Airbnb Enhanced Cleaning is now live, and it is designed to help you keep your vacation rental in tip-top shape. It is a five-step process that you can learn and follow to ensure that your property is clean and sanitized.
Airbnb has rolled out the program to 12 countries so far, and they plan to expand it soon. Hosts who learn about the five-step protocol and pass a quiz are able to commit to it and get a special cleaning highlight on their listing page, as well as display a “committed to clean” sign at their property.
Five-Step Process
Airbnb Enhanced Cleaning is a program that aims to make sure your vacation home is as clean and sanitized as possible in order to prevent the spread of germs. Hosts that agree to follow these standards will be given a special badge on their listing and preferential ranking.
Since June, Airbnb has approved nearly 1.5 million homes that have complied with its enhanced cleaning standards. According to the company, those homes have three times more bookings than those that do not.
It is crucial to get your property ready for guests by preparing all rooms before you begin the cleaning process. This will save you time, and it will also help prevent cross-contamination.
You should wash all linens, wipe down counter tops, mop floors, take out the trash and do the dishes. This will ensure that the surfaces you are cleaning are completely free of bacteria and germs.
After the cleaning is complete, you should leave behind any cleaners that you used in the home. This is to make sure that they can be reused by the next guest. You should also remove any garbage from the house before you start to sanitize it, as this is another common source of disease-causing organisms.
If you are using a professional cleaner, make sure that they are aware of these standards. You should share the 5-step process with them and other resources in the Resource Center, and be sure that they agree to abide by these standards on your behalf.
In addition to adherence to the five-step process, hosts are required to comply with local laws and guidelines related to cleaning. This includes a 24-hour vacancy period between stays and adhering to cleaning policies set by authorities.
Whether you are a guest looking for a new place to stay, or an owner interested in offering your property as a rental, cleanliness is more important than ever. The new COVID-19 rules have created more of a demand than ever for clean and sanitized properties, so it is up to you to do everything you can to keep your vacation home as clean as possible.
Room-By-Room Checklists
If you’re managing a short-term rental, you’ll need to create cleaning checklists that your cleaner can use for each of your guests. This will help ensure that you don’t miss any important details while cleaning your property.
Airbnb has recently announced enhanced cleaning guidelines for its hosts in twelve countries, including the US. The company has collaborated with health and hospitality experts to develop these standards, which include a five-step process and room-by-room checklists.
To comply with the new standards, Airbnb hosts need to take a quiz and agree to follow the guidelines in order to display an Enhanced Cleaning Protocol badge on their listings. In addition, they must also download a 38-page handbook that provides details on how to clean and sanitize rooms.
The handbook is part of Airbnb’s Enhanced Cleaning Protocol, which was developed in collaboration with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and former Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, as well as other health and hospitality experts.
Hosts should use head-to-toe personal protective equipment when sanitizing their homes. They should also rewash all dishes and shower curtains after every stay, and spray high-touch surfaces with disinfectant when necessary.
According to the handbook, hosts should also wash their hands for at least 20 seconds before preparing food or using any bathroom supplies. Moreover, they should be sure to wipe down high-traffic areas like kitchen counters and doors before guests arrive and leave the home.
In addition, host should set out cleaning supplies such as hand sanitizer, disposable paper towels, disinfectant spray or wipes, and extra hand soap for guests to use during their stays.
As a result, your home will be more hygienic and inviting to your guests. Additionally, it will boost your ratings on Airbnb if you are able to deliver the best possible cleanliness.
The most used rooms in your vacation home are the living room and kitchen. This will most likely be the dirtiest area in your house, so it is important to keep them clean. It is also advisable to set up a cleaning protocol for your living room so that your guests can easily request you for a quick cleaning.
EPA-Approved Disinfectants
Airbnb has partnered with RB, the makers of Lysol, to provide hosts a simple, effective solution to meeting Airbnb’s new Enhanced Cleaning Protocols. This partnership allows hosts to purchase RB disinfection product bundles in more than 20 countries, with plans to expand to 40 markets by the end of 2020.
EPA-approved disinfectants are critical for keeping homes clean and safe between guests. EPA-registered disinfectants are proven to kill viruses and bacteria on surfaces, but only when the products are applied according to their instructions. Read the label carefully, and make sure you allow the disinfectant to remain wet for enough time.
To help protect against COVID-19, Airbnb rolled out a five-step enhanced cleaning process based on CDC guidance and insights from sanitization experts. This process provides assurance to hosts and guests that their homes are clean, and supports local governments’ efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19 in hotels and Airbnb listings.
After a host completes a quick quiz, a star will appear on the home’s listing page certifying that the host is adhering to a rigorous cleaning protocol developed with health and hospitality experts. These guidelines also include a 24-hour waiting period between stays to minimize airborne pathogens in the space and ensure a safe environment for guests and cleaning staff.
Hosts and their teams will follow a set of health and safety measures, including wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) and practicing social distancing, while following a five-step enhanced cleaning process. These practices are designed to give hosts and their guests assurance of a clean, safe space and support local governments’ efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
The key is to use EPA-approved disinfectants in conjunction with good hygiene practices and preventative maintenance, such as regularly cleaning bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms and other high-touch areas of the property. These disinfectants are formulated to kill viruses and bacteria on hard and soft surfaces.
Before applying the disinfectant, be sure to remove any food or other odors from surfaces. Then, spray the disinfectant on the surface and allow it to sit for the recommended amount of time before allowing it to air-dry.
24-Hour Waiting Period
In response to the coronavirus outbreak, Airbnb is requiring all hosts to follow an enhanced cleaning protocol. Hosts who have committed to this program can earn a special badge and preferential ranking on their listings. They’ll also get a “committed to clean” sign to display on their property, as well as an open-book quiz about the steps in the protocol.
Earlier this year, the company announced the Enhanced Cleaning Initiative, which includes reinforced cleaning procedures and sanitization protocols developed in partnership with experts in hospitality and medical hygiene. Since its launch, nearly 1.5 million Airbnb listings have enrolled in the program.
The program is currently available to hosts in 12 countries, with more locations on the way shortly. It contains a five-step cleaning process, room-by-room checklists and other tools that help hosts follow strict guidelines.
For the first time, a standardized cleaning protocol has been implemented across Airbnb’s home-sharing platform. The company partnered with leading experts like former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and hospitality and medical hygiene sector companies such as Ecolab to develop the new cleaning standards.
Specifically, the protocol requires hosts to use personal protective equipment like masks and gloves for their hosts or their cleaners and disinfectants approved by regulatory authorities. It also requires a 24-hour wait period between renting properties as a precaution to address the possibility of particles that may remain airborne for a few hours after guests or hosts leave.
Although the risks in travel can never be fully eliminated and the science is still evolving, Airbnb believes this initiative is important to reassure guests and show local governments and health officials that they take cleanliness and safety seriously. In addition, it will enable hosts to show potential guests that their properties meet higher cleaning standards and are more socially distanced.
To enroll in the Enhanced Cleaning Initiative, hosts must commit to these cleaning procedures and take additional training to learn about specific COVID-19 prevention methods. They’ll then be able to add a COVID-19 Safety Highlight to their listings.
The Enhanced Cleaning Initiative is being introduced in response to the recent coronavirus pandemic, which has resulted in hotel bookings dropping and occupancy levels falling. While hotels have reopened in some areas, the threat of COVID-19 has remained. During the pandemic, Airbnb has taken many measures to reassure both travelers and locals, including announcing plans to introduce its own COVID-19-specific safety policies for in-person Experiences in countries where these activities have reopened.