Enjoying a safe and relaxing festive season and summer

As communities begin to reopen for travel , Airbnb is reminding all Hosts of the importance of prioritising safety this summer so that they, their guests, and neighbours can enjoy a relaxing time.

Australia is renowned for its stunning summers, world-famous beaches and outdoor lifestyle. It’s critically important, however, that everyone keeps safety front of mind when enjoying all that Australia has to offer.

Water safety

A quick dip in the pool is the perfect way to cool down on a hot summer’s day. But it’s important to keep in mind some key safety tips when doing so.

Kidsafe has provided some top tips for pool safety for Hosts and their guests. 

They include:

• Children need to be actively supervised by an adult at all times when in or around the pool/spa. For toddlers, this means having an adult within arm’s reach at all times.
• All gates and doors that lead into the pool area must be self-closing and self-latching.
• The pool gate should never be propped open.
• Make sure your safety barrier is free of gaps, holes, or spaces that a child could try to get through.
• Make sure the area surrounding your pool barrier is free of climbable objects (e.g. BBQs, tree stumps, chairs etc.).

Surf Life Saving Australia has provided some top tips for staying safe while beach swimming on Australia’s world-class coastlines.

They include:

• Swim between the red and yellow flags
• Read the safety signs
• Ask a lifeguard for safety advice
• Supervise children around water
• Wear a lifejacket when boating, rock fishing or on watercraft

Fire safety

As the weather continues to warm up, Hosts are again advised to make available in their listing an up-to-date and easily accessible emergency plan, as well as ensure an appropriate number of smoke alarms are installed.

Hosts should also ensure they continue to check their local government and fire service websites for up-to-date information regarding fire bans, local Fire Danger Ratings and other alerts – and encourage their guests to do the same.

State-specific fire safety information can be found here:

• ACT
• Northern Territory
• NSW
• Queensland
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Victoria
• Western Australia

Respecting neighbours

When enjoying the festive season, it’s really important that Hosts and guests do their part to help ensure each stay is also a positive experience for neighbours.

Airbnb’s community standards require everyone to behave in a manner that is respectful of the neighbourhoods in which they’re staying, as well as the wider community.

Hosts and guests are reminded that Airbnb has banned parties globally and continues to enforce this policy. Hosts are also strongly encouraged to ask appropriate screening questions of guests and actively reinforce Airbnb’s policies and community standards.

Every booking is also covered by Airbnb’s Host Guarantee and Host Protection Insurance, in line with our policies.

Hosts are also strongly urged to be particularly vigilant when screening bookings for dates coinciding with School Leavers (or “Schoolies”) celebrations . Many destinations may see an increase in bookings over the following dates.

2021 Schoolies Dates

Week 1 (20 – 27 Nov) – QLD Schoolies

Week 2 (27 Nov – 5 Dec) – NSW & VIC Schoolies

Week 3 (4 Dec – 11 Dec) – NSW & VIC Schoolies 

Additionally, members of the community are actively encouraged to flag any issue or concern at any time for our team to investigate via our online Neighbourhood Support Page. The Airbnb app also has a feature that allows guests to make emergency calls to police via the app.

Hosts and guests are also strongly encouraged to visit, and continue monitoring, Airbnb’s COVID-19 travel restrictions and advisories page.

With our flexible cancellation policy search filter, guests search for listings that offer free cancellation until 24 hours or 5 days before check-in, avoiding any strict cancellation policy listings from their search results entirely. Guests can view the cancellation policy selected by their Host prior to booking.

COVID Safety and our Enhanced Cleaning Protocol

Airbnb’s enhanced cleaning protocol—the first overarching standardised guidelines for cleaning and sanitation in the home sharing industry—is now available to support Hosts and governments as communities reopen for travel.

The 5-step cleaning process is a set of cleaning practices that all Hosts are required to follow between guest stays, in addition to following their local laws and guidelines.