Corona screening

Rich35
Level 2
Providence, RI

Corona screening

Looking for advice. Guest coming in 2 days from California for 3 weeks. Flying.

They have good reviews, I do not want to cancel. But is anyone doing any extra "screening" in light of Corona, like

asking them if they have been overseas.  Delicate. Ar B B has no guidance. Thanks

2 Replies 2
Laura2592
Level 10
Frederick, MD

@Rich35 I don't know if there is an effective way to screen short of a test administered by an appropriate professional. Health information may be protected under privacy laws, so I would be very careful in asking certain questions. If you home share I can understand the concern about transmission, but if you have a separate space, I would just take extra precautions when cleaning to ensure hard surfaces are appropriately disinfected,  sheets washed, etc. 

@Rich35   Airbnb is not forbidding hosts from asking such questions, but the undeniable fact is that your "screening" questions are based on assumptions that are several weeks out of date, and have no benefit to you as a host. One contributor in a similar thread said it best - you as a host are not qualified to make a medical assessment based on self-reporting, and COVID-19 is very much present in even the infinitesimally small portion of the US population that has been able to get tested. It's not an "overseas" issue. 

 

Your safest approach here is to assume that every guest and every other person you encounter - regardless of whether they show symptoms of illness, and regardless of their travel history - has been potentially exposed to the virus and might be contagious. You might even be a carrier already yourself. If your hosting circumstances are not compatible with your social distancing strategy, there's no point in pretending you can screen guests with a questionnaire; the only thing you can do is stop hosting until you feel it is safe enough again.