The new Covid-19 Mask requirement.

Renée40
Level 4
Toquerville, UT

The new Covid-19 Mask requirement.

I'm really concerned about airbnb's new demands that we wear a mask in our own homes. I can't do it, nor is it necessary here. I have a B&B, which by definition in our town means I run this business in my own home and care for my guests personally. 


I do social distance as much as the guest would like me to. I understand fear, and I respect another person's feelings in general. But this is beyond intrusive. Most businesses are not requiring masks in Southern Utah, it's just a suggestion as we are at yellow.


That's not really the point. The issue is that they are making one rule for the whole of North America without any regard to local conditions.


Yes Covid-19 cases continue to go up, but at the same time the hospitalization and death rate is going down down down. The people we know who have had the disease and recovered did so at home without a doctor's care. I'm aware this is anecdotal, but it is certainly our experience.


I'm much more afraid of overreaching mandates than I am of this disease at this point. It's obviously mutated as all viruses do and is not as virulent as it was once reported to be.

Here's a scenario for discussion; What if a host has already had it? Immunity has proven to be the norm, just as in the case  of other viruses. You can only get it once. That one study stating otherwise was proven false. So if a host has already gotten it and recovered then why would one need to wear a mask? 

Renee S Garner
96 Replies 96

Any mask is better than no mask, but there are definitely some that are recommended over others. You can find this information with a Google search. There is nothing wrong with well-fitting cloth masks if they are at least double layer (and Canada is now urging 3 layer or with a pocket to insert a filter between the 2 layers- apparently coffee filters and shop towels provide a good barrier).

 

As for neck gaiters, it really depends, like with all face coverings, what they are made of. It's pretty easy to hold a mask up to the light and see how densely the material is woven. If you hold a mask under lightly running water and the water just pours right through with no resistance, that's probably not going to offer much protection. And those light cotton bandanas some people wear are supposed to be the least protective.

 

I made 2 layer cloth masks for myself-the inner layer is a soft black-out curtain fabric, so quite dense that virus particles would have a hard time going through.

@Helen350

Michael-and-Shelly0
Level 6
St. Augustine, FL

Let us be clear on this!  This is not about our  nor our guests health and safety. IF it were it would be more comprehensive ....and there would be much more support.  This is a political move that dovetails with the current IPO.  A class action lawsuit was just filed against airbnb regarding its abuse of hosts. currently Airbnb is making big changes in its terms of service which paint a rosey picture but ultimately give them outs on promised and responsibilty to hosts.

Well that is good news. I am in total agreement

Christine2773
Level 3
La Grange, TX

I am actually appalled that a company that I do not work for has the audacity to ask me to wear a mask when greeting my guests! Here is my understanding of how we do business, I sign my rental spaces up to be on your site. I provide all the info and the photos, You provide advertising and take quite a large fee from the guests. True, you collect the money and send us a payout. There are glitches along the way however. I am currently a superhost because of the amenities that I provide and the cleanliness of my spaces, and my ability to connect and communicate with my guests. If I were not able to rent my spaces, you would not be receiving money.

My husband and I moved to Texas, purchased property and poured a ton of money into creating these fabulous places for people to stay. This was planned to help with our retirement and we love meeting new people and giving them a very comfortable place to stay, in the countryside. We have less than 11 cases of COVID in Fayette County, the last time I checked.

I wear a mask as little as possible, because fresh air and breathing oxygen into your lungs instead of your own C02 is much healthier. According to many doctors and nurses, most people do not follow mask wearing directions anyway, which is to wear a mask and wash it or toss it. It contains germs and mucous from your nose and mouth and is a petrie dish of bacteria. I do not want people's dirty masks all over my tables counters and furniture in my cottages.

I agreed to your cleaning policy because that is how I clean anyway., and with all the above being said, I would wear a mask if my guest requested it. However, this would be an option, not a mandatory, Nazi-esque demand from Airbnb. You have made this political now, instead of allowing us as small business owners to live a simple life.

 

@Christine2773   Bravo. Very well said. Thank-you. 

Regardless of the merits of mask wearing, or otherwise, I am still trying to obtain a definitive statement from Airbnb so that no host or guest is under any misunderstanding of their situation.

 

For reservations made prior to November 20th 2020, there is no requirement in the contract that exists between host and guest for either party to wear a mask.  Airbnb is not party to that contract and therefore Airbnb is not at liberty to impose additional terms on the host nor guest.

 

For reservations made on or after November 20th 2020, Airbnb is attempting to impose the mask wearing requirement on the host and guest, this may or may not form part of the host and guest booking contract, I assume that would be the job of the courts to decide if Airbnb were able to make it such.

 

However, my bigger conern is that, should a guest make a reservation on or after 20th November 2020 for a stay many months in the future and at the point of check-in, the mask wearing requirement has receded because of vaccine etc, the actual contractual requirement may still exist.

 

So, now we have a situation where the host doesn't wear a mask because there is no reason to, the guest decides they want a refund and they use the issue of non mask wearing as the means to cancel the contract.

 

This whole thing is a minefield, Airbnb keeps dancing around the question, I am sure there will be some guests wise enough to be aware of it and clever enough to invoke the requirement when it suits, and all this could be 6 or more months away when, hopefully, this whole pandemic thing is subsiding.

 

One thing is for sure, should a guest instigate a credit card chargeback, the host will struggle to fight it on the basis of their contractual terms since I am sure no host has any reference to mask wearing in the house rules and it won't be appearing anywhere in the booking confirmation etc.

 

Worrying times.

We declined the Airbnb covid-19 restrictions and requirements on our home.  We will utilize other platforms.  Only when Hosts push back and refuse the overreach, will Airbnb be forced to change it's policies.