Guest asked to provide masks

Inna22
Level 10
Chicago, IL

Guest asked to provide masks

This is a group of seven arriving in four hours for several days. So it is not like they just need one mask. I feel the request goes beyond what is customary. Since I don’t have a lobby or common space I do not require masks and therefore should not be expected to provide them. This is a personal item to be used outside of my Airbnb. I’m also not an errand service that can drop everything and run to buy them masks. In the end I know I will - it is not worth it to start the guest’s experience with a refusal to accommodate them. Do you supply masks for you guess?

32 Replies 32
Jennifer2672
Level 10
Sioux Falls, SD

I don't provide masks for all guests, but I do have a stack of 10 or so disposable ones in a drawer in my "check in table." I've only had a few used. I see it as a way to help folks if they forget or lose their masks, and then I also have one there for the times when I'm working at the house and may have unexpected guests or deliveries.

@Jennifer2672 I like the idea of having a handful in a draw. I can put what this group leaves behind

Mark116
Level 10
Jersey City, NJ

@Inna22  I wouldn't do it.  If people are traveling it is incumbent on them to travel with appropriate supplies of masks, sanitizer and whatever else they may need.  

 

No, we don't supply masks and do not intend to.  We have a huge bottle of hand sanitizer right outside of the interior door so people can, if they want to, wipe down the shared door knobs, and we provide anti bacterial hand soap in the kitchen and bathroom and some limited cleaning supplies.


No masks and no disposable wipes that will end up clogging the pipes.

 

Just tell them no.  Since the unit is self-contained and there is no interaction with anyone outside of their own group masks are not provided. List out whatever you do provide in terms of sanitizer, cleaner, etc.  

 

 

Michelle53
Level 10
Chicago, IL

@Inna22  I leave one disposable mask per guest.  Some people take them, some don't.  It's hard to believe people are still travelling without them, but local mandates may be different from where the people  originate, so since they have to have them in Chicago, I give them one each to get started.  They have to be wearing one to get into a store to buy them.  But I also have only been getting singles and couples, not groups. 

Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

@Inna22  they requested??? Better say no, or you may end up fulfilling their interesting requests for their entire stay 😄

 

 

 

 

@Inna22 Airbnb doesn't require hosts to supply masks, but I'd recommend having at least a box of cheap surgical masks on hand. If an issue comes up that requires a host, cleaner, or maintenance worker to enter the home during the stay, there should be enough masks available for everyone present. But it's certainly fair to expect guests to supply their own masks for everyday use outside the home. 

Brian2036
Level 10
Arkansas, United States

@Inna22 

 

“Although masks are not required at our property, with 48 hours notice we can supply disposable masks for $1.00 each.

 

Guests are advised to purchase masks and other personal items at (nearby convenience store) before checkin.”

@Brian2036 I am always careful to offer to supply something for a fee (other than cleaning related) or even for free. If they are buying something from you, they can now dictate style, color, functionality etc. I had a guest who hurt her foot right before check in. I went out of my way to go home and bring her crutches that I happened to have until she either feels better or goes somewhere to get help. She left me a three star review and complained that crutches were to short for her height. I am sure she was miserable the whole trip from her pain and that contributed to her unhappiness but I opened the door for it instead of expressing sympathy and providing nearest urgent care clinic address

Brian2036
Level 10
Arkansas, United States

@Inna22 


Try this:

 

Brian2036_0-1633707558704.jpeg

 

Emilia42
Level 10
Orono, ME

So they are traveling to your Airbnb without a mask? (Shouldn't that be a time when one is truly needed?) I look at masks now like I look at toothbrushes. Yes, you should remember to pack your toothbrush, and yes, you should brush your teeth. But that's not my responsibility. If you forget your toothbrush (and mask,) there are dozens of places where you can pick up a new one. 

@Emilia42  Yeah, I'm with you on this one.  I'm not the guests' mother or valet.  I certainly don't want to set the expectation that people don't need to bother bringing masks because I've got them.  It would also be one more thing for guests to complain about...masks were too flimsy, dusty, they ran out! or something.

 

Anyone who is traveling now without their own supply of masks is a total idiot and should not be indulged at all.

@Emilia42  It's folks driving in, most likely.  Anyone going through an airport or taking the train will have masks. 

 

One can get a box of 50 disposable for less than $10. Inexpensive P.R.

Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

@Inna22 

when exactly did we cross from "small soap + hand towels+ toilet paper" to the entire list of supplies Airbnb guests expect to get in every Airbnb? And then hosts are being criticized for a fingerprint on the sugar jar or the wrong type of free coffee?

 

At the beginning of hosting we were trying to offer as much as we could, from soap to the conditioner, from sugar to 2 types of oil, from sanitary pads to tampons, wet and dry tissues, slippers and umbrellas and a ton of brochures, leaflets and books about Zagreb...

At one point I realized I need the same amount of time to check, wipe, replace, rearrange and fill all those "extras" as I need to change beds and clean the apartment.  It's not a matter of money, it didn't cost much money, but it was so time-consuming!

 

Then Covid hit and I reduced the list of supplies and decorations and it saves me about  1 hour of time on each turnover 🙂 

 

 

 

@Branka-and-Silvia0  And Airbnb is constantly adding things to the amenities list. The more they add, the more hosts appear to be somehow unhospitable or cheap when we only have a few amenities checked.