I have been a happy Super Host with Airbnb (who transferred listings from Homeaway) for several years. As a host, I was shocked at the "mandatory safety practices that everyone must follow" or get shut down by November 20. Surely you do recognize that all properties are not the same, and no one rule could ever fit all situations. At the beginning of the virus in our area, we instituted our own safety rules according to the recommendations of the CDC.
The CDC says risk is minimized when people travel and stay with their own family that they live with. My house rules state that we accept only small families that live together. I no longer have automatic booking so that I can question and decline inquiries which do not fit my house rules. I have declined inquiries from many other groups in these last 5 months.
The CDC says that risk is minimized when people do not share spaces or bathrooms with outside people. Our cabin is self-contained with no need to mix or congregate with other persons. We have installed electronic locks for self-check in. There is no need for a renter to meet another person to get a key.
The mandatory rules say that "enhanced" cleaning has to be done according to a certain 5-step detailed schedule, with a room-to-room check list. We hire a Spanish-speaking 2nd party cleaning service so there is no way we can guarantee that they will follow all those steps. We have checked the cleaning chemicals they use. We have given them the written cleaning guidelines in the Spanish language, but we are not on-site to check that they follow them. Actually, if our cleaners did agree to all the steps in the booklet, our cleaning bill would be astronomical, which would outweigh any profit from renting at less than $200 per night. So for us, it is unreasonable.
The CDC says that the virus does not live on surfaces for days. Since we cannot verify the cleaning crew's compliance with the stated cleaning rules, we began to leave at least 2 days between cleaning date and the next occupancy to compensate for that lack of oversight.
We text renters with that information --when the house was cleaned and how long it is vacant before their occupancy. As a second layer of safety, we also supply the house with hand sanitizer, soap, disinfectant wipes, and disinfectant spray which the renters are instructed to use, on surfaces and frequently touched items.
We have a very lenient cancellation policy and renters can cancel for any reason and get refunds up until the very day they are to occupy.
This type of cleaning regime does not seem to be an issue in our situation. Our place has been booked every available weekend since April. Out of all those 28 renters, I have had only one person ask about cleaning procedures since they had pre-existing conditions. I explained how we clean and how long the house would be vacant before they came and they were satisfied.
I believe that by setting a certain set of rules that "all must follow," you will be shutting down safe businesses who cannot follow your mandatory instructions, or who will not want to lie about their compliance with those rules. Since the hosts and owners did not have a say in this decision, I am appealing to the rule-setters of Airbnb to set up reasonable alternatives for those hosts who cannot follow your one-rule-fits-all mandate.