I noticed a new requirement to agree to COVID-19 safety practices. Although I appreciate the need for the rules for a large majority of the world, New Zealand has currently recorded no local transmission of COVID-19 for weeks (and outside of Auckland for around five months). We are currently at our lowest alert level, with no restrictions beyond border controls and contact-tracing. A number of other countries and sub-national entities (e.g. Taiwan, Western Australia) are in similar circumstances. It seems excessive to apply the same rules to the entire world.
The cleaning rules don't really bother me, as they're basically what I would have done anyway. Maybe they're a little bit overkill here, but nothing too onerous.
The requirement for hosts and guests to wear masks and keep 6 feet apart at all times, however, seems very disproportionate here. Personally, it wouldn't really affect me as I don't tend to interact with guests. But it would be a significant drag for the kind of host who e.g. lets a private room and interacts a lot with their guests. In New Zealand, you can hop on a crowded bus to go on a crowded tour, then off to a crowded restaurant, all surrounded by strangers, almost none of whom will be masked. But you will see the most restrictions of any kind when you interact 1-on-1 with your Airbnb host/guest.
I suspect the most likely scenario is that guests and hosts will want to ignore the masking and distancing requirements. But given the potential punishments for not complying, I suspect some people will begrudgingly comply at the cost of a worse experience, and a few others may shift away from Airbnb altogether. Some malicious actors may see non-compliance as a way to weasel their way into a free cancellation.
Please consider altering your rules to be less one-size-fits-all.
