In the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, Airbnb announced new enhanced cleaning standards for all hosts and guests. They are based on guidance from health experts and local government agencies.
These guidelines require scrubbing floors and surfaces with soap and water, disinfecting high-touch areas, washing linens on higher heats, and ventilating rooms. By 20 November, hosts must commit to implementing these safety practices.
Preparing for the Clean
A clean home is one of the best ways to set guests at ease. Airbnb’s Enhanced Cleaning initiative provides hosts and cleaning teams with everything they need to deep clean their listings, so that every guest can have a comfortable and safe stay.
To snag the Airbnb Enhanced Cleaning badge of honor, owners and their cleaning teams must pass a quiz and demonstrate that they have mastered the five-step process. They can also earn a special “committed to clean” sign on their listing page.
The five-step process involves scrubbing floors, disinfecting high touch surfaces, washing linens on higher heats, and ventilating rooms. It’s a grueling process, but it’s important for ensuring that your Airbnb is safe and sanitized.
Hosts can sign up for the program and learn more about it on the Airbnb website. Once they pass the test, they’ll receive a special cleaning icon and a badge of honor that’s pinned to their listing page.
Airbnb launched Enhanced Cleaning in April as part of its response to the coronavirus outbreak. Since then, nearly 1.5 million hosts have enrolled their listings in the program.
According to Airbnb, homes enrolled in the Enhanced Cleaning protocol are among the site’s most popular and experience three times more bookings on average than non-enrollments.
The cleaning guidelines are informed by standards developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a hygiene technology company called Ecolab, and former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, as well as other experts in the field.
By 20 November, all Airbnb hosts must log in to agree to the COVID-19 safety practices, including wearing masks and abide by a five-step enhanced cleaning process. Those who do not comply with these policies will be removed from the platform.
Cleaning
The Enhanced Cleaning Protocol is Airbnb’s first overarching standardized guidelines for cleaning and sanitization. They’re based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States and Europe, as well as advice from former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. They also include a new resource center for hosts in 12 countries that includes educational materials in their local languages.
When a host is committed to the Enhanced Cleaning Protocol, they’ll receive a special callout on their listing page. This will make it easier for guests to find and book those listings that are compliant with the new standards.
To enroll in Enhanced Cleaning, a host must go to their account and follow a set of instructions. They’ll be asked to enter their details, answer a quiz, and complete an attestation. If they pass the quiz, they’ll unlock their cleaning highlight, which is a symbol that can be added to the top of their listing page.
It’s important to remember that a clean property is one of the most important factors in a guest’s overall satisfaction. In fact, according to internal Airbnb data, Enhanced Cleaning compliant listings have 4.8 stars average cleanliness ratings and three times more bookings than non-enhanced compliant ones.
In addition to cleaning, hosts must adhere to stricter anti-party measures in their listings. This includes maintaining a 24-hour waiting period between stays, and limiting the number of guests. Additionally, hosts must wear masks and practice social distancing when interacting with guests. If a host violates these policies, they may be suspended or removed from the platform.
Sanitizing
Airbnb is a home-sharing platform that hosts can rent out to guests. It offers vacation rentals that range from private villas to entire houses. It allows people to book accommodations in a safe, familiar setting that is less intimidating than staying in an unfamiliar hotel.
Whether you’re a host or a guest, it is important to stay on top of your cleaning and sanitizing habits. The Enhanced Cleaning Protocol is a five-step process that includes strict preparations for safe cleaning (think: proper ventilation during cleanings, only using recommended cleaning supplies, etc.), sanitizing with the right disinfectant, adhering to room-by-room checklists, and resetting rooms for each guest, among other actions.
The Enhanced Cleaning program was created in collaboration with the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, and health and hospitality experts. It is the first overarching standardized guidelines for cleaning and sanitization in the home sharing industry.
Hosts can enroll their listings in the Enhanced Cleaning Program through their accounts. After they’ve read the guidelines, completed a quiz, and agreed to an attestation, their listing will populate with a special callout to let guests know that they are following these standards.
Since launching the program, Airbnb has enrolled 1.5 million listings in the program. Those listings have seen three times more bookings on average than non-enhanced compliant listings.
To help hosts comply with the Enhanced Cleaning Protocol, Airbnb has created a cleaning handbook that provides comprehensive cleaning and sanitizing checklists. It walks vacation rental owners through a thorough double-check of their home, allowing them to spot maintenance issues that can be addressed before they become problems for their guests.
Disinfecting
The disinfecting process with Airbnb Enhanced Cleaning involves using chemicals to reduce the number of germs and bacteria in the space. This is the most time-consuming part of the clean, but it’s necessary to protect against any germs that could come from a guest. For example, sanitizing doorknobs, light switches, cabinets, and other high-touch areas is essential to prevent a spread of disease.
To help vacation homeowners and their teams adhere to this standard, Airbnb introduced a new enhanced cleaning protocol in April. This set out five-step guidelines for scrubbing floors, disinfecting high touch surfaces, washing linens on higher heats, ventilating rooms, and resetting rooms for each new guest.
Hosts who abide by the new standards will be given a special “Enhanced Clean” designation on their listing. They can enroll their listings in the program by logging into their Airbnb accounts and reviewing the guidelines, taking a quiz, and agreeing to an attestation of their commitment to the enhanced cleaning protocols.
In addition, hosts will need to wear masks when interacting with guests and practice social distancing. This is to help suppress the spread of COVID-19.
When a host commits to the enhanced cleaning protocols, they will be given a highlight for their listing, which will show up at the top of their search results so guests know that they are committed to cleanliness and hygiene. They will also get a sticker to place in their rental that confirms they are ‘committed to clean’.
All Airbnb hosts who commit to the new Enhanced Cleaning Protocol will be provided with an online handbook with best practices, tips, and resources. The handbook, based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was developed with health and hospitality experts.
Restocking
If you are a host who follows Airbnb’s Enhanced Cleaning Protocol, you need to restock your cleaning supplies. These supplies can include everything from disinfectants to towels and linens. Keeping these supplies on hand is important for both your own and your guests’ health and safety.
Airbnb hosts who commit to the Enhanced Cleaning Protocol receive special badges on their listings. The badges are designed to educate and encourage hosts to follow the enhanced cleaning guidelines.
To earn a badge, you must pass a cleaning quiz on the Airbnb website. This is an open-book quiz, and you can take it as many times as necessary until you get the answer right.
Once you’ve passed the quiz, you will be given a special icon that appears on your listing page and a “committed to clean” sticker that you can display at your property. This shows visitors that you are committed to the enhanced cleaning process, and it can help improve your Airbnb’s rating and reviews.
Efficient Airbnb hosts know that running out of supplies can be a big pain, so they buy their cleaners all the products they need in bulk and set up recurring orders to have them shipped to them automatically. This way, they never run out of shampoo or toilet paper, which can lead to dissatisfied guests and negative reviews.
One of the best ways to automate this is by sharing your calendar with your cleaning team so they can keep tabs on when your rental needs to be cleaned. This saves time and hassle, and you’ll be able to focus on other aspects of your business.
Another way to automate this is to have a cleaning company restock your supplies for you. This can be expensive, so you’ll want to figure out a good system for buying all your products in bulk and having them shipped to you automatically.