Airbnb's Summer Of Responsible Travel

Airbnb's Summer Of Responsible Travel
Anne Marie
Anne Marie 
Updated
| 3 min read

For many of us, it has been a long year without travel while the pandemic raged around the world. Now that more and more people are getting vaccinated, tourist destinations are reopening to full capacity. Since summer is right around the corner, you may be itching to escape to a place that isn’t just another room in your house. Many travelers are still wondering how to safely and responsibly travel while the world is still rolling out vaccines. Fortunately, travel companies are implementing programs to ensure responsible travel and to help travelers feel safe when they go on vacation. If you’re interested in one of these programs, check out Airbnb’s Summer of Responsible Travel plan.

Airbnb launches Summer of Responsible Travel

Airbnb plus home
Source: Airbnb

The Summer of Responsible Travel is an eight-point plan that will help guests feel safe while traveling. Plus, it will also protect hosts and their surrounding communities. The plan’s key components are rules to prevent parties and large events, and a robust Community Support program that offers round-the-clock travel support. Since we are all eager to resume travel, programs like Airbnb’s Summer of Responsible Travel are designed to put public health first and promote responsible travel so we can start travelling again.

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Putting public health first

Airbnb plus home
Source: Airbnb

Since gatherings and other superspreader events could make it hard to contain the virus, Airbnb has imposed a global ban on parties for over a year now, and they are keeping it in place even as summer travel ramps up. One weekend they are particularly focused on is the 4th of July in the United States. To prevent parties from happening over the holiday weekend, Airbnb is preventing guests without a previous history of positive reviews from booking one-night reservations. They’re taking it a step further by restricting these guests from making last-minute reservations and blocking reservations within a certain radius. Fortunately, these restrictions don’t apply to guests with positive reviews or those who have already booked their one-night in advance.

Another new system that Airbnb has implemented was aimed to pinpoint noisy activities. This will be achieved by installing Minut noise detection devices in Superhosts’ vacation rentals. This technology records decibel levels in the home and alerts the host if guests are getting too loud. To protect guests’ privacy, the hosts must disclose that they have the Minut device in their rental and that the devices do not record conversations and just measure sound levels.

Protecting surrounding communities from superspreader events is also an important part of the Summer of Responsible Travel plan. Since 2019, Airbnb has a Neighborhood Support Line in place so that neighbors of an Airbnb rental can report issues, such as parties, to trained Airbnb agents. This helps prevent events from getting out of hand right away. Airbnb has just expanded the Neighborhood Support Line to include additional languages, which means all neighbors can easily report and communicate if there is an issue.

Last but not the least, Airbnb continues to enforce its stringent safety practices. All hosts and guests are required to remain committed to Airbnb’s Covid-19 Safety Practices, which include social distancing, wearing masks, and following the five-step cleaning protocol in between a stay.

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Expansion of community support team

Airbnb plus home
Source: Airbnb

Travelers can book an Airbnb rental knowing that they’ll have access to a 24/7 support team that can answer any of their questions or concerns. To upgrade this for travelers’ convenience and safety, Airbnb is increasing this support team by more than 50 percent around the globe so that everyone can experience the best possible customer service.

To make sure that travelers will follow their host’s guidelines, the Summer of Responsible Travel plan has amplified house rules. House rules are now visible on the main listing page, the booking confirmation page, and the confirmation email that are sent to guests after booking. These may include details about quiet hours, rules on smoking and pets, and occupancy limits. By making the house rules even more visible than before, Airbnb strives to ensure that guests know what is expected of them and that they are respectful of the property and neighbors during their stay.

Along with extra safety precautions because of the pandemic, we must remain alert about regular summer hazards. Airbnb hopes to prevent any mishaps by highlighting pool safety as one of the points of Summer of Responsible Travel. All hosts will receive guidance from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s “Pool Safely” campaign on how to properly fence and maintain any pools on site.

Unfortunately, one of the other hazards of summer is forest fires that plague much of the western US. Hosts in this area of the country will receive extra guidance on how to safely prepare their homes for potential fire danger and prepare guests for whatever may happen during their stay.

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Have fun while traveling safely with Airbnb

An Airbnb might be the perfect accommodation choice for your post-vaccine summer vacation. No matter where you are headed, vacation rentals are the perfect environment to reconnect with friends and family. The Summer of Responsible Travel calls upon Airbnb guests and hosts to be responsible during their visits and respect the property and communities around them. In return, guests can rest easy knowing their vacation rental has been fully cleaned and that the hosts follow all pool and fire safety precautions. The more responsible we are while traveling this summer, the closer we’ll be to returning to normal.

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Any must-sees we missed? Tell us about them in the comments section or write a post here to help out fellow travelers!
Disclosure: Trip101 selects the listings in our articles independently. Some of the listings in this article contain affiliate links.

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Anne-Marie, a publishing professional by day, harbors a fervent desire to explore the world whenever she can. Though she hasn't discovered the entire globe yet, her eagerness to learn and write...Read more

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