COVID-19 momentarily brought tourism to a standstill, especially in its initial stages. The viral disease spreads in many ways, including through contact, bodily fluids and droplets. While every person must take precautions at an individual level to decrease or prevent the spread of COVID-19, service providers can also participate in this fight. As an Airbnb owner, you might think that your business must come to a stop until the pandemic ends. While this is wise, it might not be practical given that we do not know when an effective vaccine will be found. Instead, you can make a point of providing safe and conducive accommodation services that will keep your visitors healthy and happy. Here are three ways you can make your Airbnb safe during the pandemic.

1. General Hygiene

To make your customers feel comfortable and safe on your premises during this time, you must ensure thorough general cleaning. While this should be the case always, you might have to go an extra notch for the best results. For example, you may have to increase the cleaning frequency from once, to twice or thrice a day. You may also have to strengthen your cleaning products from general detergents to those with germ-killing properties. Ensure you give special attention to the kitchen area since this is where most surface-mouth contact occurs. Make sure to extend this to the external parts of the home. Clear overgrown weeds and have a central point of garbage disposal.

2. Running Water and Proper Drainage

One of the main ways of avoiding the spread of COVID-19 is by practising constant hand washing. The World Health Organization (WHO) advises us to wash our hands each time we touch surfaces, objects, or anything else in the outside world. You should, therefore, make sure your Airbnb has running water throughout so that your guests can sanitise their hands and bodies whenever they need. Running water is also critical in the washrooms to ensure proper hygiene. With running water, comes the need for ample drainage, therefore make sure that the used water runs out smoothly without any blockages and stagnation. Stagnant water aids the spread of COVID-19. It also can lead to the spread of other diseases and infections, including Malaria and athlete’s foot. 

3. Provide Sanitisers and Sanitising Points

Unlike the first few weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak, sanitisers are now available and affordable. They are also necessary for effective prevention of the disease spread. You can provide small hand sanitisers as courtesy gifts for your guests, which they can use and carry with them throughout their stay. You can also put up a sanitising point at the entrance of the house so that guests will remember to wash up before getting into the house. Doing so will not only be convenient for the visitors, but it will help them develop the habit even when they go back home.