Chemical and EMF sensitivity, search terms function needs to be reinstated

[Mary-and-Ben0]

I just gave this feedback to Airbnb. If you have an interest in health and the environment, please stand in solidarity with us and offer similar feedback here, https://www.airbnb.com/help/feedback

What I said:

Airbnb is not matching us with the guests who are looking for what we offer. We've had to cancel 10 guests in a row because they did not read the description of the place and were not aware that we're offering premium lodging for chemically sensitive individuals, and they were not prepared to comply with our needs on their end (fragrance free etc.) On the flip, the guests who do (often direly) need us report they have not found us on airbnb, but through other, difficult-to-use-and-rely-on means, like word-of-mouth and Facebook groups. Up to 20 percent of travelers will choose a fragrance-free, eco- and chemically-conscious lodging as their first choice. This is a huge market segment. I am aware that many people have asked you to bring back your search terms feature as this was very helpful to people looking for chemically-sensitive and eco-conscious lodging. another option would be to add a check box for hosts , 'Chemically sensitive, eco-conscious' or the like which would allow the guest to only view properties that are suitable for them."

Also, just FYI, we are preparing our home to be an EMF Sanctuary which will offer a low/safe EMF environment for the increasing numbers of us who are terribly EMF sensitive. Please let me know if you want to find out more information about our efforts in this regard. Love to all fellow lovers of Earth --

[Emiel1]

Hello @Mary-and-Ben0 ,

If your listing is narrowed to attract the specific guests you mention in it, maybe do not use "Instant Book", to prevent cancellations. Also then it gives you manual control about who you want to accept.

If a booking request shows guest does not have read the listing, ask them to cancel the request (instead of declining them). Cancellation of a confirmed reservation will bring you penalties of Airbnb, so better to prevent yourself of having such reservations anyway. I do not think AIrbnb will create specific search options for this specific amenities, probably it is a too small market (at least in my country i think).

BTW

I  remember some other threads about EMF in this community.

Best regards, Emiel

[Mary-and-Ben0]

I think you misunderstand the issue entirely. Changing instant booking will not help people with MCS or EMF sensitivity to find appropriate lodging, which is nearly impossible without search. 20 percent of the public would book at a place listed as chemically sensitive or eco conscious. That's not a small percentage. That's huge.

[Melony2]

Mary and Ben, thanks so much for your request. As a regular Airbnb guest, I'm sorry to be considering stopping Airbnb stays, because of how hard it is to to guess/predict/communicate with hosts about fragrance-free needs. I *truly* wish there were a way to filter homes by this important amenity/accessibilty need. As I write this, I'm washing clothes (and my own bedding that I travel with) for the third straight time after leaving an otherwise lovely Airbnb. This is the third place this year where I've either gotten sick from the detergents while on my stay and/or have had to wash my bedding and clothing up to *8* times straight just to neutralize the toxic fragrances that I picked up from a home.  Airbnb, what else can we do?? If you're interested in best practices, I would be very willing to share pratcical suggestions from a guest perspective. I really do want to be able to continue to use Airbnb; physically (and therefore emotionally), I'm at a crossroad. I find it also unfortunately hard to make myself review a host who may have been otherwise gracious, because I feel so disregarded/slighted by having to deal with their sickness-inducing scents days and weeks after my stay.

[Sarah977]

@Melony2   If you have an otherwise lovely stay, the best thing is to give the hosts private feedback making them aware of how problematic all these scents are for many guests. That way, they don't get a bad review, but are being educated about how their cleaning methods are affecting their guests. You are probably a lovely guest as well, and I'm sure they'd hate to lose your repeat business or recommendations to friends over a simple and easily remediable thing like laundry detergent.

And when you are booking a place, it would be good to state your issue in a message with the host before confirming your booking. If you also suggest to them what products they can use that you won't be negatively affected by, and they state that they will follow your directives, it will help both you and them. And remember that they may have many bookings between the time you book and your check-in, so a reminder about your needs for "scentless" a few days before your arrival would be wise.

Some people really have no clue and actually think that artificial scents make things smell "fresh".

I am not allergic, but I find scents like dryer sheets, air fresheners, etc, to be revolting. They are anything but "fresh", they are chemical and hazardous. I always travel with my own pillow because of this. 

While I do use regular laundry detergent, I never use fabric softeners and all the laundry is hung on the line in the fresh air and sunshine for a day, so there is no smell left, at least not that I can detect. And I'd never spray air freshener or anything else around either the guest quarters or the rest of my home.

[Melony2]

Thanks a lot for your suggestions, Sarah. On most occasions what I've heard back from hosts–-which I've experienced both ahead of and immediately after booking (well before my arrival)––is that they don't know what they use, can't commit to changing bedding, etc in time, or can't influence what products their management / cleaning company uses. All of these interactions can feel quite discouraging, making it feel hard/awkward/futile to raise with future hosts, depending on how urgently I need to book a space for a given trip. That's why a user tool for guests would be very helpful; it's a way to have hosts realize this is a recognized accessibility need / amenity so that they're less likely to (unawaresly) dismiss the questions from an individual guest (and so that that prospective guest doesn't have to feel they're being a high-maintenance turn-off to a host). I hope that makes sense. 

One important option on the site would be to have an "amenity" that lists "fragrance-free cleaners" and "fragrance-free bedding and towels." I think that could make a significant difference.

[Sarah977]

@Melony2  Oh, I definitely agree that there should be filters for this. And it sounds like you prefer to book entire apartments or houses if you say the hosts' responses have to do with their cleaning or management company.  If you look for places where the host lives on site (and either has a separate cottage or self-contained suite in their home, if that's what you prefer, as opposed to just a room), those hosts often deal with the cleaning and laundry themselves and are much more likely to be willing and able to accommodate your requests.

[Brian450]

I can also not understand for the life of me how so many of my fellow human beings can experience the sickening chemical odor of dryer sheets as "fresh".  

I always travel with my own bed sheets, blankets and pillow for this reason. 

[Susan612]

Hello I would like to create a thread to attract others who are interested and would benefit from fragrance free filters as I have ideas on how to make it happen but I would like help 

[Brian450]

I made a thread on this subject today and was told by someone that a fragrance-free filter is just not possible because it would open the doors wide to abuse. All kinds of people looking for a free stay would then just claim that some place that was advertised as 'fragrance-free' was not, and then get their money back, so no host would dare to use this option.

I think it's a legitimate point, especially as sensitivity varies even among people who are MCS and/or fragrance sensitive. 

Still, this does not have to be a dealbreaker. It would be a simple matter for AirBnB to change the Terms and Conditions to exempt certain filters from the money-back guarantee. Fragrance-free could be one such filter.