Hosting in our “new normal” with Covid 19

Maureen83
Level 2
Oliver, Canada

Hosting in our “new normal” with Covid 19

As we slowly reopen and tourists are allowed to travel to our region, I’m wondering what we should be keeping in our suites? For example, throw pillows on the bed, condiments in the fridge and cupboard, couch pillows, etc. We’ve always left our guests with coffee, tea, spices, oils, several small appliances, etc. to use but if we have to disinfect everything in the cupboard after every two day stay, is it worth it. Just wondering what others are thinking and doing?

6 Replies 6
Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Maureen83  I think extraneous items should go. A multitude of throw pillows (especially when people do that thing of piling up throw pillows halfway down the bed, which simply get taken off and put back on each day, which has always seemed absurd to me, anyway) . Fine to leave a few on the couch that people can use behind their back or neck to make themselves comfortable, but all should have removable, washable covers, maybe with spares so everything doesn't have to be washed right away for a turnover- in fact, you wouldn't even need to wash throw pillows, as long as they looked clean, if you just put them in a plastic bag, tied up, for several days. 

Hosts might want to change out upholstered furniture for furniture with easy to clean surfaces. A wooden futon couch with removeable, washable covers seems like a better idea than an upholstered one.

I'd also get rid of purely decorative items that people might touch, so there's not so much sterilizing needed. I'd not leave piles of extra towels and bedding in the closet, or a lot more kitchen gear than necessary. If you host for 4 people max, they don't need a tablesetting for 8. Coffee, tea, oil, etc, could be put in glass containers which can easily be wiped down with a bleach solution. Supposedly the virus doesn't survive on food itself. If you've been providing 15 different condiments, cut it down to 6 basic ones.

I think it's going to be a challenge for many hosts who have entire places filled with stuff, and pride themselves on the decor, to reconcile making it a bit more barren with not creating an intense cleaning situation for themselves.

@Maureen83  Just based on taking a quick look at your profile, it looks like your listing is an Entire Home property. If that is the case, there is no need for you to enter the building to disinfect things during the guests' stay - truly, if you're determined to accept guests during a pandemic it would make sense to set things up so that you don't have any direct contact with them whatsoever.

 

As for the question of how you should stock the suites - for the most part I think you should stock them the same way you've done for your pre-Corona guests, who have rated you very highly for your excellent hosting. But if the current conditions have made certain basics hard to find, or put some crucial services such as restaurants out of access for guests, it would be good hospitality to provide whatever help they might need to persevere in that situation.

 

If you encounter guests who feel the need to extract some kind of guarantee from you that they can practice recreational tourism in your area without some infection risk, you're being entrapped and should either decline their request or rig your property in such a way that they're immediately removed from the human gene pool.

@Anonymous , it's possible that I love you. ( in a non - love physically remote way). You have great responses . Hope you took that the right way.

@Maureen83  Sorry, I misread your comment on disinfection - you said "between" stays rather than "during" them. Perhaps a longer Minimum Stay would make the effort more worthwhile?

Mike-And-Jane0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

@Anonymous - Where did your last paragraph come from? Are people seriously making these requests?

@Mike-And-Jane0   What we've been hearing about from some hosts falls along similar lines to the guests who demand assurance that a home is 100% free of allergens or dust. I've gotten a couple inquiries like that, here is one host who had an extreme version:  https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Guest-wants-100-guarantee-of-no-dust-or-dirt/m-p/1196365 

 

Here is one recent post from a host whose guest flew into a rage and fled because she perceived the home as unclean and was certain it was Corona-contaminated:  https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Covid-19-Cleanliness-Standards/m-p/1291394

 

There's a bit of a fever at the moment for refunds and discounts, and one early warning sign for this kind of guest is any hint in the request that they're worried something might be unsafe or not up to an imagined standard. How much longer until we start hearing reports of guests accusing their Airbnb hosts of exposing them to Coronavirus?

 

(Another funny one:  I read a review of one place I stayed in which the guest insisted that her Airbnb apartment gave her herpes. You can't even make this stuff up....)