kitchenware was the only addition to our turnover process (@Nathalie-Et-Gilles0, Airbnb has removed the idiotic requirement to wash walls, ceilings and porches from the enhanced cleaning guidelines).  This extra step has resulted in one or two extra quick cycle dishwasher loads in the apartments, and about 30 minutes to hand wash items in the guest suite kitchenettes.  It typically takes about six-seven hours to turnover any of the spaces (this time includes general cleaning, laundry, washing windows and blinds, mopping/vacuuming floors, restocking toiletries and kitchen condiments, making beds, cleaning the balcony/porch/deck, and spraying disinfectant on a bunch of stuff).

Please note that most of our rentals occur in our guest suites which are not large, and generally only house one or two guests at a time.  It's usually only during the holidays that we will have guests stay in the two bedroom apartments.  Since they are small spaces, we do not stock a lot of extra dishes, linen and towels, or small appliances.  We removed items such as the hand mixer, blender, and waffle maker, because guests were not using them.  The apartments have dishwashers, and all of the spaces have washers and dryers.  When we used to do the laundry for the guest suites, it was done every three days, and we never offered daily towel service.  Now guests may wash dishes and do laundry as often as they feel is necessary during their stay.  

You appear to have much more knowledge about US law than me, but I still believe that if a lawsuit were presented in court challenging the legitimacy of the safety practices that a contrary judgment would be found against Airbnb regarding some of the stipulations of the policies.  One being that they can refuse to pay a host for breach of the policies, but they do not state that they are giving a refund to the guest for any nights they may have stayed at the property.  In essence just pocketing the money.  Another is the blanket requirement that all persons must wear a mask whenever in a common area, and there is no process for hosts to file valid medical exceptions, and have it indicated on the listing.

Similar to you, I hope to get our listings popular enough that guests will choose our personal website over other platforms.  It will occur gradually as folks in the Caribbean become more familiar and comfortable with looking for information and making bookings online.  Currently, it is still typical for people to totally disregard website links, and call for rates and availability, because they want to be told something instead of acquiring the information on their own.

At this point, we can agree to just about any policy, and it won't much difference than not agreeing, because we still aren't allowed to host anyone who has a quarantine requirement.  Since our market is limited to those who are free to move within the Caribbean Travel Bubble, we have been essentially closed since March 2020.

[Anonymous]

@Debra300  The kitchen that I would be sharing with guests if I were still hosting contains literally thousands of items a guest might touch or breathe on during their stay, and no dishwasher. The small amount of income I can generate in a short guestroom rental is nowhere near enough to pay for all the extra hours of cleaning it would take to actually follow the regulation.  So it occurs to me that this policy is designed to privilege listings that are exclusively vacation rentals over ones that are also residential homes - and especially homes with onsite hosts. 

I also have doubts about the legality of withholding payment over an unprovable complaint about the Covid protocols. But hosts who have signed the "pledge" have  signed away their right to compensation in this scenario, so that would complicate the case.  As long as this language is in the terms, there's no way in hell I'll sign on to it. 

Also notice that there's no indication that the requirements will expire when Covid is no longer a factor - make no mistake, this pledge was a Trojan Horse. The trend line is running toward hosts being required to submit to ever more standardization and treat their properties like Airbnb's private inventory. So it's no surprise that they're eager to ditch the old guard and recruit lots of new hosts who are easy to indoctrinate into this madness.

[Lisa723]

@Anonymous it doesn't necessarily privilege vacation rentals in general, but those that are willing/able to strip their kitchens and linen closets down to skeletons. It would probably take 10-12 loads to run everything in our larger kitchen through the dishwasher; similarly running all of our extra towels, sheets, and blankets through the laundry would require a few days. We regularly get positive review comments about how well our kitchens are stocked and how great it was not to run out of towels. Our guests are for the most part very good about washing what they use before they depart.

Still, if there was actually any scientific evidence that the covid-19 virus could remain viable after four days of vacancy on dishes and linens we would either strip the houses down to resemble the ones to which we are regularly positively compared, or just stop hosting. But there isn't.

Our most recent review said "Many Airbnb’s feel like a staged home that’s for sale, but this felt like I was at home." This is exactly what we aim for, but I fear you are right about the trend line, and this is no longer what Airbnb wants.

[Anonymous]

@Lisa723  Yeah, that's the thing - a purpose-built vacation rental doesn't have a full linen closet or kitchen; it's unburdened with all the stuff that accumulates in a home when someone lives in it.

I don't know of any host who would be willing to follow this whole process in an actual home, but clearly quite a lot have been amenable to clicking a button saying they did. It sure does undermine all that "trust" rhetoric, when a total lie about your cleaning practices is embedded in the listing. Why should a guest trust the accuracy of anything else in the listing once they see that some little quirk of the Protocol wasn't followed?

[Debra300]

@Lisa723,

You've made great and valid points.  

[Debra300]

@Anonymous,

I fully agree with you.  @Lisa723 is absolutely correct that we don't have to list with ABB.  I've always advocated listing on multiple platforms, and actively work on increasing the visibility and reservations of rentals through diverse booking channels.  

[Anonymous]

@Debra300  At the moment, there's not a useful global platform for homestay listings. There are a few knockoff Airbnb-like sites that hardly anyone uses, and then you have local platforms covering a small area and specialty platforms serving particular demographics such as students or LGBT guests. I think there's even a platform for black travelers that came up after the #Airbnbwhileblack scandal. 

Personally, I don't have a plan for post-pandemic hosting yet because the end of it is nowhere in sight in Germany. By the time we finally come out of this nightmare, Airbnb is going to be a much different animal than it was 14 months ago when I last accepted a guest. If at that point it's still requiring hosts to sign this toxic contract as a condition of entry, I won't be using their service again as a host or as a guest. I fortunately live in a popular location, so I have no doubt I could do just fine on a small specialty booking channel, but it will be a shame to lose the benefit of having hundreds of reviews.

[Debra300]

@Lisa723 and @Anonymous,

Just 30 minutes ago I received my first Vrbo booking for the Atlanta apartment.  How wonderful it would be If wishful thinking always turned into desired outcomes.

Andrew, I believe in Madame Merkel's leadership, and can appreciate her quick action to rescind the Easter weekend lockdown, plus take full responsibility for the confusion.  I don't want to digress too much, but there is a part of me that believes the Astra-Zeneca fiasco was politically motivated with EU countries give the UK a backhand slap for all of the Brexit troubles.

@Lisa723,

That's a great revelation that you've shared.  I don't think that Airbnb gave much consideration that hosts would takes the reins of their existing reservations, and steer guests to booking channels.  Kudos to you!

[Lisa723]

@Debra300 thanks.

It occurs to me that at this point I have little or nothing to lose by inviting all of my remaining Airbnb 2021 guests to book directly. I can cancel their Airbnb reservations with no penalty to them and (now) no meaningful penalty to myself; they can rebook directly with me, and we both can save service fees.

@Vangie9 @Belinda55 @Nathalie-Et-Gilles0 

[Anonymous]

@Lisa723   That's fair; why should Airbnb continue to profit from a listing that it's blocked?

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Debra300 , thank you for your service!   

[Belinda55]

I am sorry to hear of hosts who don’t agree with the policy but end up complying. Makes it easier for Airbnb to bully the few holdouts 😞

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Belinda55 I agree with your sentiment but many have little choice but to swallow the stupidity. I would be on booking.com by now except I have totally screwed up my account!