Now that we all are extremely aware of health risks, you should be most careful when renting a “home away from home”. This could be your list to choose your next hotel or apartment:
1. Disregard hotel rooms and apartments (lodges), that do not have their own individual A/C systems. Do not rent places with central heating or air conditioning. You could be receiving elements in the air you did not pay for. Protect your lungs.
2. Choose lodges with windows you can open. Hotel chains save electricity by locking your windows, depriving you of fresh air. This is an absolute no-no. Numerous studies agree on it.
3. Make sure your next place is cleaned thoroughly. If cleaners are paid by the hour, you can be sure your apartment or room is not sufficiently clean.
4. Ignore places that accept pets. They may negatively affect your allergies. Hotels are not using HEPA air grade filters. And the post-pet departure cleaning does not include steaming carpets or laundering spreads. We love pets, but our experience is that the next guest suffers the consequences. Out of respect for our “next guest,” we do not accept pets. Our excuses for pet owners.
5. Do not rent places with wall-to-wall carpeting. An old, or improperly cleaned carpet (the vast majority of them), can make you sick: chemical contaminants, from indoor and outdoor sources, biological toxins (pollen, bacteria, mold); dust and allergens..etc. Did you know that the Norovirus, linked to causing stomach flu, can survive on an uncleaned carpet for more than one month? Protect your health and your respiratory system.
6. Ask if those places are cleaned with ozone when requested, or with some regularity, or if someone smoked even when it was forbidden.
7. Ideally, make sure you will have a balcony with a little outdoor table and a couple of chairs to get fresh air and a bit of sunshine.
At Miami Vacation Rentals, we follow the seven requirements. Plus they are all in front or extremely close to the ocean, where negative ions are abundant (WebMD: “negative ions are believed to produce biochemical reactions that increase levels of the mood chemical serotonin, helping to alleviate depression, relieve stress, and boost our daytime energy”).
Stay healthy!