Sharing your home during the lockdown

[Aelita0]

Hi all,

I hope you are all keeping well.

Just wondering if anyone could advise?

I have 2 listings, and both of these rooms are in my house, that we live in. Due to the strict lockdown in the country, we both now work full time from home. It means, that one of us is working from one of the listed bedrooms (as it has a desk space) and the other one is working from the kitchen.

I feel that I'm no longer in a position to host, as I simply can not provide the service I was providing previously. The kitchen is occupied for 9 hours during the working hours, not to mention time in the evening for dinner preparation and dining. Sharing the house would be extremely difficult, as we here all the time. Not to mention that we might end up with someone for a very long time, depending on how long the lockdown will continue. And we do not support long term stay.

Are there people who are still hosting in these circumstances and if so how do you manage? Is it fair on guests that the only space they have is their room?

[Sandra126]

I wouldn't dream of hosting in your home at the moment, assuming you're even allowed to. Stay safe.

[Helen350]

Hi @Aelita0 ! If you look at the info. on https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus   & click on 'businesses and other organisations' you will see a section 'How to close holiday accommodation to temporary residents.' - This says that ALL accommodation providers should not be hosting people on non-essential trips! - It's a government edict! That said, people on ESSENTIAL business - i.e. key workers ARE allowed to travel & book accommodation.

I am currently hosting a carer for 6 nights,  who has travelled 300 miles from Reading to West Cumbria to provide home care for a severely disabled young man. Not on Airbnb. I told him over the phone & on arrival that we must stay 2m distant at all times! On his previous visit a fortnight before, I kept telling him to stand back! I think he gets it now! Many non-British hosts advised me not to host him.... But I'm taking what precautions I can, showering 3 hrs after he leaves the house, disinfecting door handles & taps before & after my use..... He uses the kitchen very minimally, his choice. And spends all his time in his room, when not at work or out running. I guess if you did host, (essential workers only) you could make it clear at time of booking that certain areas are off limits... I'm sure they'd understand, after all, they don't want to catch the Virus from you!

My 3 day a week lodger turned up today, unexpectedly; I'd thought he was still in 14 days isolation at home, but he had his dates wrong! So he's here tonight as well, then back Mon for 3 days. He is a social worker, not hospital, so safer than hosting frontline doctors & nurses..... As it is with the home carer..... 

I guess it's up to you, having weighed up the pros & cons... but essential workers, no jollies, if you do!  (Tho' I doubt there will be new people taking up new jobs away from home at this time.... My chaps were regulars before the lockdown.)

[Robin4]

@Helen350 

I am still hosting Helen although I am using a rolling one week block on my calendar and leaving 2 days in the cottage between guests where the filtration and disinfectant bomb can do its job before I go in to service for the next guest. 

I am not doing this to make money, I am charging half my normal rate which means I just break even. I am doing it to help support the community over this time.

I do feel safe though Helen because I don't have to have any contact with my guests, there is plenty of space between them and us.

Cheers......Rob

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

Henry and I are home-share hosts with just one single-occupancy guest room in our main residence, and we accept long-term bookings. Still, we would never dream of risking our safety or the safety of the handful of family, friends and co-workers we are in regular contact with, to host any guest right now. 

IMHO, one of the most responsible things we can do as hosts in light of the importance of social distancing is to NOT host any guests, by supporting efforts to ensure people cancel all nonessential travel. 

[Sarah977]

@Aelita0  There is NO WAY you should be hosting in a home-share right now. It has nothing to do with the amount of space a guest gets- it's about stopping the spread of coronavirus. You're working from home because you are on strict lockdown- what do you think strict lockdown means? Don't you understand its purpose? It certainly doesn't mean having other people enter your home.

[Aelita0]

Good Morning Sarah, Many thanks for taking time reading this and responding. I hope you are coping well in these crazy times.
I just want to be clear - this is no matter of me not understanding what lockdown means. I have stopped hosting way before lockdown took place. My family health is more important than a couple of hundred pounds made on the side.

I was reaching out to get other host opinions and views. I still receive booking requests for long terms stays. It's usually from people who are stuck in a country in between their travels. And I feel terrible by not being able to help.
So I just wanted to see others opinions and assure myself more than anything, that in fact, I am doing the right thing here.

[Sarah977]

@Aelita0  I'm glad to hear you're among the people who clearly get it, and are being responsible. I just read so many posts lately in which people obviously don't get it, that sometimes it's hard to tell, unless they specifically make that clear. 

Stay safe and healthy.

[Helen350]

@Sarah977  You probably mean me. I can assure you I am observing the edicts of the UK government, & engaging in NO forbidden activity. I've reminded others to keep the rules too! And blocked my calendar. (I'm now hitting the supermarket once a fortnight, the riskiest thing I do, cos other people come too close to me & the screens between customer & staff on the checkout have yet to be installed.)

[Sarah977]

@Helen350  No, I didn't mean you, dear.  I meant the hosts who literally don't get it- talking about how the chances that their guests would be carrying the virus are really slim, to justify them thinking they should be free to continue to take bookings from regular travelers, and who still think that the virus is some sort of overblown media hype. Some of those attitudes can be read in some posts here and also on other hosting platforms. One I read today: "I guess at the age of 39, I'm just on the cusp of having to worry about it". Hard to believe some people still have their heads stuck in the sand, but, frighteningly, they do.

[Aelita0]

That's great, thank you so much for all of your answers. We just needed to hear this is from other hosts. We havent been hosting for 3 weeks now and I will continue  blocking the calendars. Appreciate everyone's time and stay safe you all!