When to re- open my holiday cottage in rural UK after Covid19 lockdown?

[Louise188]

Hi Airbnb colleagues,

My holiday cottage has been closed since March-April due to our UK lockdown. Now the lockdown is being lifted in gradual steps, I am wondering at what point to re-open. There is clear guidance on cleaning and disinfecting, and I will be able to leave a day clear between each booking to add an extra health safeguard. The cottage is adjecent to my house, it's attached in fact, so the wider issue is how to best respect government guidelines (foggy as they are) and my famiy, my close neighbours, village population, village shops, local tourist places of interest, etc. Hiking on the moors is possible as always, very popular locally and no health issues there. Local car parks are now open, but local toilet facilities are not. Do I re-open when the toilets do?!! When cafes and pubs open??

I would like to hear how other hosts are judging when to re-open.

Thanks

Louise

[Helen3]

Hi @Louise188 

Personally I think our government guide is crystal clear, rather than woolly 🙂

No-one can offer STRs before 4 July unless it's for;

1. Key workers
2. Those attending funerals
3. Those unable to return to their permanent home
4. Those having essential works done to their home

Then some county's have their own additional restrictions such as Cornwall.

Some hosts have continued to take illegal bookings in the UK not caring who they put at risk, some will reopen as soon as they can legally and others with shared homes or health conditions may decide not to re-open or wait till there is a vaccine.

Good luck.

[Jillie1]

Well said Helen3 in Bristol and exactly as I understand it.    I've blocked off my calendar until 4th July as per Government guide.  However, I do wonder if I should offer it up to key workers for a discount but am extremely nervous about doing that, even with heavy duty cleaning & sanitizing measures in place, so perhaps better safe than sorry?

[Helen350]

I doubt many UK hosts have taken illegal bookings @Helen3 , as it's not possible with our calendars blocked! - Unless you mean that the odd one slipped through, eg when Airbnb briefly had calendars open after the initial 3 week shut down, followed by briefly open calendars from 17 May.. until they then blocked the whole of May... I suppose the odd booking could have been made for Week comm. 17 May, before calendars were blocked?

Personally, I intend to reopen as soon as the UK government & Airbnb allow, @Louise188 . Letting rooms is my ONLY source of income so I can't afford not to. I'm not eligible for any government money.

When Boris gave his Sunday evening TV address a couple of weeks ago he said holiday accommodation could reopen on 4 July, providing R number is satisfactory.

During lockdown, I've continued to accommodate a social worker 2 nights a week in my own home, shared bathroom. I've also accommodated a carer, who drove 300 miles to work in our area on 5 occasions during lockdown, 24 night over 5 weeks, some of it in my house, & some next door, in my LTR where the regular tenants left cos of Covid. I also host a working doctor 1 or 2 days a month, all by private arrangement of course. In a week's time I'm expecting 2 social workers to start living in my LTR , yet travel home at weekends. They have to enter the house by crossing a shared courtyard, where neighbours may be congregating for a natter, including 2 or 3 in their 80s! They've been doing this throughout the lockdown, none of them bothered about the rules! The nice one is delighted for me that new people are moving in!

My point is, with the comings and goings at mine throughout lockdown (all within the rules!) - I don't feel having the resumption of tourists chez moi would be any big deal... I'd host tomorrow if I could... 

My last guests  on Sat 21 Mar were my first tourists of the 2020 season... An Indian chap & his Russian  girlfriend, they arrived wearing masks.. & a silly grin (I think, behind the mask!) They declined use of kitchen, & declined breakfast next morning, avoiding the downstairs, where I hang out,  completely! - Through the front door, up the stairs, then straight out next morning, avoiding interaction with me! - Way to go! 

So I figure I can adapt my tea-&-chat-round-the-table hosting style to the up-the-stairs-&-back-out-style to minimize risk.... When my 2 day a week chap is here, I disinfect bathroom taps, door handles, loo flush, bit of shower he touches before & after.

I've done my bit, obeying the rules in the 10 week + lockdown... Enough is enough, & I personally think the greatest need of our country is to get people EARNING & off government handouts! This includes accommodation providers who need to earn! 

- And re your initial question about protecting neighbours & the community, Louise, sticking to 2 metres social distancing, post lockdown lift should suffice. (That's THEIR responsibility, not yours!) And I've been social distancing within the house from my 2 day a week lodger throughout lockdown, if not for the 3 years before that! So can do the same with Airbnbers!

[Helen3]

You don't need to use Airbnb to take short term bookings. Lots of hosts take direct booking, or book through other channels such as Spare Room or other STR channels. @Helen350 

[Helen350]

Oh yes, @Helen3 , I've used SpareRoom for 5+ years, 2 years before I'd heard of Airbnb!

Problem with me getting worker bookings in the last year is that ALL my lodgers started by booking on Airbnb, then morphed into lodgers! It's as if no one knows about Spare Room, but so many long term-ers make contact through Airbnb! I've had Airbnb messages saying "How do I book 2 days a week for 6 months?", I've replied "Find me on SpareRoom!", and they never do, but continue to ask awkward questions via Airbnb messaging, at which I say "Book and stay the first week with Airbnb, then we can talk about it in person!"

So my angst about my calendar being closed even to folk who can legally stay, is that although they could book via SpareRoom, they may not know about this service. Of the 4 people I've hosted during lockdown, 1 came through SpareRoom, & the other 3 were all ex-Airbnbers who have contact details.

PS. There's a lady on SpareRoom keeps posting wanted ads, clearly wanting a short break for leisure purposes. I'm heroically NOT going to offer, & have reported her for misuse of site to circumvent non-essential travel laws! - I DO have some standards! They've taken down her ads, the latest claims she wants a place for 3 months - or less - Crafty! - Posts at weekends too, when moderators napping! 

[Louise188]

Thanks Helen in Whitehaven. The latter is the kind of guest I wish to avoid.

 So I will remain closed for a bit longer. To me the 4th July is not really relevant as it depends on the R rate, and at the moment that could go up or down and there's no wriggle room for it go up.

My airbnb is essentially a holiday cottage not suitable for long term, up to a week at the most, and not suitable for keyworkers at all as it is too remote.

So thanks everyone for the conversation, all interesting.

[Louise188]

Thank you Helen.

 I have not seen govt advice such as you put forward here, yours makes sense.  Was the 4th July specifically mentioned? Where would one find county restrictions? I have not seen anythiing for North Yorkshire.

[Jillie1]

Hi Helen.....it's all on the HMRC website.    If I find the link again, I'll let you have it.

[Jillie1]

Hi again Louise in Pateley Bridge and many apologies for calling you Helen earlier.  Here are some helpful links as mentioned :

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-advice-for-accommodation-providers

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/read-this/when-hotels-bbs-and-other-holiday-accommodation-could-reop...

One is from the Yorkshire Post, which is both our local area and mentions the date 4 July when you can open to travellers etc and the other the general HMRC site which explains who can actually stay now, i.e. essential workers etc as per Helen's list in her post.   The 4 July is the earliest we can re-open but of course all this is dependent on the "R" rate remaining below 1 & maybe one or two other considerations so nothing is really set in concrete yet, as I understand it?!    Good luck with it all.  Pateley Bridge have the best pork pies I've ever tasted so I will be paying you a visit sometime soon!

[Louise188]

Thank you Jillie. That's very helpful, thank you. So in a nutshell, we are looking at possibly opening on 4 July IF the r rate is below 1 and decreasing. Which is about 50% certain right now.

Btw I also found this govt guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/covid-19-essential-travel-guidance which essentially says stay at home  - do not go to holiday premises or secnd homes. But it is from March and may well change soon fingers crossed. If Brits can't travel abroad for summer holidays they will want to stay in UK and will need our lovely places - hypothetically of course.

Pateley does indeed have award winning pork pies, both butchers, sorry award-winning butchers, are open and so is the fishmonger next to Kendalls who does delicious fishy things - kebabs, fish en croute, smoked salmon pate and plenty more. I went this morning!

[Jillie1]

Yes,  you're right, Brits will hopefully choose to stay closer to home in the UK in all our lovely beauty spots and have access to the gorgeous surrouding countryside North Yorkshire has to offer!  I will definitely check out your fish place too as love smoked salmon pate - yum!   Harrogate usually has millions of eating places too as you probably know but I may have to re-do my guide book if they don't all re-open.  Time will tell......All the best.

[Anonymous]

@Louise188   In terms of bookings beyond 4 July, my first question would be:  is the rented property set up in such a way that a person with a high infection risk (such as a frontline worker) could self-isolate without presenting an exposure risk to your family?

Beyond that, we have to consider that tourism will be restarting in the context of the virus still being in very active circulation, with many more outbreaks inevitable; the fact that businesses are permitted to re-open should not be interpreted as evidence that things have gotten safer. So I would say that it's important to engage your family and neighbors on the topic of how you'll approach this, and ensure that you have the consensus of all people affected - particularly those with more vulnerable conditions - that all are comfortable with bringing a procession of tourists with unknown viral status into your environment. Some property types lend themselves very well to a safe degree of social distancing, though hosting styles might need some adjustment.

[Jillie1]

Hello AndrewO in Berlin........yes I have a self contained first floor flat on AirBnB but with a shared external door entrance & wide stair with one other person...me....I live in a separate apartment above.   I would need to take extra measures re. shared front door & staircase but it would be manageable - I would need to instruct and apply new rules.   It seems wise also to extend the minimum night stay to at least 7 days and allow a few days either side of any booking to thoroughly clean and sanitise.  There's lots to consider isn't there and many thanks for giving me further food for thought.   It is a worrying dilemma.  Best wishes to you in Germany.

[Louise188]

Thanks both. It is so tricky isn’t it? The one day between bookings idea that my partner and  I have come up with is because the virus will die if it remains on a surface for more than 24 hours. My partner is a doctor, so well  informed. It doesn’t mean one doesn’t have to clean and disinfect of course. For me it’s a belt and braces strategy. 
Jillie, it seems you have identified the modifications you would need to take. And longer stays make it more viable for us as hosts. 
But possibly it is still a case

of if rather than when to re-open.