8 Lessons for Safely Staying in a Rental This Summer
Plus Some Tips for Rooming in an AirBnB
Ready to brave the road and take a trip. You’ll still need a place to stay safely during your journey.
Lesson 1 – Rental homes are preferable to hotels
- You’ll come into contact with fewer people
- You’ll have more control over how you interact with others.
Lesson 2 – If the sanitation and cleaning measures are not part of the listing.
Contact them before booking to understand what measures are being taken to ensure the safety of your stay.
Lesson 3 – Clean high touch surfaces frequently.
Unlike hotels, most rental properties are only providing cleaning services between visits. You will most likely need to self-clean the property as needed during your stay.
Lesson 4 – Bedding Arrangements
Does the host provide linens? If so are you comfortable using them?
If not, make sure there is a washer and dryer so you can wash them yourself or bring your own.
Lesson 5 – Renting with family and friends from different homes
Each household should try and quarantine themselves from exposure to others for the two weeks leading up to the trip.
Hopefully, each household can drive to the destination after quarantining so they are not exposed to others before arriving.
Lesson 6 – Find a rental where every household has their own dedicated bathroom and uses it exclusively.
In case someone starts to feel unwell during your vacation.
Lesson 7 – Rent extra space with spare bedrooms that have dedicated bathrooms.
So if a vacationer starts feeling unwell. You can effectively separate them from the rest of the group.
Lesson 8 – Try to quarantine from others for two weeks after you return in case you picked something up during the trip.
Especially if you vacation in an area with more cases than your home.
Tips for evaluating AirBnB Listings
AirBnB has put in place some voluntary initiatives to help guests assess potential rentals. Offering training to hosts on cleaning and sanitation practices based on guidance from the CDC and other medical experts as part of their Enhanced Cleaning Initiative.
The initiative also requires hosts to leave a 24-hour window between bookings to reduce the risk of airborne particles in rentals.
If a host does not want to complete the training. But, still wants to signal to guests they are taking precautions against the novel coronavirus.
They can participate in the booking buffer initiative. Committing to a 72-hour vacancy period between rentals.
Hosts are not required to participate in either to list their properties. Check the listing page to verify they are prior to renting.
Trust but verify when it comes to cleanliness upon arrival. Airbnb is not formally verifying its listings claiming compliance with the enhanced cleaning initiative for example.
- Does it look clean? (dust is a bad sign)
- Does it smell clean?
- Are their signs of good hygiene practices? Like bottles of soap and sanitizer being readily available.
Click here for more resources on safely coexisting with the novel coronavirus.
He's published three books. Most recently The World After Covid 19: Coexisting with the Novel Coronavirus.
His musings can be found at stevenlmiller.me. Subscribe to The Pompatus Times for updates.
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