Health and safety guidelines for hosting Experiences in reopened regions

As the world reopens and Experiences resume after COVID-19 closures, it’s important for us all to act responsibly to help protect each other’s health and safety. With that in mind, we’ve created a set of COVID-19 health and safety guidelines for Hosts of Airbnb Experiences, based on guidance from experts such as the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• Wear a mask and practice social distancing when required by local laws or guidelines.
• Limit your Experience to a maximum of 10 participants, including any Hosts or Co-Hosts.
• Follow Airbnb’s cleaning guidelines to clean your space and any equipment during your Experience and between each Experience instance. Learn more.

Airbnb has introduced guidelines and programs to help address health and safety concerns, but these measures cannot eliminate all risk. Especially if you are in a higher risk category (ex: people above the age of 65 or people with pre-existing medical conditions such as diabetes or heart disease), we recommend obtaining professional guidance and taking extra precautions when you are making the decision to host an Experience on Airbnb.

To help protect the health and safety of our community, it is Airbnb’s policy that Hosts (and Co-Hosts) should not host or participate in any upcoming Experience instances, and guests should not attend an Experience, if any of the following are true:

• You are actively infected or have tested positive with COVID-19 in the past 14 days
• You suspect you are sick or have been exposed and are awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test
• You are showing symptoms or are concerned about possible infection of COVID-19
• You’ve had close, sustained contact with an individual confirmed or suspected to be infected with COVID-19, within the last 14 days

To comply with health and safety guidelines, you may need to adapt both your Experience and your space.

Here are some things to consider:

• Physical contact: Change your activity to avoid physical contact among guests and between Host and guests.
• Hygiene: Provide opportunities for guests to wash their hands during the Experience, and bring extra hand sanitizer. Sanitize equipment between guests (kitchen tools, life vests, chairs, etc), both during and between Experience instances.
• Location:
  • For indoor Experiences, consider limiting the areas a guest can enter your home to only the necessary spaces. This can help avoid unnecessary exposure for you and your guests and decrease the amount of space you need to clean and sanitize afterwards.
  • Consider moving your Experience to an outdoor space, or changing your meeting location and the venues you visit in order to avoid crowds. Think about transit options and how to avoid peak times or traveling in close contact with your guests.
  • If you plan to visit public spaces (e.g. monuments, parks, city center, etc.), be sure to check local advisories and public health recommendations both when you receive bookings and before you host to ensure that you’re compliant. Some venues now have requirements for entry and may ask to see proof of vaccination. Additionally, we recommend keeping guests moving rather than being sedentary.
• Food and drink:
  • If your Experience involves eating or drinking, ensure that participants practice social distancing when consuming the food or drink.
  • Whenever possible, guests should consume food/drinks outdoors or through take-home options.
  • Avoid offering any self-serve food or drink options. Opt for individual, plated services instead of family-style dining and buffets.
  • Use disposable food service items including utensils and dishes. If disposable items are not feasible, ensure that all non-disposable food service items are handled with gloves and washed with dish soap and hot water or in a dishwasher.
• Ventilation: When hosting indoors, ensure that ventilation systems operate properly and increase circulation of outdoor air as much as possible by opening windows and doors.

As you update your Experience page, keep in mind our Content Policy and the Coronavirus. You may say that you are taking extra precautions, but you cannot claim that your Experience is “COVID-free” or use similar language.

We’re also providing guidelines for guests taking Experiences. Guests are asked to follow local laws and guidelines, wash their hands, bring hand sanitizer, keep a safe physical distance from both you and other guests, and cancel and stay home if they feel ill. You may ask a guest to leave the Experience if they refuse to follow local laws or guidelines.

Please review the Guest Refund Policy as you prepare for hosting with our safety guidelines in place. Note that guests may receive refunds in accordance with the policy when Hosts don’t follow or enforce the safety guidelines with all guests.

If you recently tested positive for COVID-19 or have started to feel any COVID-19 symptoms, consider informing anyone who may have been impacted or potentially exposed, in addition to relevant local authorities.