Last Updated on October 2, 2019 by Lucienne
In 2014 Airbnb embarked on some safety initiatives to improve the safety of guests in our Airbnb listings. See full details here. One of these was to provide a free smoke and carbon monoxide alarm to each host listed on Airbnb.
This initiative started with hosts in the US and slowly moved across the globe. When I listed our Cosy Garden Cottage on Airbnb in 2015, the smoke and carbon monoxide alarm was not a mandatory requirement for my listing in Johannesburg.
Let me explain what I mean by ‘mandatory’. Having a smoke and carbon monoxide detector was not a requirement to achieve ‘Work Collection’ status for your listing. After a while the ‘Work Collection’ requirements changed and you could no longer have the status without having a smoke and carbon monoxide detector.
Airbnb Supplies Free Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector
Don’t panic! Airbnb provides a free smoke and carbon monoxide detector to every host with a listing on Airbnb. Yes! Even to hosts in South Africa! I got mine just last week.
I’ll be honest though…. it did take months to get here. I had actually forgotten that I applied for one so it was quite a surprise when it arrived.
How To Apply For A Free Smoke Detector
Unfortunately, the smoke and carbon monoxide detector is not just sent to you as a host, you need to place an order.
Apply for your free smoke detector from your Airbnb profile when you are logged in on a desktop or laptop computer (I have not found the option on the App yet). Navigate right down to the footer of the page and click on Trust & Safety under ‘Discover’.
Once you are on the Trust and Safety page navigate to the ‘Home Safety’ tab and scroll down to the ‘Get a free alarm’. Click on the ‘Get one for free’ button and fill in your shipping details. Done!
Benefits of a Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector
The most obvious benefit of installing a smoke and carbon monoxide detector is the additional safety for your guests. They will now have a warning should a fire break out in your space.
The second benefit to having a smoke and carbon monoxide detector is that your listing will now qualify for ‘Work Collection’ status. Why does work collection make a difference? Guests travelling for work have the option to turn on work collection as a requirement in their search. Only those listings that have achieved ‘Work Collection’ status will appear in their search results.
The more frequently your listing appears in search results, the more likely it is to get a booking.
Airbnb only provides one smoke and carbon monoxide detector per host
The hiccup in all of this is that Airbnb only provides one smoke and carbon monoxide detector per host. While this is fine for someone like me who has one property with one kitchen…. It is not going to help those hosts with several properties and several kitchens. Hosts with multiple listings will be expected to purchase their own smoke detectors for their additional listings.
When choosing a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm, look for one that has battery back-up and a test button. It will be important to test that the battery and alarm are both still working at regular intervals. Here are some of my picks from Amazon for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms:
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
South African regulations around smoke and carbon monoxide detection
The South African building code relating to the detection of smoke and carbon monoxide detection is SANS 10139, (Fire detection and alarm systems for buildings – System design, installation and servicing). Details of this code can be found from the SABS.
When making decisions around installing the correct smoke and carbon monoxide system it is always a good idea to consult a professional fire engineer. This will ensure that you are purchasing a reliable system and that it has been installed correctly.
I think this is a wonderful initiative from Airbnb. I hope that you will also get your smoke and carbon monoxide alarm and achieve Work Collection status.
Thank you for reading my post, you may find some of my other posts useful too:
Writing a Memorable Welcome Book
Special Touches That Get 5-Star Reviews
All opinions are my own.