Mexico Authorities Partner With AirBnB To Provide Safer Vacation Rentals For Tourists
Airbnb—the American vacation rental company— and the Secretariat of Comprehensive Risk Management and Civil Protection of Mexico City have been working together on safety strategies to provide citizens and tourists with a better and safer travel experience.
This partnership has made Airbnb and Mexican institutions work together to provide solutions to different risk situations that travelers and hosts might be exposed to, from natural disasters to crime and robbery. On Wednesday, they announced their alliance and a new information campaign called “Verano Seguro” (safe summer) addressed to hosts and developed to promote safe environments for travelers and improve safety measures.
“This alliance that we ratify today with Airbnb allows us to reinforce actions that guarantee the security of the spaces, and of the people who offer their spaces, and make reservations through the platform”, said Myriam Urzúa, Secretary of Integral Risk Management and Civil Protection of Mexico City.
And added: “With this type of alliance, we demonstrate that we have managed to change the paradigm of the emergency reaction; today we are a more prepared, preventive, and resilient society”.
A Security Resource Center will also be created to provide local safety measures and risk prevention in emergency situations. The idea is to work along —Airbnb, local police, hosts, neighbors, and authorities— to improve safety for tourists in Mexico.
This is great news, especially for American visitors, considering that the State Department in the United States recently updated Mexico’s travel advisories and has made state-specific warnings considering criminal activity and violence, and made safety warnings for very touristic destinations like Cancun.
Traveler’s Safety Concerns
A recent study performed by the marketing research company IPSOS and commissioned by Airbnb in May 2022, showed that security is an essential component when it comes to planning travel to Mexico and 92% assured that they would cancel a trip if they felt insecure.
IPSOS highlighted tourists’ main concerns when traveling by air: theft (62%), accidents (60%), lost luggage (45%), and transportation failures (40%). Regarding accommodation, over 80% of travelers declared that security measures were highly important and mentioned the need for first aid kits (83%), extinguishers (75%), burglar alarms (73%), insurance (71%), smoke detectors (68%) and Gas & Carbon Monoxide Detectors (63%).
This information has been gathered and was considered by Airbnb and Mexican authorities to improve safety measures and guarantee tourists a pleasant stay. As part of the Verano Seguro campaign, hosts have been receiving tools and information regarding security practices and safety measures, along with the local community.
Building Safer Vacation Rentals For Travelers In Mexico
Starting this month, in July, Airbnb and Mexican Civil Prevention will provide hosts in Mexico with free Smoke Detectors and Carbon Monoxide Detectors. A logistic process has been created exclusively for Mexico for the delivery of the detectors and the implementation of the new measures.
Airbnb also formally introduced the new AirCover insurance —one of Airbnb’s major updates this year— in the country, a brand new insurance service that offers booking protection, helps travelers find similar homes in the neighborhood, alternative check-in solutions, a 24 hours safety line, and more.
The home rental company also recommended tourists stay on the platform when booking a vacation rental: “It is important to always make reservations within the Airbnb platform and never move the conversation outside or make the reservation payment through a channel other than the one enabled by the platform”.
The platform, as Airbnb states, remains the safest space to communicate and hosts should never ask for an external wire transfer or cash payment, if this happens, users should report and warn through the platform.
Regarding all safety improvements and Airbnb’s new alliance with Mexican authorities, Ángel Terral, Director of Airbnb for Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, stated: “Security is a priority for Airbnb and the company is constantly working to develop new solutions that help guests travel with confidence and peace of mind.”
Source:https://bit.ly/3R6mCxy
