There is no doubt about the fact that COVID has taken a major toll on what we’ve always perceived to be a normal lifestyle. The travelling industry was one of the first ones to take an immense hit, with flights being canceled all over the world and hotels having to shut down because of the lack of tourists. For car travels within a country’s borders, AirBnbs seems to be the wisest solution, especially because they restrict your contact with other people (like tourists or hotel staff) to a great extent. But are AirBnbs safer and cleaner than hotels? Let’s find out!
COVID Hotel Cleaning Guidelines
Safe Stay is a set of guidelines that the American Hotel & Lodging Association launched back in April 2020, in an attempt to make hotels as safe as possible for people lodging on the premises. The guidelines include rules such as:
- Making sure that all hotel staff follows the CDC guidelines for their safety and the safety of the guests, wearing face masks at all times, making sure they keep a six-feet distance, using soap and hand sanitizer for their hands whenever needed.
- Face masks became mandatory in all indoor public spaces, especially lobbies and elevators. This measure applied to both guests and hotel staff.
- Hotels were required to post signage featuring guidance signs approved by the CDC and local health authorities in areas such as lobbies and receptions, as well as in employee break rooms.
- Hotels were required to make sure that all the restrooms have soap and hand sanitizer dispensers in areas of interest throughout the premises, such as reception areas, lobbies, and entrances.
- In case any hotel staff member got sick, they are required to stay at home and local authorities should be notified about the situation.
- The guidelines included a list of disinfecting and cleaning procedures that hotel staff members have to carefully follow. Surfaces that were frequently touched in public areas required disinfecting at least once per day, including elevator buttons, seating, vending machines, and door handles. Surfaces in the guest room also needed regular cleaning and disinfecting, from light switches to remote controls.
- All laundry should be cleaned at the highest temperatures possible and shaking them should be avoided to prevent spreading germs through the air.
- Housekeeping and all other hotel staff should not enter rooms without the explicit permission of the guests.
- If a hotel guest has been diagnosed with COVID, the room should be under quarantine for at least 24 hours and undergo strict cleaning procedures prior to the check-in of another guest.
- Some of the changes implemented by hotels were aimed at encouraging physical distancing and include: avoiding contact upon room service deliveries, making sure that buffet service undergo more rigorous cleaning procedures, using floor markers to indicate the requires six-feet distance between guests, and reorganizing furniture in public areas in the hotel to encourage social distancing when seated.
COVID Enhanced Clean for AirBnbs
The popular platform gives homeowners a chance to list their properties for those interested in lodging has developed a new protocol for hosts back in June 2020. The protocol was developed while working with help experts and implies a five-step process that refers to the cleaning procedures that hosts have to follow once old guests leave and before new guests arrive. The steps are as follows:
- AirBnb hosts are now required to have a generous array of cleaning supplies and prepare for the cleaning procedure by washing their hands with soap and water for 20 seconds. While cleaning, hosts are required to wear masks and keep doors and windows open for the space to be properly ventilated. It is important to increase circulation inside the lodging space and prevent infecting the place in case the host carries the virus.
- Carefully cleaning dust and debris is important, and part of it requires washing all the dishes and linens using high-temperature water. Much like in the case of hotels, AirBnb hosts should also avoid shaking linens to avoid potential germ spreading through the air. All hard surfaces need to be wiped and floors need to be mopped.
- Step number three requires hosts to use disinfectant on all the areas that are frequently touched, like door handles and light switches. It is also recommended to sanitize floors and electronics, especially if they have been touched by soiled linens.
- Room-by-room checklists are required so that hosts can make sure they have thoroughly cleaned each of the rooms and that every surface has been properly sanitized.
- The last step allows the host to prepare the room for the upcoming guests by getting rid of disposable cleaning supplies, washing the ones that can be reused, as well as emptying and sanitizing the vacuum cleaner. When the entire procedure is over, hosts can proceed to washing their hands as recommended.
Two things are important to mention here. First of all, if you want to make sure that you’re staying in a place that follows the Enhanced Clean, look for the badge that’s located somewhere in the listing. Homes and rooms that have this in their listing have owners that have read the AirBnb cleaning book, passed a short quiz, and committed to the five-step process. When hosts have received a four-star cleanliness rating or higher, it shows up on the room’s profile.
Second, there is a new AirBnb feature called “booking buffer”, which basically means that the host in question leaves 72-hour buffers between stays. The first 24 hours are dedicated to waiting for the host to enter the space after the guests have left, the next 24 hours are dedicated to the actual cleaning process, and the last 24 hours are designed as an additional buffer between the departure of the host and the arrival of the new guests.
Which Is Safer?
When analyzing this entire pandemic context, there is one opinion that we trust above all others: that of the CDC. Working together with doctors all across the world, the CDC has given constant updates and advice that reached the broad population, where people were being told what to do to stay as safe from the virus as possible.
Upon a first-look analysis, one would think that hotels provide a higher risk of contracting the virus simply because you will come in contact with more people, as opposed to AirBnbs which have implemented self-check-in policies that allow you to grab that key, enjoy your stay, and leave the key where you found it, without actually having to meet the owner of the place.
Another safety concern when visiting a hotel or an AirBnb are the pools, so you have to do your best to avoid crowded places, as the water itself is not the problem here. If you stay at an AirBnb, you have greater odds of having access at a private pool. In terms of dining, those that opt for hotels are safer if they choose to order no-contact room service, while those opting for AirBnb will have the entire kitchen at their disposal and can cook their own meals safely.
Conclusion
Instead of wondering which of these two lodging options is safer, your main focus should be limiting contact with other people as much as possible. If you opt for a hotel that has few to no other guests, the odds of getting infected with COVID are pretty low, as long as you make sure you disinfect your hands and be really careful with the surfaces you touch overall.
However, experts consider that staying at an AirBnb is safer compared to a hotel because it limits the contacts between people to a greater extent. But regardless of the cleaning measure taken by both hotels and AirBnbs, doctor suggest carefully evaluating the risk vs reward scenario, trying to stay at home as much as possible or, in case travel is needed, making sure that you limit contact with other people, keep your distance, wear a mask, and disinfect your hands at all times.
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