Death at an Airbnb

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The issue I faced when I started was the dog boarding at the same time as humans. I dealt with that by having baby gates in the house/leaving dogs outside/only having airguests when I could be home. Then I retired, then I added onto my home and put a lock on a door between their space and mine.

As for the rest of the space…it’s a new addition that is permitted and up to code. It’s about 200 sq ft total attached to a single story home. There are no stairs or basement. The electric in the bathroom is GFI. There’s no handrails but there’s also no tub. There is a private entrance for exit in case of fire. If somehow the fire was blocking the front door there’s the front window and if I’m home, the door into my home through which we could exit. Everything is plugged in to an outlet there are no extension cords running to and fro under furniture or rugs. I have the window AC on it’s own circuit. There is a small refrigerator and microwave but no cooktop/hotplate/toaster/oven. There is a direct wired CO/smoke detector installed.
There is a small desk lamp that operates on battery if there is a power outage. I live in an area that has few natural disasters so a go bag isn’t necessary. I don’t allow children and if someone writes to ask about it anyway I’m strongly discouraging.

I do have a space heater in the winter, an iron, a blow dryer and an extension cord available for guest use. I’m not going to inconvenience 99.9999% of guests on the off chance that there will be an accident. I’m not going to cut down the healthy tree that is 3 ft from the house on the off chance that it could topple onto the home. I should have cut it down to add another foot or two onto my front addition but that’s a different story.

I can’t think of anything else that it would be reasonable for me to do.

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Wow, impressive list and investment since you have said you were not the owner of the home. You have done way more than most owners would think to!

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I have a house that I let out to individual lodgers, HMO (house of multiple occupancy, not let to a family) long term renters, and the local council insist I pay for a council safety check. I proudly pointed out all the fire extinguishers, and he said, “oh, we don’t really like fire extinguishers - if there’s a fire, we just want to get everyone out”.
I was horrified, but I soon worked out what he meant. If there’s a small fire, lodger number one sees it, and grabs a fire extinguisher, expecting to put out the fire, no need to alert anyone. He’s not familiar with it, because I don’t do a fire training course, so he struggles for a bit , before hurriedly trying to read the instructions. Maybe it transpires that he has a water filled extinguisher, which would be no good for the fat fryer fire, or electrical fires. By then, the fire has spread, he can’t get out, and he hasn’t warned anyone else, as he thought it would take 10seconds to be a hero.
So I removed them, put a sign up saying get out if fire!

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That’s an interesting point.

Though i think that we had to promise airbnb that we had fire extinguishers for each space we share?

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That is NOT accurate. Seventh Generations multipurpose cleaner contains the following: Water, caprylyl/myristyl glucoside (plant-derived cleaning agent), lauramine oxide (plant-based cleaning agent), sodium gluconate (plant-derived water softener), sodium carbonate (mineral-based alkalinity builder), benzisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone (synthetic preservatives).

I find your list excessive for a regular rental, but you may be interested in knowing there is a rental platform for “baby-proof” homes. I will find the name for you and update.

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Thanks for the correction, CatskillsGrrl. I confused the 7th gen with a vinegar-based product I also use. But they’re still organic, and plant/mineral based. Myristil Glucoside is a fatty acid molecule made from a vegetable sugar, for example. I use the free & clear baby-safe version, which has a few less ingredients than your list. I also make my own cleaners from vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, water, and various oils (depending on the purpose). Peppermint oil is a great oil to add to a homemade cleaning product to freshen bathrooms, for instance.

I don’t really mind if some hosts find my safety measures excessive. They’re what I’m comfortable with, as a host, and my guests very much appreciate them, too. If just one host finds value in my post, that’s enough for me.

I have no need for the baby proof home link. My place isn’t baby proof (no gate for the stairs, for instance). But maybe another host will appreciate it.

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You really don’t need the nasty peroxide. I make all my own cleaners just with Doterra essential oils, a dash of vinegar and water.

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@Emily
What is your take on peroxide (re: “nasty”)? I’ve read that very small amounts (such as a teaspoon or tablespoon) in a bottle of homemade cleaning agent makes it strongly antimicrobial. In my shared Airbnb, people come from all over the world, bringing colds & other viruses that I and other guests won’t necessarily have immunities to. So I use Hydrogen Peroxide as a safe and natural antimicrobial. If there’s some toxicity or other issues that I don’t know about, I’d really like to know. Thanks… Amy

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There are heaps of things worse so probably a poor choice of words. For me it’s just not necessary. I make my own cleaning spray without it and it works a treat. It’s corrosive and can cause burns and skin irritations and there are lots of essentials oils that have better antibacterial properties. I use lemon, lavender, lemongrass, peppermint and On Guard. You can also take the lemon and On Guard orally if you are worried about colds and infections etc. I make my own deodorant with a similar mix up and might add Bergamot, cypress etc for a nice effect on the body spray. Minus the vinegar I also make a nice air spray and put it on all the linens and pillows and spray it around the house to keep it fresh and clean. Saves tons of $ and better for the environment but that’s just what works for me.

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@Emily. Thank you for sharing your homemade cleaning solution. My place is also “green,” and I actually make similar products as you do with essential oils. Hopefully, other folks will also pick up some ideas. I think you may not live in the U.S. (?). In the U.S., the hydrogen peroxide sold in drugstores is so dilute it wouldn’t burn anyone’s skin, even poured straight from the bottle. It’s made to be used as a first aid solution. At industrial strength, it’s definitely corrosive and could burn skin. I also use thyme oil as an antimicrobial when I have it. Anyway, I sure do wish everyone would give up on the nasty chemical cleaning products and fragrances, and use these natural, organic substances, instead. Our health and our planet would be far better off for it. Thank you for the discussion! :slight_smile:

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It is an extremely sad story about the rope swing and the authors fathers life being cut short. I kept hoping to see a pic of the tree. The HO policy did pay out to the deceased family I read. It is often very difficult to see how weak and diseased a tree can be and still look viable. Due to personal experience with a rope swing when I was growing up, one left an 11 year old in a body cast and another 12 year old three years later with a broken arm, no the tree did not ever fail, nor the rope…
I am trying to make my listing as risk free as possible but realize there is just no way, even when building, to stop every single possibility of a problem or unimaginable bad accident.
It’s great to see all these home cleaners recipes!

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Here are the results from that wonderful mom-biologist at stopthestomachflu.com on her testing of various essential oils. She is my cleaning guru!

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So it appears that essential oil doesn’t do anything to kill germs unless it’s concentrated so putting it in cleaners is just for the scent. I had a mild case of the shingles last year and I put tea tree oil on the rash. It did seem to help but I didn’t do a control area. Maybe it was just placebo effect.