Yes as are all the other risks associated with Airbnbing. Everyone will have a different risk tolerance. But hosting in one’s home with shared spaces is the key difference for me. People who don’t have the option of making separate entrances and closing off their part of the house are going to have very different calculations than people like myself.
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I have had a medical professional staying in the guest house for the past month, thank God, so financially doing well. But new issue, she just told me that she is being trained to be a nurse on a COVID response team. So all of her daily patients will be COVID victims. The guest house is separate. Only one wall is shared with the small, guest house garage. But our HVAC system is linked. Occasionally she can smell what I am cooking in the main house. Occasionally I can smell what she is cooking in the guest house. So airflow is linked. What do I do to close this link? am I being paranoid?
Is the HVAC linked? or does the AirBNB have its own system?
I don’t think you are being paranoid, you are being sensible. You might contact a heating and air conditioning specialist, it is an excellent question, and a definite concern.
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This is the multi-thousand dollar question we have been asking ourselves. We are in our early 50-s with a five-year-old. While not super ‘high-risk’ we are not willing to take chances. Our AirBnB income is what has allowed me to stay home and be home with my daughter while she attends PreK part-time, and while my husband teaches high-school. Coupled with my gardening income (which I have had to farm out due to no childcare) we have lost a significant portion of our income that we need to get by. I am not willing to take the risk, either. I have parents in their 80’s and my husband and I cannot take the chance of getting ill. We, too, will wait until there is a vaccine or some other way to protect ourselves. We have a very popular yurt, busy all year, in VT but it has no running water so guests use our basement. There’s just no way to guarantee safety for them or us and death is not worth the chance.
I wish everyone out there the best of wisdom to make choices that work for you during this challenging time. We take comfort in knowing we are doing our best to flatten the curve for however long it takes.
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Sending you all the best, as we all see what happens.
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What do you do if you have a kitchen in your basement for the Airbnb? You can of course have the dishes in the dishwasher, you clean the counter/fridge/microwave.
But… you can’t physically wash all the utensils/pots/pans - things not used. Not to mention the spice/flour/sugar cabinet.
So how do you deal with something like that?
As that is part of the perk, having the kitchen and being able to cook in it since now the restaurants are closed.
Do you just close it down, and only let them use the microwave/fridge, then give paper products?
Thoughts anyone.
We have full (especially well-stocked) kitchens and, even prior to Covid, we have always wiped down everything between every guest. You just get good at it. It does help to have a 2nd person but both my husband and I do also do it alone sometimes, particularly when 2 apartments have to be flipped the same day.
What I taught my husband when I was “training him” was top-to-bottom, left-to-right (or clockwise around the room). That’s how everything gets cleaned.
But, yes, if it seems to much to do, then just limit what you supply.
edit to add: And don’t forget, you’ll have that extra 24-hours to get everything done. And it’s a good workout.
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I would probably provide minimal supplies and then tell the guest that they can just ask if they need something. There are a things I’d like to have like a toaster/toaster oven or full oven for things like pizza or toast but I don’t need a full spice cabinet or a wide range of cookware. Using disposable plates and flatware is a bridge too far for some folks but I’d have no problem doing it temporarily.
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The guidelines weren’t clear and the science couldn’t or wouldn’t say but increasingly the evidence shows that you should wear a mask.
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I am also a host and my last guests visited me at the end of March. My cleaning lady told me that she is not willing to take care of my places anymore because of the virus. I totally understand and appreciate her decision as she is scared for her health. I expect that this might be a major problem for other Airbnb hosts as well.
I have been reading a lot about how people are disinfecting nowadays in different high-risk fields (hospitals, public transport, courier companies etc). It seems that all of them are using UVC light. It has a lot of benefits but can be dangerous, if you are not using it correctly. Since the studios I own are not so big, I ordered a small germicidal UVC lamp from the link below.
I will turn it on everytime my guests are leaving, of course once things get back to normal. Also I am considering using more silver and copper infused fabrics which are anti-bacterial (for bed linen and different cloths).
I think we should not expect any specific directions from Airbnb on how to disinfect and protect our homes. They do not want to take such a big risk and probably we will have to agree with rules which fully protect their interests. Currently they are blocking our calendars but I expect that the market will regulate itself and there would be new opportunities for everyone.
Stay safe and healthy!
But they have already announced that hosts will have to either agree to their COVID cleaning 24 hour block and cleaning protocols between reservations or have their calendars blocked for 72 hours between bookings. (That’s how I read it anyway- some hosts are questioning whether we have any choice, or the 72 hour block will be a punishment for not agreeing to the 24 hour/specified cleaning regimen option. As usual, it’s not clear- they say the 24 hour option isn’t mandatory, but have not, to my knowledge, made it clear if we decline to agree to that, if they’ll block the calendar for 72 hours) I’ve seen that announcement, but I haven’t seen any specific cleaning protocols or products mandated in order to comply, except for the CDC guidelines they referenced weeks ago.
There are 59 reported deaths, that doesn’t mean there have been 59 covid-19 related deaths in the country. Only that that is the number the Thai government is reporting.
Statistics are difficult to interpret. For example in the UK we are showing as having the third highest death rate from co-vid, but in large part that is down to the fact we include deaths at home and care and residential home deaths whereas the majority of countries don’t.
Although I agree mass testing, a clear line from the government on what to do rather than in-fighting between a president and individual states and a population that doesn’t take up arms to protest against initiatives to keep them safe is a massive part of the solution 
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Talk to a professional HVAC person.
On needing the income during pandemic times, you are quite right. However we are muddling through without it. Naturally the car needs new tires, and so forth. But to be perfectly honest it’s a pittance compared to what others are enduring. I just can’t risk it.
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What I recommend is getting in your car, rolling up the windows, going out on the highway, and screaming to Van Halen.
Thank you.
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Airbnb should be screening hosts and blocking those that originate in 'hotspots like Montreal north. I have had 4 requests from Montreal ( probably from people trying to 'escape. When I pressed for their location it typically had over 2500 active cases and 150-300 deaths. Clearly the statistics are not in their favor. CDC says you can expect 10* the tested positive cases. Now if a person from such an area was to infect my area and it spread to 100 people and there were 10 deaths, lawyers might argue that they ( the guests from 'hotspots ) were resonsible and liable perhaps for 2M.
It might also be argued that the airbnb app enabled the travel and hence they could be partially liable. Finally the host might also be partially liable if he did not make effort to screen out covid19 carriers.
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When contact tracing is applied to an outbreak like my example, furthur liabilities will occur when those in contact are asked to isolate for 2 weeks and are unable to work. Their lost income could be a further claim.
It will be interesting to see when the first covid19 cases hit the courtrooms and what rulings and precedents are set. The lawyers will be busy for a long time. Insurance will go up.
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