It must simultaneously work to instill confidence in guests that their stays will be safe while also trying not to overburden the millions of hosts who power its platform and have already been frustrated by recent company moves and are cash-strapped during the pandemic.
"Although risk in travel can never be fully eliminated in any kind of lodging, we designed our expert backed cleaning protocol to help provide more peace of mind to guests and hosts," an Airbnb spokesperson said in a statement provided to CNN Business. "Hotels have universal cleaning ingredients, training and even consistent rooms which enable very structured and consistent processes," said Sucharita Kodali, an analyst at research firm Forrester."Airbnb cannot maintain standards and it has no great way of auditing procedures in individual venues.
Cox's cleaning crews now do a deep clean after every stay, wiping down blinds and the top edges of doors. They have added a second or third person to help clean each rental and cleaning times have jumped from two hours to up to five. They're also swapping out pillows, comforters and other bedding after each guest.