What if a guest says they came down with COVID while at house

If a guest said to me they have COVID, #1 could I make them provide proof, and #2 if they say they need to quarantine longer than their reservation how is that handled? They are still expected to pay correct?

You do know we aren’t affiliated with Airbnb, right?

So with that disclaimer, my guess is No to #1 and #2 is yes.

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I don’t know if you can make them, but I’d sure as heck ask because I don’t want to be liable for their medical bills or any damages or their hospitalizations if they say they got it at my house (sparkling clean! outstanding amenities!).

When were they tested? And yes, they have to pay. If they don’t want to pay and stay longer, they’re probably scamming you and/or they are looking to make you liable and get a free stay.

Either way, I’d ask for their test results. I’m an in-home host, so I’d re-home them ASAP due to my age (61) and then torch my house with bleach.

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yes I do know you are not affiliated with AirBnB but thought it was a place I could ask questions

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FYI - it’s still nearly impossible to get the COVID test so it would be hard to prove that they have it plus, and I honestly think it would be hard to prove that they caught it at your STR. How did they get there? Plane? Drive? If drive, did they pump gas, etc.

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Yes.

We just don’t want people getting wrong answers and then blaming us. There’s a lot of blaming going round these days. Because I don’t think anyone here could possibly know the answer.

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I am sure however that in the US (HIPPA) we have no right to ask anyone personal health questions or ask them to provide proof.

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I don’t know that I would want Air involved in this hypothetical situation. I can envision them unilaterally deciding that the whole place needs to be quarantined and boom, delisted, future reservatuons canc’d.

But I am a pretty cynical type.

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I don’t take anyone’s word hear as gospel… was just looking for opinions…

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Great questions. And just another reason why we closed down our Airbnb listings for the foreseeable future.

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The vast, vast majority who have the virus are not being tested. How would you suggested they go about proving to you that they have it @Josie0811

We are in Australian and my husband is in the medical profession. We have just returned from Japan and my husband was tested today.

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Ah that’s good @Debthecat in the UK they are only testing health and care staff and those with underlying conditions who have symptoms.

Same here (Spain). Not a policy decision per se, they simply don’t have enough testing kits; or gloves, or masks, or gowns, and so on.

It’s got to the point that local tattoo shops are donating their stocks of gloves and masks.

JF

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Mind you Idris Elba didn’t seem to have any problem getting tested - seems it’s different if you are rich/.famous :grinning:

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I don’t know but was asking a simple question…

The simple answer is there is no proof apart from someone having the test. So I am not sure how you could expect your approach to work @Josie0811

At first blush, and just my 1/4-cents (bc who has 2 cents anymore?), if a guest is sure enough of the diagnosis to tell me they know they have the virus, then they will be expected to prove it. In my eyes, it’s one thing to say that you don’t feel well and suspect you could be sick but quite another to tell someone you know you have [virus, bedbugs, etc] and point to their location as the origin.

It would take some very well thought out wording but I’d venture along the lines of “not wanting to incite panic” and “for the safety of all parties involved, blah blah blah”. I’m sorry that it could offend or invade privacy, but this (to me) is too serious to my neighbors, (older) caretakers and family to just accept blindly.

My perspective is different because in USA limited tests available and almost impossible to prove source of exposure.

  1. Empathize with guest.
  2. If shared home isolate them to bedroom & bath.
  3. Assist with food delivery. Wash hands BEFORE and AFTER touching anything. Wear gloves if you’ve got them. (The before is so you aren’t accidentally infecting them with something else)
  4. If they can’t travel to go home, they can extend their stay but be charged. Not free. If you feel like a reduced rate—your choice
  5. For exit cleaning consider a 72 hour wait between check out & cleaning so any germs left on surfaces will naturally die. This is to protect you

Fair “what if” question. It is and probably has already happened

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I’m reading conflicting things on this. Do you have updated info?.

I’ve now implemented 2 day minimum stays and 2 days before and after all stays. If I get any bookings I may change that too.