Gotcha, Cameron. If you are at all uncomfortable with the idea of hosting strangers who you will have no part in selecting or qualifying staying in your space, I’d let this go. How will you keep all your personal belongings or anything of value or private (paperwork, electronics, etc) locked up and secure while you are out of town? I rent an entire house that is separate from my own. I keep nothing there of any value that I would mind losing. Nothing of any emotional value or monetary value.
‘If you decide to host, there are simply no guarantees against hosting people with bad intentions, people who may party, people who have infectious disease, and people who may break items or rules or laws. If you are not okay with that risk, don’t open your home up. I speak from experience.
Airbnb says they background check guests but they do not. They say they have a host guarantee but it doesn’t actually guarantee anything.
‘I’m not saying don’t do it for extra cash, but given your concerns, it seems as though it would not be the best course of action for your family. The flu would be a relatively harmless consequence in comparison to other diseases or events that may happen in your private home without you present.