Airbnb is one of our favourite ways to travel. It's roomier and often significantly cheaper than a hotel, and we love the fact that it makes us feel less like clueless tourists when we're in a new place. When you're staying in an Airbnb, usually you're on vacation, but you're also technically in someone else's home, which begs the question: What's the etiquette on having sex? Obviously, vacations with your S.O. usually mean increased sexual activity, but feeling like you're being an asshole isn't exactly an aphrodisiac.
While we can totally understand feeling squeamish about getting it on what's basically a stranger's bed, if you've never thought twice about it, you're not alone. According to a survey of 1,000 Airbnb users conducted by the website House Method, 53 percent of guests admitted to having had sex in an Airbnb.
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Most hosts probably expect that guests are going to get frisky in their home and just try not to think too much about it. But there's more. According to the survey, "About 32% of respondents admitted to leaving sexual fluids on the sheets in an Airbnb."
What may be more disturbing to Airbnb hosts is that many guests apparently aren't confining their intimate activities to the bedroom. 27 percent say they've done it in the shower — which, if you think about it, may be the most clean and respectful place to get it on — while 10 percent have used the hot tub, and 7 percent say they've used the kitchen.
While the polite thing to do might be to toss any stained sheets into the hamper or washing machine before departing, it does appear people make more of an effort to... er... contain themselves when staying in a home then they do when staying in a hotel. 64 percent — or double the number — of House Method's respondents said they could recall leaving behind stains on hotel sheets. Someone has to clean them either way, but in a Airbnb setting, minus the full cleaning staff and industrial-strength washer-dryers, it certainly feels more personal.
Other things the survey examines include guest theft, partying, sneaking in extra visitors, and messaging the host in the middle of the night, all of which, it's safe to say, are probably considered ruder by hosts than a little bit of holiday friskiness.