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We’ve been closed since last March and are trying to figure out when to reopen our calendar. I’m curious as to what others are doing and how they are doing it.
I figure that a few weeks after our second vaccine we might reopen but are not sure what COVID-related rules (if any) to impose.
Are you an in home host, or is your listing separate?
JF
We are in home. We rent a bedroom and bath on the first floor but don’t share the kitchen. No separate entrance. So it’s a fairly private but not separate space.
Rachael
We rent the downstairs but have a separate entrance and could go without seeing guests inside the residence. However, we have one HVAC unit that serves the whole space, which I expect you do as well. For that reason, whether we have gotten the vaccine or not, diligence will be our motto. We probably won’t open again until there’s a discussion about herd immunity being present, or we’ve actually gotten the virus and lived, or we completely separate the HVAC systems, which is unlikely for the latter. We didn’t rent because we need the money; it was nice to have and we’ve genuinely enjoyed the guests. If you are relying on the money then, that’s different.
That was a very helpful response. I think it makes a lot of sense to wait a while, even after we have the vaccines. We miss running our Airbnb, we love interacting with the people and the money goes towards our own vacations and household expenses. That said, we are getting unemployment insurance through the PUA.
I was ready to open post vaccine but am now eyeing the variants as well and anti vax sentiment warily. My space is separate with separate entrance. Things can change rapidly and with the kinds of bookings I get I can open for next week and have bookings. I don’t have to open way in advance so I can wait and see and turn on and off easily.
Are you one of those that thinks US is the whole world ? Just kidding.
Im host in Europe and my calander is open but very few bookings so im not optimistic for this year.
What’s your issue, its fairly obvious that you weren’t “kidding”…
The OP asked a question, that to her is important. That’s what this forum is about, trying to answer questions from hosts without the snippy anti US shit.
JF
Hosting in Europe also
I forgot to mention that I’m in the US, Massachusetts. I think that some hosts in other countries have similar quandaries. But even in the US, the situation is different in different places. Our virus numbers are high and the availability of the vaccine is low, but that is starting to change, thank goodness.
My New Zealand friend doesn’t have any idea when vaccines will arrive there. But then again they locked down early and stayed that way until it was under control.
We’ve also been closed since last March. We homeshare. We’re not sure whether we’ll ever reopen. If so, it’s likely to be months from now, when questions are answered for certain about immunity, variants, how long the vaccines last, etc. There’s still far too much uncertainty, even among the best scientists.
And, if we do reopen, it’ll probably be just one of our guest rooms, not all three.
2 things.
I’m getting inquiries but no bookings yet for summer. I think guests are shopping rates. My area is heavily STR snd I am horrified at some of the crazy low rates for summer 2021.
I think we now have 3-5 COVID-19 variants. We don’t know yet if the vaccine is effective against any. At best the vaccine will lessen the severity of the variants. Chances are Covid-19 will continue to change.
I’m planning on opening as if the vaccine doesn’t exist. There are too many stating they will not get it and variants will continue.
My 87 yr old Dad was thrilled to get his 2nd vaccine and thought he could stop wearing a mask. He was not happy the variants means he must continue with precautions
I agree this is a strange response. I am in Canada and saw absolutely nothing in the post that suggested what you wrote.
We are all dealing with similar issues, and I think this is a great topic. The post about sharing HVAC with my downstairs suite made me think. It is totally separate and has a separate entrance - but the furnace is shared.
I am also in Massachusetts. We used to rent three rooms including our own bedroom during peak season. We have no central air so that is not an issue. We have no ensuites. One of our rooms and our TV and downstairs bath can be isolated. We made that available to a handful of repeat guests. One took advantage of that twice with a negative COVID test before arriving from out of state. My adult daughter moved home taking one room out of service. We will probably never rent our room again. That leaves us with the one room which we have opened as of July to accommodate the Brimfield Antique Show (if it takes place). My husband and I are in risk groups but should have our two shots completed by April. We are toying with opening the one room in May. We are following both Airbnb guidelines and Massachusetts restrictions. Our one guest last year came with his negative COVID test and was very careful. Much of our business comes from college activity which is very limited so demand will probably be depressed.
We never shut down . One rental is a totally separated space with separate everything including HVAC, entrance, kitchen etc. The other is a fully separate house. Prices and demand are suddenly up but bookings come in more last minute than before . Aside from may my full property is sold out till mid August already. I am very recently seeing long away bookings returning. I had an inquiry for feb 2022 and I have an October 2021 booking on the calendar so people are beginning to look future forward again to planning ahead.
Get a high MERVs grade filter that can filter out bacteria/viruses. It should help
IF your unit’s fan motor(s) will still work with a more restrictive filter instead of overloading and burning out…
Just got my second Pfizer vax shot yesterday. My arm is less sore than the first time. No other symptoms. I’ve talked to my doc and will get an antibody test after 3 more weeks, when I’m due for my quarterly blood work.
Fair statement. Most are fine with up to 13 MERV which will filter out viruses
I think it depends on where you are. We shut down for six months in a small country town in Australia. There have been no local cases for 10 months here. We used the time to renovate, double the price and do a two day minimum, plus added air conditioning. Australia has been pretty good compared to the rest of the world but we are still wary.