Airbnb to issue cleaning recommendations, including 24 hours between rentals

Publish Time:2020-04-30 09:32:48Source:sooeveningnews

【Introduction】:627 people who had had close contact with infected patients were freed from medical observation. The number of serious cases remained unchanged.

Airbnb is about to go on a cleaning binge.

The home-sharing service, under pressure from the coronavirus crisis, said Monday that it is establishing a new “cleaning protocol” with the goal of reassuring both those who rent their properties, which it calls “hosts,” and their guests.

Airbnb said in a statement that the protocol will offer guidance on the best and safest practices for cleansing a residence’s various rooms. It will include a manual more than 40 pages long establishing the standards, as well as specifying particular chemicals and other products to do the job.

The protocol will also require a minimum 24 hours between rentals to reduce the chance a guest might encounter any residual viruses. A top company official said Airbnb knows from surveys that cleanliness is a high priority with guests.

“It was clear they wanted to know what you were doing to make sure the place itself would be clean,” said Chris Lehane, a senior vice president, in an interview.

The travel industry has started to take notice of the need to offer reassurances about cleaning. Last week, for instance, Marriott International said it will adopt its own enhanced standards, including spraying hotel rooms with disinfectant after every guest stay. Airbnb’s new global protocols being issued early next month come at a difficult time. Travel has dropped sharply worldwide. While the privately held Airbnb hasn’t disclosed the impact on its business, U.S. hotels had only 23.4% of their rooms occupied between April 14 and April 20, a decline of 64.4% compared to the same week a year ago, data analytical firm STR reported last week. To help it through the downturn, Airbnb announced loans and investments totaling $2 billion earlier this month.

In the face of the pandemic, Airbnb has already encountered flak from both hosts and customers as it has tried to navigate the new era. In March, Airbnb was criticized by guests who felt they were being left out on a limb by unclear cancellation policies. Then, when Airbnb established policies, it apologized to hosts who felt it was unfair that they would have to foot refunds due to cancellations. Airbnb ended up establishing a $250 million fund to cover hosts’ refund costs.

The new cleaning protocols are only a first step, Lehane said, in what could a longer process. Airbnb plans to require that hosts certify they will adhere to the standards.

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