As a host would you feel obligated to clear new snow on the day guests are checking out
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Yes. Hosting has many responsibilities.
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I have a plow service. I explain to guests that my service comes after the storm ends. I also explain that if they need to leave early before the storm is over, I can arrange for them to use a much short driveway in the back of my house. I also explain that they would need to do all of their own shoveling if they need to leave prior to my snow cleaning service arrival.
My airbnb is located in New England where we can get hit with storm after storm, My service comes out with 3 inching or more.
I do always de-ice the walkways but it’s just not practicable to have the driveway cleared prior to a couple of hours after the storm has ended.
I do, however, make all of this information clear on my listing and remind them before a storm arrival.
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This seems to me quite circumstantial, rather than a yes or no question. If it snowed the previous day and the main roads have been plowed, then yes, the driveway should be cleared. If there was a heavy snowfall overnight and the main roads to get in and out haven’t been cleared yet, then the guests wouldn’t be able to leave until that has been done anyway, and rushing over to shovel the driveway may not even be possible for the host to do. And if there is still a snowstorm going on, obviously it’s pointless to clear the driveway.
In other words, hosts whose rental is in a heavy snowfall area couldn’t make any hard and fast promises, but just do the best they can. And guests who book in these areas need to have a realistic understanding of what is and isn’t possible.
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I’m in Southern Connecticut and for the last 10 years or so the streets have been sprayed with something to deice them, and of course plows go not when the snow is over but while it’s going because people don’t stop traveling. We have a plow service we contracted, and a small parking lot. Our contract with them is they start plowing when the snow stops. We were also able to text them to ask them to come early if guests need to leave for example at our 10 AM checkout time but it’s still snowing. It’s only happened once or twice, but the security of knowing that we can do that makes me sleep better at night.
Of course, every snow event is different, we’ve had sleet and snow for the last two days, but the temperature has been above freezing, so it’s basically a slush fest… but as good hosts, we do not want to be the folks who snow in guests. I’ve had that experience myself and I will never let that happen to a guest. It’s terrible.
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For sure a lot depends on the services available in the area.
Where I lived for 25 years on Vancouver Island, it doesn’t snow that much, although due to climate change, it seems to snow more now than when I first moved there.
Because heavy snowfall isn’t an ongoing winter situation, the city doesn’t have the same or amount of snow removal equipment that they have in other parts of the country where heavy and frequent snowstorms are expected. So it can take quite awhile for the city to clear the main roads.
One year when I lived there, we had a ton of snow and low temps (whereas normally it often warms up soon and starts raining, melting the snow), so the snow stayed on the ground for 2 weeks, which was really unusual. It took the city a few days after the storm to clear all the public roads and sidewalks. My friend and I put in our cross-country skis and skied to the grocery store.
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Yes! Guests need clear access to the garage and/or house. I pay a service to clear mine, but generally feel it’s the guest’s responsibility during their stay. I provide shovels. If it’s snowed during their stay, a clear path out would be my responsibility.