We have three rooms and are adjusting our availability to allow a gradual reopening. This involves opening but limiting access for our first floor room with a second entrance, reopening a second room in September and taking our third room (our own bedroom) off the listings until the COVID situation is reassessed. We have eliminate our breakfast bar and access to some shared spaces. Who knows what things will look like in 4-6 months. Further editing will no doubt be necessary. I assume that many of your are in the same process. I offer this caution: be sure that any changes are reflected throughout you listing topics - description, amenities, automatic responses, etc. We used to received compliments on our very thorough listing details. Now they are coming back to haunt me as I find numerous references to shared spaces, our breakfast bar, our anticipated interaction with guests, etc. It is a much bigger task than I thought it would be. As you edit your listing to deal with 2020 challenges, be sure to read every section to insure realistic expectations when your guests arrive. We all know that some guest don’t read, but we shouldn’t confuse those who do. In addition it might be helpful to point out changes to repeat guests when they book. Good luck with this process!
No. We are some way off being allowed to open here in the UK so haven’t thought of this yet. But good point about remembering to update listings thoroughly and plan for the future.
The other area I think hosts need to look at is running their STR business like a business by which I mean;
A. ensuring they have STR insurance and business disruption insurance
B. putting a proper budget together and hosts making sure they set aside some of their profits into a saving account to cover low seasons and times when they can’t get bookings.
Most best practice for small business is to set aside at least three and preferably six months a year, to cover the cost of running your business and staying affloat during slack times.
Great points! In our state the insurance is required but not doesn’t seem to have an enforcement mechanism.
One thing you might want to add is paper towels, pre-cut and staggered by every common door and little trash bags. Add in your rules.
I have a separate space but a shared front door. I provided Clorox wipes but the guests weren’t using them. Having the pre-ripped towels, turned every other one, makes it easy for the guest to pickup before they open the doors and then the trash back to put it in after.
Also, if you have cameras, check them to see if guests are using. I found that it’s not always and found guests were actually closing doors using the wood and not the handles.
Some guests are not taking this as seriously as they should .
You might also request that they wear masked in the common hallways, etc.
Thanks. Our first phase won’t involve common areas so I haven’t mentioned. I will need to when I open the second room. We don’t use cameras and I have resigned myself to the fact that guests don’t follow signs very well. Part of our plan is to leave days in-between bookings to allow for slow, cautious, thorough cleaning.
If you have a common entrance with guests, I think it’s also really important for everyone to take their shoes off before entering. So we might want to request that guests bring some slippers, flip-flops, or “inside shoes” along if they don’t like walking around in socks or barefoot.
I pretty much live in flip-flops (and am barefoot when home) because I live in the tropics- I’ve been taking them off after a trip to town before I enter my gate.
Good point. We have a 200 year old house with old wood floors. We haven’t made people do this in the past for fear of the occasional big nail popping up and inuring bare feet. However, we may have to rethink this.