Channel Partner Cleaning Protocols

Dear Partners,

As business returns and vacation rentals are on the forefront of travel coming back, our industry is being challenged with new cleaning standards and protocols that ensure the safety of our guests, staff, owners and communities. Each of our partner channels has introduced new guidelines and requirements.

Furthermore each channel has launched new opportunities to communicate with your guests prior to booking and you can now show directly on your properties’ listing the new measurements you are taking to provide a clean and safe environment. Showing this information prior to booking will help improve revenue and performance of your properties.

As these protocols change rapidly, we encourage you to bookmark this page, as it will be updated routinely as the pandemic develops.

In early June, we launched Airbnb’s enhanced cleaning protocol to help hosts prepare for evolving guest needs during COVID-19 and beyond. We started with hosts in the U.S. and rolled out access to other countries and regions shortly after.

The way we travel is different now, and guests are expecting a higher standard of cleanliness more than ever. In a recent survey by Airbnb, guests said that concerns about cleanliness were the biggest barrier to booking a place to stay. Government authorities are also looking at cleaning practices in the home sharing sector as they create guidelines to reopen and protect their communities.

Many of you have told us you want more guidance from Airbnb around how to meet these new expectations, and how to help protect yourselves, your loved ones, and your guests. So we’ve developed an enhanced cleaning protocol with clear step-by-step instructions to take the guesswork out of cleaning—and to help you reduce the chances of spreading disease—during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.

Expert-backed cleaning guidance

To create this new cleaning standard, we partnered with Ecolab, a global leader in cleaning and hygiene technologies. We also received guidance from Dr. Vivek Murthy, the former U.S. Surgeon General, and many of the guidelines were informed by recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Step-by-step checklists and education

In this guide, we’ll share the cleaning protocol with specific guidance on how to clean, what to sanitize, and what supplies to have on hand. We’ve broken the process down into five clear steps, so you’ll know exactly what to do and when to do it.

Prepare for safer cleaning
Clean dust and debris
Sanitize with disinfectant
Check your room-by-room checklists
Reset the room

You’ll find detailed instructions for each of the steps in the cleaning handbook along with cleaning checklists for every room in your space. We’ve also included COVID-19-specific recommendations, like how to help protect yourself while cleaning.

Please keep in mind that the cleaning guidelines may be updated over time as expert guidance evolves—Airbnb’s enhanced cleaning protocol is based on current scientific knowledge and prioritizes your health and well-being along with that of the overall community.

A new way to show guests you’re going the extra mile

We know that cleanliness is more important to guests than ever—and now you can show them it’s important to you too. We’re asking all hosts to read through an overview of the protocol and take a short quiz to show that they understand the guidelines. And eligible hosts who choose to commit to the cleaning protocol will get a special highlight on their listing page, so guests will know they’ve agreed to follow an enhanced cleaning routine. That may be just what guests need to feel comfortable booking your space.

We know these guidelines will add time to your cleaning routine. But by adopting the protocol, you’re taking important steps toward helping to protect yourself, your guests, and the entire Airbnb community. And to make things easier, we’ve summarized what you need to know right here in the Resource Center.

Resources available for download

Download the cleaning handbook (English; PDF)

Download the cleaning handbook (Spanish; PDF)

Download the cleaning checklist (PDF)

Additional Airbnb Resources

Getting started with Airbnb’s cleaning protocol

Airbnb’s 5-step cleaning process, explained

Stock up on these cleaning supplies

How to tell your guests about your new cleaning standards

Answering top questions about the new cleaning protocol

Before the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, few travellers gave a second thought to sleeping in a bed that hundreds of others had slept in. But now, what travellers touch and who they interact with is at the top of their list of concerns. It’s now critically important for you to build confidence and set expectations for guests around health and cleanliness so you can capture available demand.

Your goal is to make guests feel confident that their stay will be as safe, clean and comfortable as in their own home. Our goal is to make it easy for you to show guests all of the measures you’re taking to respond to the pandemic.

What guests are saying

Since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic, we’ve seen a dramatic uptick in the use of specific words used by guests when they ask questions about a property.

For example, the use of the words “clean” and “hygiene” have both increased by over 60%.

Showcase the measures you’re taking

To help you get the word out, we’ve created a simple and effective checklist in the extranet that highlights what you’re doing to make every guest’s stay safe:

Safety features and cleaning

If you offer hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes or follow specific local regulations, indicating these will help you inspire guest confidence.

Physical distancing

Highlight contactless check-in and check-out, cashless payment, or other ways that you’re helping guests maintain social distance.

Food safety

Point out changes in your operational practices that are designed to support food safety for in-room and public dining.

Let guests know about your efforts

Documenting the health and cleaning protocols that you follow at your property is an important start. You can amplify the actions you’re taking by communicating with guests at all the right touchpoints:

Create an empathetic message for guests that shows your action-oriented approach.
Reassure guests on arrival with printed signs or hygiene handouts that detail your attention to health and safety.
Do you provide disinfectant wipes or a hand-sanitizing station? Include images of these amenities or signs that you display in your property photos.
Stay up to date with Booking.com’s ongoing platform improvements around cleanliness.

How it works

Click on the “Update” button below and indicate which measures you’re currently taking.
Your commitment to cleanliness immediately displays on your property page in a specially designed box.
Ready to do more? Mark any additional measures you take as you add health and safety measures.

Additional Booking.com Resources

Keeping your property safe and clean

We know this is a difficult time and appreciate the efforts you are making to provide safe travel. Coping with the ongoing uncertainty can be difficult, and we are doing our best to keep you informed and share updates as they occur. Travellers planning their next trip have told us that a property’s cleaning and safety measures can give them more confidence to book. They also need to know what dining and activity options will be open at their destination.

You can provide information to potential travelers about the health and hygiene measures your property is taking against COVID-19. Information about your health and hygiene measures will display in the same section as your fees and policies on Expedia Group sites.

The details will be shown in the Information section of your properties’ listings:

Additional Expedia Resources

Expedia Group – Important information regarding coronavirus (COVID-19)

As the world reopens for travel, people will be more concerned than ever about the cleanliness of their vacation rentals. In an effort to help you anticipate and deliver the experience travelers need to feel safe while staying at your properties, we’ve compiled this list of comprehensive cleaning and disinfecting guidelines.

These guidelines were created in consultation with Expedia Group partner Cristal International Standards, part of Intertek Group, and with the Vacation Rental Management Association (VRMA). They’re based on publicly available information from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

We hope they help you identify opportunities to upgrade your standard cleaning protocols and empower you to reassure travelers of your commitment to their safety.

As the travel industry recovers from the effects of COVID-19, we’re rooting for your success. Thank you, as always, for your valued partnership.

General advice

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has created a need to take additional cleaning and disinfection measures to help prevent its spread and help ensure the safety of travelers and partners.

Partners are encouraged to:

Use accurate, reputable sources of information including the WHO, the CDC, and local authorities
Make sure to follow local regulations, where applicable
Have a proactive plan to manage and minimize the risks associated with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and similar events, such as a prevention of spread of infection plan
Implement an enhanced cleaning and disinfecting of the property between stays
If using an external or professional cleaning company, communicate expectations and plans for cleaning and disinfection standards, and get periodic confirmation that they are being followed by the company contracted
Communicate to travelers on measures implemented, both pre-stay and during stay, via listing content and property information booklet

Listing content

Partners should display cleaning policies and procedures via:

Structured amenities
Property description
Property information booklet
Any other means reasonably available — such as door hangers, signs, or checklists on display

Vrbo/Expedia Group will monitor this content and reserves the right to remove any information that it deems to be inaccurate based on traveler feedback and other sources of information, including but not limited to direct interaction with the partner.