So you’ve decided that it’s time to travel. You’re ready to master the ins and outs of road trips or air travel during the pandemic (if you need some guidance about flying, check out my recent post). And you’ve decided to go for a short-term rental rather than a hotel stay. But how do you stay safe when checking into a private residence, when you can’t be sure what the owner does to keep the place safe and relatively germ-free?
One thing is certain: there are some people who prefer hotels, and some who prefer private rentals. I have several friends who ordinarily love hotels. But during the coronavirus pandemic, they’ve declared that whenever they do travel again — if there’s not a widely distributed vaccine yet — they’re going to opt for a short-term home rental, using a platform like Airbnb, VRBO or Homeaway.
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There are clearly advantages and disadvantages to both hotels and short-term private rentals, to be sure. So it’s a matter of personal choice, especially at a time like this. I’ve stayed in both hotels and Airbnb properties within the past month. I know what I like and don’t like about each concept and what I can do to feel safe in both environments.
To get a better understanding of the allure of rentals, I surveyed several of my friends and cohorts and asked this question: why choose a private residence with often-unclear sanitation practices when you can stay with a major hotel chain that trumpets its world-class cleaning, disinfecting and health protocol?
The answer came down to one simple reason: fewer people.
When you stay at a hotel, that property may have the world’s best cleaning routine. They may have the best-trained staff. But they also have hundreds or thousands of guests in the course of a month, or even a day. Those guests touch elevator buttons. They breathe in the lobby. They handle menus. In a short-term home rental, there are just a few players: the previous guest, perhaps, plus the cleaning person and maybe the person who lets you in. Most of those people are gone by the time you walk into the bedroom. (I’m not criticizing the extensive steps that hotels have taken to protect their guests and staff; I’ve stayed at hotels comfortably this year and will do so again.)
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Ideally, however, the advantage of a short-term private rental is that you just need to make one clean sweep through the rental property and then you’re set for the rest of your trip. Here are a few travel tips for staying safe with Airbnb, Homeaway and other short-term rentals:
- Research the property’s cleaning policy. Some provide information in their listing about their commitment to cleanliness and a touch-free check-in experience.
- Wear a mask and maintain social distancing if you need to meet someone in person to gain access to the rental.
- Wash your hands immediately upon entering.
- Use wipes to clean all “high-touch” surfaces — including door handles, light switches, the telephone, the TV remote control and the handles in the bathroom.
- Avoid letting other people into your residence during the course of your stay.
Nothing is absolutely foolproof when it comes to avoiding exposure to the coronavirus, unfortunately. But if you decide to travel during the pandemic, you can take every precaution available to protect yourself.