Absolutely! I live in Western Australia in a small town where there is 0 covid. . I keep my property immaculately clean and respect my guests. . I will be signing up with another platform and creating new website. I understand for places where covid is around, but this is just a blanket rule that it ridiculous and I donāt appreciate Airbnbās bullying approach.
I personally respect your beliefs. I live in a rural town. Our Covid numbers are low. I am a conservative also. I wear a mask all day long as I work in the health field. I will wear a mask if I have to meet a guest. I will not risk getting or giving the virus. Masks and social distancing obviously not even close to perfect. I follow my conscience on this one. You must follow yours.
I like the way you rant! You and I should get together and play our banjos some time, with proper social distance of course!
I wrote this comment on Thursday morning, but I was not aware that as a new member I was limited to 10 replies in my first day. Therefore I was not able to post it or respond to any of the other comments that came in today.
Yes, but my concern is that we are not allowed to follow our own conscience and use our own best judgment, Airbnb will think for us. No thanks!
I am not trying to get anybody wound up for my entertainment. I am merely trying to find like-minded individuals who object to the new policy. I guess there are a few here and there. Those who do not agree with this overreach need to make their feelings known to Airbnb. If Airbnb understands that they stand to lose a lot of hosts by putting a blanket rule on everybody regardless of their circumstances, perhaps they will reconsider.
If you read through other threads on this forum, there have been many hosts unhappy with platform policiesānot just the mask policy and cleaning policyā and many have threatened to leave the platforms. Others, like myself, will branch out to setting up my own listing and use other platforms as an adjunct. The platforms are egocentric and will protect themselves first. It is a wise business move on their part. We must do the same.
I agree with Mountainhost that in the past Airbnb has seen hosts as expendable and have not been terribly receptive to perceived host demands. The refund policy surrounding covid in Mar-May is an example. There was widespread anger and multiple national media stories about it. They made a small mea culpa, tossed some coins in some hostsā baskets and turned their attention back to their IPO.
Displeasure about the mask mandate isnāt going to have the same trajectory at all.
Hereās why:
- First, an anti-mask position is scientifically and morally wrong.
- Itās not good PR. Most Americans favor masking.
- Airbnb is a virtue signaling, liberal philosophy leaning company. The last thing they are going to do is cater to anti-maskers masquerading (see what I did there?) as freedom crusaders.
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You are probably correct on all of your points except number 1. There is ample scientific evidence that masks are not preventing the spread (despite what the CDC may be saying this week) and may in fact be harmful. If that is true then your moral argument fails.
In any case, I understand that this is not the place to debate that and I will have nothing further to say on that issue other than opinions may vary,
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But itās not. Anyway, the evidence is all out there for anyone who really cares and for those that donāt, at this point itās clear that no amount of evidence will matter.
But yeah leave #1 off if it makes you feel better.
The point remains that Airbnb is unlikely to change their position. If they do, it can fall to the individuals in the transaction. I will require masks as my county just issued new regulations and cases are high here so itās in my interest to do so regardless of mandates.
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Yes, local regulation is the answer. If your county or city or country requires everyone to mask up then I guess you have to follow the law. On the other hand, in places that are not heavily infected and do not have strict local laws, why should Airbnb impose this blanket rule other than for virtue signaling, marketing purposes or dare I say out of political bias?
In any case conceding that you are correct on the possibility of Airbnb changing this rule, I wonder if anyone can direct me to any other discussion on this forum where people are discussing the practicalities of getting out from under the Airbnb system.
I definitely plan to be leaving but I would appreciate any practical advice on alternative strategies. Thanks!
Masks are not a political issue, they are a public health issue.
Jeez, just mask up when you are interacting with guests or quit Airbnb, I am sure they will be sorry to see you go. That will show them.
There are many, many threads on the other platforms. Just use the search function of the forum.
Youāre just repeating what I said when I gave reasons why they wonāt quit doing it. All businesses do marketing, virtue signalling and have political bias. If you agree with the bias then maybe you donāt notice it but itās there.
Iām kind of afraid to reply because I donāt know if Iām still limited to 10 a day as a new member, but the point is that the mask rule is not really about health.
At least you recognize that Airbnb does have a strong political bias and itās one that I fervently oppose. I can pretty much guarantee that those who claim that there is no politics involved in these public health decisions, are lining up on the opposite side of the aisle from me.
Youāve hit upon the very exact reason why I am not hosting at this time. People during the time before Covid didnāt always follow house rules and would continue to not follow current Covid house rules. Iām at risk for Covid, so I havenāt hosted since March of this year. Iāll revisit hosting if things ever settle down and it feels relatively safe. Iām widowed and my daughter doesnāt want to lose another parent.
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My room is separate from my space. Thereās a shared air duct but not a recirculating type. It just blows air one way, out into the Airbnb room. I follow a number of other protocols like opening the room to air out and not beginning my cleaning until the next day. However, I may just shut down.
I really feel for people who feel they have to take chances because they have to work. Iām a retired teacher but have many friends still working. TX is about to force them to have students in their classrooms. Although students in classrooms donāt seem to be a major driver of infection, it is causing great anxiety among staff. Things have been so poorly managed.
Take care. Iām glad you are putting yourself and your daughter first.