COVID-19 shut down South Florida’s Airbnbs. Pinched hosts are trying to stay afloat
The weather has been postcard-perfect in South Florida the past few months; and yet, Paola Ugolini’s poolside cottage has been strangely vacant since the first week of March.
Ugolini rents the cottage in her Biscayne Park backyard through Airbnb, and has hosted close to 450 guests from 30 countries since joining the home-sharing platform in 2014. Her cottage, known for its tropical art and quaint homey touches, is one of the top wish-listed Florida properties, according to Airbnb.
She typically rents it for $100 per night and relies on that income to subsidize her private Italian catering business. But these days, the short-term vacation rental market is reeling from the COVID-19-related tourism halt, and Ugolini is in a pinch.
Her last guests were a German couple and their two young children, who arrived in late February and cut their vacation short because they were afraid of getting stuck here due to virus-driven travel restrictions. Her cottage had been booked for all of March, April and some of May. Every reservation was canceled.
“I had March and April with nobody, and now May, too,” said Ugolini. “I am getting a few requests for the end of May, but some people book and then cancel. People want to get out, but then they’re not convinced it’s safe.”
South Florida Airbnb hosts have been particularly hard-hit. According to a 2019 study by financial advisory firm IPX 1031, Miami Beach is the per capita leader of Airbnb in the entire United States, with 3,416 listings per 50,000 people. Miami was No. 6 with 1,034 listings, Fort Lauderdale ranked No. 8 with 1,016 and Hollywood was No. 10 with 984. This, even though Airbnb and other short-term rentals are illegal in many parts of the area.
Florida had seven of the top 10 cities in the study.
“We’ve tried to be as accommodating as possible to the guests, but on the host side, there’s a pinch being felt because a lot of these folks rely on this income to pay their mortgage and everyday expenses,” said Tom Martinelli, Policy Director for Airbnb. “They’re not exempt from these difficulties. That’s the hardest part for us, to make sure our community can stay afloat.”
While Airbnb touts the benefits to locals like Ugolini who rent out unused spaces for supplemental income, the bulk of Airbnbs in Miami-Dade County — 75 percent — are entire homes or apartments. Many of those are run by entrepreneurs who focus solely on vacation rentals,
Airbnb offers aid to hosts
Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky announced last month that the company was offering guests full refunds or travel credits for any pre-lockdown bookings made for stays through May 31. To help hosts cover their lost income, Airbnb set up a $250 million fund to compensate hosts for 25 percent of what they would normally receive through the cancellation process.
They also created a $17 million Superhost Relief Fund, where highly rated hosts such as Ugolini can apply for grants up to $5,000. She had not yet applied but said she is looking into it.
“Airbnb, yes, helped us a little bit giving us 25 percent of the cancellation money for March and April, but that represents just a little of what we lost considering we still are empty in May and maybe June,” Ugolini said. “Then you read that they are laying off 2,000 people, so they are not in a very good condition right now, either.”
Martinelli said the Airbnb host community in Florida is being impacted disproportionately to hotels because while some hotels have been reopening around the state, there is a state order that says short-term (under 30 days) vacation rentals must stay shut down. Governor Ron DeSantis has defended his temporary order on vacation rentals, saying in news conferences that it is meant to keep New Yorkers and other out-of-state travelers from fleeing harder-hit areas and spreading the coronavirus in Florida.
While some hotels elsewhere in Florida are opening this weekend, those in South Florida aren’t expected to open before mid- to- late June. There’s no word yet on when short-term home-sharing rentals might be allowed to reopen.
Long-term rentals are allowed, so Airbnb has encouraged hosts who can to open their properties for stays of longer than 30 days.
“The governor has singled out vacation rentals, and we would like to see that changed,” Martinelli said. He pointed out that shared homes offer more social distancing than hotels, as there are no other guests, no common areas, and no housekeepers entering the room daily.
New cleaning protocols in place
This month, Airbnb began a new cleaning protocol for all hosts, including using personal protective equipment, special disinfectants and a 24-hour waiting period between guests’ check-outs and check-ins.
“You have inherent social distancing at a vacation rental rather that going in elevators, lobby and common areas in a hotel,” he said. “We want to do things the right way, but our host community is being severely impacted and if there’s a responsible way to reopen the vacation rental market, there is no better accommodation to check both boxes — hygiene and social distancing.
“We understand this is not a time for advocacy, but as things begin opening up, we’d love to be at the table and considered as a responsible method of lodging.”
Frontline workers get free rooms
In the meantime, more than 100,000 Airbnb hosts worldwide are participating in the Frontline Stays program, which offers free and discounted lodging for frontline responders who qualify.
On May 4, Airbnb announced a special Frontline Stays partnership with Jackson Health System in Miami, which is offering $250,000 worth of free bookings for Jackson Hospital employees who need refuge. Miami commissioner Ken Russell helped organize the effort. The frontline workers will be housed at the Domio Wynwood, a condo-hotel that offered Airbnb its 175 units at cost.
“Whether you’re a doctor at Jackson or part of the custodial team, you’re going to be exposed to this, and if you have someone sick at home, we can help by offering these rooms,” said Martinelli. “So far, the response has been very positive.”
Jenita Murat, a 40-year-old nurse in the Critical Care Unit at Jackson, is among the medical professionals taking advantage of the Frontline Stays program. She works the 7 am. to 7 p.m. shift three days a week, and was worried about going home to Aventura and infecting her oldest daughter, Jania, who has sickle cell anemia.
“It’s a blessing because it limits me from contaminating my family when I go home from work,” Murat said. “My daughter has a pre-existing condition and she didn’t feel ok with me coming home. I didn’t want to keep going to my Mom’s house because she is of age, and I didn’t want to expose her.
“With the Airbnb, I have the option when I get off work and I go there, shower, make something to eat. I stay there and go back to work the next day.”
She said it is extra important to feel safe and sleep well during these times.
“It is very stressful knowing that the patients are COVID-positive and one little mistake could cause you to be contaminated,” she said.
Once lockdowns begin to lift, Airbnb expects to first revive its business with domestic lodgers — especially city dwellers — who want to travel somewhere nearby for vacation. People have been pent up in their homes for months and may view home-shares as a safe option.
Ugolini said in recent days she got requests for dates in late May. A few were from locals who want to get out of their houses. A few others came from people who want to flee the New York City area.
“I hope they don’t cancel because I really miss having guests,” she said. “I will make them chocolate cake and Cappuccino, and they can relax in a tropical garden and swim in the pool. I do believe people will travel again, just not sure when.”
This story was originally published May 13, 2020 at 6:00 AM.