Homeshare Hosts: When will you feel comfortable having guests again?

[Suzanne302]

I've had my calendar blocked since mid-March but as "stay-at-home" restrictions start to loosen up over the next month or two I'm sure future reservation requests may begin to trickle in again. My area has fared well but obviously I'm hesitant to host guests in my home from harder hit areas. I'm fortunate in that I don't depend on the Airbnb income to pay my bills, but it's certainly been a nice "cushion" for me when I am actively hosting.

Short term rentals will be allowed in my area again beginning May 8th. I want to open my home again, but I'm not sure when I'll be ready to do that. I do know when I do, at minimum I'll be implementing stricter cleaning protocols and a minimum of 2 days between guests. Right now my calendar is only blocked through May, but I may extend that depending on what happens in the next two weeks. I'm not worried about requests coming in for future dates as most people aren't planning that far in advance due to the situation we're all in.

For homeshare hosts, what do you think needs to happen before you open your home again and what new procedures might you be utilizing?

[Kath9]

@Suzanne302, thanks for posting. I've been wondering exactly the same thing myself. I had blocked off April completely (not that anyone would have booked) but now I'm wondering whether to block off May as well. Personally, I don't think I'd 

feel comfortable quite yet. I'm probably not going to get bookings for awhile anyway as we have multiple layers of lockdowns here - national, state AND intrastate - meaning we have actually done very well in terms of COVID-19. So my bookings will largely depend on the lifting of these travel restrictions. 

When I do reopen, I'm thinking I will be doing what I had started doing just before everything got cancelled. Increased cleaning, obviously. Washing of sheets/towels in hot rather than cold water. Regular cleaning of taps, doorknobs, light switches, etc. throughout the day. Supplying paper towels in the kitchen for guests to dry their hands on. Ensuring guests use only their own hand towel in the bathroom (which is shared). Keeping a distance, not shaking hands or hugging. Like you, I would think of a 2-day break between guests at first. I baulk at using gloves and masks as suggested by Airbnb cleaning protocols because I cannot bear the waste. I also baulk at using bleach-based cleaners. I normally use natural cleaning products but will probably try to source an alcohol-based cleaner, which is effective against the virus but not toxic like bleach.  Any other ideas are welcome.

[Suzanne302]

@Kath9I like to use natural cleaning products too and was wondering if there is an alternative to bleach/disinfectants to kill the virus. I usually use a vinegar solution and baking soda for cleaning.

Thanks for the tip about the alcohol-based cleaner! I also heard hydrogen peroxide works well too.

[Kath9]

Hi @Suzanne302, yes, hydrogen peroxide is effective against the virus. The problem is, it is still difficult to source these types of cleaners - the supermarket shelves were empty of them a few weeks ago. But I think it's possible to purchase pure ethanol in the States?

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Suzanne302 @Kath9 @Sarah977 

Henry and I also don't like strong chemicals and we try to use natural cleaning products whenever possible. Last year we bought an "electrolyzed water maker" and use the *recipe book* that came with the product to make different types of cleaner solution as needed. 

https://www.amazon.com/Vauzen-Electrolyzed-All-Purpose-Disinfectant-Deodorizer/dp/B07FZ8R1P5

https://m.kmall24.com/vauzen-vauzen-electrolyzed-water-generator-non-toxic-natural-all-purpose-clean...

Fyi~ we got the Vauzen (which is popular in Korea) but there are several different brands to choose from. 

https://www.ecoloxtech.com/ecoone/

https://www.forceofnatureclean.com/

[Sarah977]

@Suzanne302  Good question. My entire calendar got blocked by Airbnb for April and now for all of May, because of directives from the Mexican govt. And I've never had more than 1 booking, in over 3 years of hosting from June through mid-Oct- it's so hot and humid here then that tourism is a bust, at least unless you have a place with AC and a pool. And tourists is what rentals in my town cater to- it isn't the sort of place people travel to on business, or en route to somewhere else- it's a tourist destination.

So at this point, I won't be looking at hosting again until late fll, and I guess I'll just have to see how the virus plays out. If my calendar wasn't blocked at this point, there's no way I'd be hosting. Although my guest room ad guest bath have a private entrance, so i don't really have to come in contact with guests in that way, they share my kitchen, and not aloowing kitchen usage wouldn't be practical where I live- it's not like there's a store or cafes a block away. Besides, part of hosting for me is meeting all these cool people from all over and spending some time with them. Just providing a room for strangers to come and go from doesn't hold much interest for me.

If I do start hosting again, I'll definitely be sterilizing more things than I did in the past.

@Kath9  You could use just straight alcohol to sterilize, and it's not expensive. I also wonder about using a tea-tree oil or eucalyptus-based concoction. Both of those things have anti-bacterial properties, as I'm sure you know, but it would be interesting if someone would do a study to see if it kills the virus, and if so, in what strength.

[Kath9]

@Sarah977, yes, I could, but straight alcohol is difficult to come by (unless one was to use, say, vodka, which is not cheap! At least not here where we have very high alcohol taxes). As a naturopath, I actually have a license to purchase pure ethanol, but it can only be purchased in huge amounts (minimum 25L). I suppose I could buy some and start making hand sanitiser to sell!

Re tea tree and eucalyptus oil: I added both of these to all of my cleaning products and hand wash when things started looking a bit more serious (before the lockdown). They both have good antibacterial properties, and tea tree in particular has some antiviral properties, including against influenza virus (which like coronavirus is a type of RNA virus). It would be great if someone did a study on this - I'm sure we will see many studies coming out over the next few years. Now that it has been unleashed, this coronavirus is here to stay.

[Sarah977]

@Kath9  I've read warnings not to use vodka (not that you would) - the alcohol content isn't high enough to sterilize properly- has to be at least 70% alcohol, which is what most standard rubbing alcohol is. 

There hasn't been any alcohol available here, either, except in small bottles. I couldn't believe my luck, though, when I was shopping at Costco about a month ago- they had a flat of 70% alcohol-based gel sanitizer in gallon containers and I grabbed the last one.

I've been using a bleach solution to wash down the outsides of anything I bring home from the store, although I'm not accustomed to using bleach much normally. But it's something that's still readily available here and the recommended mixture for sterilizing is only 4 teaspoons to a litre of water. You're not supposed to use more bleach than that, thinking the more the better- the water content is an important part of the equation.

[Kath9]

@Sarah977no I definitely won't be using my nice bottle of Grey Goose, that's for sure!

[Gordon0]

Here in the UK, our government (and I can understand their rationale) refuses to talk about loosening the restrictions yet, so it's difficult to grasp when things will return to some sort of (new) normality.

However, the news speculates people won't want to fly anytime soon, so we'll be seeing more domestic travellers. We're 'lucky' in the fact that we're renting a room in our house (so it isn't as expensive as entire listings) and it's on a different floor to where we live. I'm hoping this will make our offering attractive when the time comes.

I've always been a bit of a clean freak, but I'll turn the volume up a bit all the same. I'm thinking we might see our first guests in July/August. 

[Susan17]

@Gordon0

No domestic travel permitted here before July 20. Eeeek!

Was it late July you had your own trip planned for? I think I remember you mentioning something about that on another thread a while back, but not sure if you said whether it was UK or abroad. Are you still hopeful that might be able to go ahead, or have you cancelled/rescheduled? 

[Helen427]

Oh @Susan17 Ireland follow NZ did they??

Thankfully domestic travel is happening here in New Zealand, as is elective surgery in hospitals that was all put on hold so people from out of the area have essential travel & people who haven't lost their jobs are able to go back to work or get there businesses back open.

That said I've had locals stay in the past  as they can't stand getting through our Auckland traffic chaos to get to courses...and work, and locals who are the hidden homeless so always open to who may like to come to stay.

@Suzanne302 @Kath9 @Gordon0  and others it was Air New Zealand's 80th anniversary of the first flight under the air lines old name on 30th April 2020 and also that of Qantas airlines, Australia, 100th anniversary this year so I'm sure air travel will come back locally & between our countries sooner rather than later for the betterment of all.

Best not to get too stressed about been exposed to diseases of any kind as like in the past, they sooner or later become an accepted thing in society - think back to measles, Aids/ HIV etc and the scaremongering/ fear that went on with the way they were portrayed in the media.

Now people rarely worry or know who has it and happily accommodate them without prejudice or fear.

Most unfortunately Corona virus / Covid 19 media coverage has been more in our faces in a fearful way due to people having phones etc with cameras who post all manner of photos & information that may or may not be accurate or factual online that we may not otherwise have seen or read in traditional media publications/ formats which doesn't help anyone.

There's been a total lack of respect & privacy for those involved in hospitals and Aged Care facilities which is an imbalance and injustice, it's inhumane. 

It's been unnecessary to have daily 1pm public updates in our media which I understand has happened world wide, and in various Parliamentary houses.

No one needs to be stigmatized and we perhaps need to stop and ask ourselves how we would like to be treated if we had it. 

Some of the froth within the Health profession have much to answer for stigmatizing people who through no fault of their own have become part of lives.

[Gordon0]

20 July? Ouch. Bright-side thinking and all that, you've got some lovely spaces to enjoy. I once dated a Malahide chap - loved it down there (until it all went horribly wrong :-)).

We'd planned for Tel Aviv on June 17 (day after latest EC policy expiry). Virgin have suspended the route. Looking 99% unlikely I'd say.  

Hey ho, @Susan17, we have our health. 

[Helen427]

Ah yes @Gordon0 that's because you are under the thumb of Professor Neil Fergusson...I feel for you not been able to go about life as one should be able to.

Been trying to pull a few strings for you fellow Commonwealth country folk so you have some form of enjoyment out doors over summer... We live in a very small world...

Sorry about your planned travel been in hold.

Maybe you could go to Austria or Sweden if you can cross borders soon..as they are fairly open again from what's been in the news.

[Helen3]

I think the vast majority of us here in the UK are happy (or perhaps understanding of the need to would be a better way of expressing it) to abide by our stay home rules and the wider restrictions to help us stay safe and protect our NHS and stop the spread of this life impacting disease @Helen427 

As you are probably aware we have had one of the highest death rates (apart from the US) so there is every reason for this regulations to be in place. And all the evidence is that the approach is working.

We certainly aren't 'under the thumb' of a single professor 🙂