US: Airbnb has officially released its 38-page handbook advising hosts how to specifically clean and sanitise their properties, as part of the company’s Enhanced Cleaning Protocol initiatives, which launched in April.
According to the Airbnb website, the new handbook will provide hosts with “guidance on the use of personal protective equipment [PPE], how to clean every room in a home, what to sanitise and what supplies to have on hand”, as well as recommending that they “comply with guidance from governments or health authorities in their local jurisdictions”.
Hosts will have to enrol for certification to take part in the initiative as well as abide by the recommended health and safety measures laid out in the handbook. They will be required to wear PPE when cleaning between each guest stay and to use disinfectants approved by “regulatory authorities”.
Airbnb’s Enhanced Cleaning Protocol initiatives was developed to help limit the spread of the coronavirus, which has led to more than nine million infections worldwide thus far.
They were rolled out off the back of guidance from former U.S. Surgeon General Doctor Vivek Murthy, as well as the health standards published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is in partnership with EcoLab, a global provider of cleaning and hygiene technologies and service.
The first of the two initiatives is a booking buffer tool which would automatically block out reservations between stays during a pre-established period of up to 72 hours, when only cleaning could take place. The tool would specifically target hosts who do not necessarily have the means or resources to undertake Airbnb’s other more stringent cleaning protocol plan, which would involve a certification process as well.
For the second initiative, the cleaning protocol pr0gram, hosts would be required to block reservations over a 24-hour period between stays, unlike the booking buffer tool which pre-establishes a gap of 72 hours between stays. Furthermore, the cleaning protocol program would involve hosts cleaning every room within their property in line with guidelines and procedures set out by Airbnb.
