Dear Editor,
You may have heard the news from Winnipeg where 47 people and one dog were sent to hospital as a result of CO poisoning in a hotel. A very serious matter.
Airbnb does provide free smoke detector and carbon monoxide detectors to all their accommodation providers.
This is very impressive and they have been doing this for years. They sent us one of these when we joined them five years ago and now by simply asking they are sending me another one. The units they are sending have a 10-year permanent lithium battery. This is the best unit available anywhere and does not require an electrician to install.
They are the only ones doing this initiative as far as I know.
For me they get a 10 out of 10 – a five star rating.
It is no surprise that Airbnb is the most successful and most respected tourism business anywhere.
Compare that to Tourism BC and Tourism Langley who are collecting millions and millions of dollars and doing nothing in this regard. Maybe they should have been doing this. At the very least they should annually visit every room in every accommodation provider like they did 20 years ago and do a basic safety check.
Further Airbnb is also doing a superb job of promoting activities in local communities via their “Experiences” program.
In addition to an Airbnb message, we also heard from Expedia [about safety].
Expedia is recommending that everyone switch to solar energy. I 100 per cent agree with that. We are doing that in the new house we are building.
Regarding the recent Winnipeg disaster, other than Airbnb and Expedia, we have heard from no one.
Wally Martin, Princess and the Pea B&B, Murrayville
