Norovirus Playbook for STR Hosts
Norovirus does not care about your five-star rating, your crisp white linens, or the fact that the next check‑in is in four hours. It cares about two things: spreading fast and making a very big mess. As the owner of a property recovery company that spends its days and nights dealing with biohazards, here is the straight talk STR hosts need for a vomiting or diarrhea incident. You will get quick containment steps, which disinfectants actually work, how to handle soft goods without turning your whole unit into a viral sprinkler, what to document for insurance, how long to close, and when to call in pros like my team at Triad Property Recovery.
Why Norovirus Is A Big Deal In STRs
Norovirus is the sprinter of stomach bugs. It takes as few as 10 to 100 viral particles to infect someone, which is a tiny dose. It spreads by direct contact, by touching contaminated surfaces and then your mouth, and by microscopic droplets released during vomiting that settle on nearby surfaces. It hangs out on hard and soft surfaces, and it laughs at a quick spray-and-wipe that dries in 30 seconds. In multi-guest, rapid-turnover spaces like Airbnb and Vrbo units, one missed step can seed the next stay. That is why hotels, schools, and cruise ships build norovirus protocols, and STRs should too.
First 15 Minutes: Safe Containment
If a guest alerts you mid‑stay that someone vomited or had an accident, your first job is to keep it from becoming a property‑wide issue.
- Isolate the area. Close the room or zone. Keep other guests, kids, and pets away. If you can, ask the guest to stay in a different room until you arrive or your cleaner arrives.
- Suit up before you step in. Minimum PPE for norovirus cleanup is disposable gloves, a gown or apron, and eye protection with a mask. If splash is possible, add a face shield. Shoe covers are useful if flooring is porous.
- Stop the tracking. Place towels or paper on the path between the spill and the exit to catch drips. Do not walk through the contaminated area to get supplies.
- Remove solids carefully. Use disposable absorbent materials to collect vomit or feces. Work from the outside toward the center to avoid smearing. Bag it immediately and seal the bag.
- Ventilate. Open a window if possible. Avoid running central HVAC through the zone until cleanup is complete so you do not circulate particles.
Treat this like a biohazard, because it is. In my company, we train techs to approach vomit and feces the same way they approach blood. The risks are different, but the containment mindset is the same.
Disinfectants That Actually Work
Norovirus is famously tough on disinfectants. You need products with an EPA norovirus claim. Look for the EPA registration number and a label that specifically lists norovirus or human norovirus surrogate. EPA’s List G is the reference for this.
Bleach solutions are reliable if mixed and used correctly. Guidance used in health settings recommends 1,000 ppm to 5,000 ppm chlorine solutions. Use the higher range when there is heavy soiling, bathroom fixtures, or a known outbreak. Two rules make bleach work for you instead of against you:
- Clean, then disinfect. Remove visible soil first, because organic matter neutralizes bleach and many disinfectants. Pre‑clean with a detergent, then apply disinfectant to a visibly clean surface.
- Contact time matters. The label will state how long the surface must stay wet to kill norovirus. It is usually several minutes, sometimes longer. If it dries early, reapply.
You can also use hydrogen peroxide or peracetic acid products that have a norovirus claim. Do not rely on a general cleaner or a quaternary ammonium compound that lacks a norovirus listing. And do not mix cleaners. Make fresh bleach solution the day you use it, add bleach to water in a ventilated space, and never combine bleach with ammonia or acids.
Hard Surfaces Vs Soft Goods
Norovirus cleanup looks different on tile than on a tufted sofa. Here is how to think about each.
Hard surfaces like tile, sealed wood, laminate, metal, and plastic can be pre‑cleaned, then treated with an EPA‑registered disinfectant with a norovirus claim. Keep them wet for the full contact time. Pay special attention to bathroom surfaces, the floor around the toilet, door handles, switches, remotes, keypads, faucet handles, appliance pulls, chair backs, and railings.
Soft goods like carpets, rugs, upholstery, and mattresses are trickier. Remove solids with disposable materials. Do not scrub aggressively at first or you will work the contaminant deeper. For carpets and rugs, a hot water extraction with a product compatible with your disinfectant step works well, then treat the surface with a suitable disinfectant labeled for porous materials if available. Steam is your friend. Many guidelines recommend steam at about 170 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 5 minutes, or at boiling temperatures for shorter durations, as heat inactivates norovirus on fabrics and some porous materials. Always test for colorfastness and material tolerance.
If a sofa cushion or mattress is heavily contaminated, you may be safer and faster replacing it. Norovirus can cling to fibers, seams, and batting where standard hand cleaning cannot guarantee neutralization. Bag contaminated soft items for transport to laundry or disposal and label them so no one opens them in a common area.
Linens should not go from the room to the laundry room flapping in the breeze. Handle with gloves and minimal agitation, bag in the room, and take directly to the washer. Launder on the hottest cycle the fabric allows with a full wash time and a thorough high‑heat dry. Do not shake items, which can aerosolize particles. If a delicate throw or decorative pillow is not washable at high heat, consider replacement.
PPE That Protects The Cleaner
Vomit and feces are not a DIY bare‑hands project. For norovirus cleanup, gloves, a disposable gown or apron, a mask, and eye protection are the minimum. Shoe covers or dedicated shoes that can be disinfected are wise if you are stepping onto carpet or porous flooring.
When you remove PPE, do it in the right order to avoid contaminating your face or clean clothing. Discard gloves last, after you have removed other items, because your gloves are your barrier. Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after removing PPE. Hand sanitizer is fine for a quick hit, but soap and water are superior against norovirus.
If you employ cleaners, they should have biohazard cleanup training and bloodborne pathogen training consistent with OSHA standards. While norovirus is not bloodborne, the same controls apply to splashes, PPE, and waste handling. At Triad, we train to IICRC S540 principles for biohazard, follow OSHA rules, and use EPA‑listed products. That is the baseline you want from any contractor who touches a biological mess in your unit.
A Practical Room Reset Protocol
Professional teams follow a predictable flow so we do not cross‑contaminate or miss high‑touch items. Here is a practical order of operations that fits a short‑term rental.
- Stage your gear outside the affected room. Pre‑mix or select your disinfectant, gather absorbents, bagging supplies, PPE, and clean cloths or disposable wipes.
- Suit up and remove solids first. Double bag and tie, then set the waste aside in a corner of the room for exit later. Do not carry a dripping bag through the kitchen to the trash.
- Pre‑clean the soiled area with a detergent to remove organic matter. Use disposable towels and work inward.
- Disinfect the immediate contamination zone. Apply your norovirus‑labeled disinfectant liberally and keep it wet for the full contact time. Do not rush this part.
- Treat adjacent splash and footprint zones. Norovirus droplets travel. Bathrooms and nearby hard floors, lower walls, cabinet faces, and baseboards often need treatment.
- Work top to bottom for the rest of the room. Hit high‑touch items, then surfaces, then floors. Switch plates, remotes, drawer pulls, thermostats, interior doorknobs, lamp knobs, and railing tops are all frequent offenders that hosts forget.
- Clean soft goods according to the previous section. If you are steaming, do it after you have captured solids and pre‑cleaned. If you are sending linens to laundry, bag them in the room.
- Handle waste last and exit. Seal all bags tight. If your jurisdiction requires biohazard handling for this waste, follow those rules. Do not set it by the curb in a clear bag that broadcasts your guest’s worst day to the neighborhood.
- Remove PPE in the right order and wash hands with soap and water. Disinfect reusable tools and the exterior of bottles you carried into the room.
How Long Should You Close?
Downtime depends on who was sick and when they stopped showing symptoms. For a confirmed case, common practice is to leave the room out of service during deep cleaning, then wait a period after the last symptoms before you consider it guest‑ready. Public health guidance commonly uses 48 hours after the last symptoms for people who were sick on site. That is a human factor, not a surface factor. Surfaces are safe when they have been thoroughly cleaned and have stayed wet for the full contact times of your products, then dried.
In a turnover cleaning where a guest reports illness only at checkout, isolate the unit immediately and plan your deep cleaning before the next check‑in. If the incident was minor and contained to a bathroom with hard finishes, many hosts can reset in several hours if they follow full contact times and drying. If soft goods are involved or multiple rooms were affected, block at least one night so you can steam or replace items and let the unit dry.
When a guest is sick mid‑stay and remains onsite, you are in maintenance mode. Provide the guest with lined waste bins and instructions to bag waste, and schedule daily disinfection of bathrooms and high‑touch areas. After they depart, do a full deep clean and consider the 48‑hour window before new arrivals when you can.
Documentation That Helps With Claims
Even if you never file a claim, solid documentation keeps you honest, speeds decisions, and reduces disputes with platforms and guests. For norovirus incidents, capture:
- Photos before, during, and after cleaning. Include close‑ups and context shots.
- A written scope. List affected areas, materials, and the steps performed.
- Product details. Record the disinfectant brand, EPA registration number, dilution or concentration used, and contact times.
- PPE log. Note what protective gear your cleaner used and the date and time of work.
- Waste handling. Document how and where you disposed of contaminated materials according to local rules.
- Laundry and replacement receipts. Save proof for linens, soft goods, or items you discarded.
- Guest communications. Keep messages where a guest reports illness or damage, plus your responses and timing.
My company documents every biohazard job with photos and a written narrative. On larger losses that also involve water intrusion, we include moisture readings. That package is exactly what an adjuster wants. If you ever need to appeal a denial, your paper trail is your best friend.
Host Liability And Guest Claims
As a host, you owe guests a duty to maintain a reasonably safe rental. If a known biological mess is not handled with reasonable care and someone becomes sick, a negligence claim is at least possible. State law varies, but the legal concept is consistent. This is why protocols, training, and documentation matter.
Insurance is where many hosts get surprised. Standard homeowners and business policies often cover professional biohazard cleanup when it results from a covered event such as a sudden illness on site, but many policies also exclude communicable diseases or virus claims for liability. Platform protections can be limited too. Airbnb’s protections have coverage limits and exclusions, and communicable disease claims are often excluded. That means two parallel realities:
- You may be able to claim cleanup costs as property damage if your policy allows it and the loss fits a covered cause.
- Liability for someone allegedly catching a virus at your place may not be covered, or it may be heavily limited.
This is not a scare tactic. It is a prompt to read your policy, ask your agent specific questions about virus and biohazard coverage, and consider endorsements that remove communicable disease exclusions if available. On the guest side, platforms may reimburse deep cleaning or linen replacement through damage protection programs, but they will want documentation and they have discretion to deny. Keep it factual and complete, not emotional.
When To Call Professionals
There is a difference between wiping a small splash off a bathroom counter and decontaminating a sectional sofa after a projectile incident. Call a professional biohazard company when:
- The spill is large, widespread, or in multiple rooms.
- Soft furniture, mattresses, or carpets are heavily involved.
- You are short on time before the next booking and cannot risk a do‑over.
- You need containment to protect adjacent rooms or vents, or you need HEPA air filtration during work.
- Waste handling is unclear under your local rules.
- You want third‑party documentation that satisfies an insurer, an adjuster, or a guest dispute team.
At Triad Property Recovery, we run 24‑7 emergency response, follow IICRC, EPA, OSHA, and TCEQ standards, deploy HEPA filtration and negative air when needed, and manage content pack‑out when soft goods need removal. We document with photos and written scopes, and we coordinate directly with adjusters. If your policy will not cover the work, we offer financing so you can get the unit back online without waiting.
Build Your Norovirus Kit
You would not hand a cleaner an empty caddy and hope for the best. Pre‑stock a small norovirus kit so you can move fast and safely. Here is what should live in a sealed bin labeled biohazard:
- EPA‑registered disinfectant with a norovirus claim, plus a fresh jug of unscented bleach and a measuring cup.
- Heavy‑duty trash bags and, if permitted in your area, red biohazard bags for on‑site staging.
- Disposable gloves, gowns or aprons, masks, eye protection, and shoe covers.
- Paper towels, disposable absorbent powder or kitty litter, disposable scrapers, and a small dustpan.
- Spray bottles labeled with product names, plus a detergent cleaner for pre‑cleaning.
- A compact steam cleaner that can hold 170 degrees Fahrenheit, or a service arrangement with a professional who can provide that on short notice.
- Plastic sheeting or drop cloths to protect unaffected areas during movement.
Store this bin away from guest access. Add a one‑page quick guide on your chosen disinfectant’s contact time and mixing instructions from the label so a night‑shift cleaner does not guess. Replace PPE and chemicals before they expire.
Templates You Can Borrow
You do not need to reinvent the wheel to set expectations and organize your response. Use these starting points and run them by your attorney or insurance agent for your situation.
Guest illness clause for your house rules
If a member of your party becomes ill with vomiting or diarrhea during your stay, please notify us immediately. You agree to follow our instructions for containment and to allow access for cleaning. You will not launder heavily soiled linens on site unless instructed. You authorize charges for extraordinary cleaning, soft goods replacement, and out‑of‑service nights when required, with documentation provided.
Contractor vetting checklist
Ask your cleanup contractor for written proof of training, procedures, and products. They should confirm staff training in biohazard cleanup and OSHA bloodborne pathogens, list disinfectants with EPA registration and norovirus claim, describe containment and ventilation approach, outline how they will handle soft goods and waste, and commit to photo documentation with a written scope. Confirm they carry general liability and pollution liability insurance.
Insurance documentation packet
Assemble a folder with incident photos, a timeline of events and symptoms as reported, a cleaning scope with product details and contact times, PPE list, waste handling notes, and all receipts. Add your communication thread with the guest and, if applicable, a contractor’s report with before‑and‑after photos. If your claim is denied, this packet supports an appeal with your carrier. My team routinely sends this package directly to adjusters to shorten the back‑and‑forth.
Special Notes For Linens And Laundry Rooms
Put a pin in this because it is where many hosts spread contamination without realizing it. Always bag soiled linens in the guest room using disposable gloves. Do not carry armloads of sheets through the house to the laundry room. Load directly into the washer, avoid crowding so water and heat can work, use the hottest wash your fabrics allow with a full cycle, and dry on high. Wipe down the washer lid, control panel, detergent drawer handle, and door handle with a norovirus‑listed disinfectant after you finish. If you use a shared laundry facility, consider contracting a pickup laundry service for post‑incident loads so you do not expose common areas.
Odor, Staining, And Guest Communication
Norovirus cleanup is not just a germ issue. It is a smell and stain issue, and both can stoke complaints. Enzymatic cleaners can help with organic odors after disinfection, but use them after you have completed the pathogen kill step. For stains on soft goods that you choose to keep, repeat hot water extraction and targeted spotting. If discoloration remains on pillow shams or throws, be proactive and replace them. Keep your communication to the next guest clear and unemotional if you need an extra hour for turnover. Guests tolerate delays far better when they know you are finishing a health‑related deep clean for their protection.
What About Staff Who Were Exposed?
Hosts sometimes forget that cleaners are people with lives and calendars, and norovirus does not care about either. If a staff member cleaned a norovirus incident and later develops symptoms, keep them off assignments until they are symptom‑free, generally 48 hours. Provide gloves and soap at the property for quick handwashing access. Train your team to seek prompt medical advice if symptoms are severe or prolonged. In a small operation, one sick cleaner can cancel your next four turnovers, which is yet another reason to call pros when the incident is beyond your kit.
FAQ For Hosts
Do I really need bleach or an EPA‑registered disinfectant?
Yes. General multipurpose cleaners without a norovirus kill claim are not enough. Use products on EPA’s List G or bleach at the correct strength, and follow contact times.
Can I just spray and walk away?
No. Surfaces must stay visibly wet for the label’s full contact time. If it dries early, reapply.
Is hand sanitizer enough for my team?
Soap and water is better for norovirus. Use sanitizer as a backup but make handwashing part of your protocol.
How long should I wait to rebook the unit after a known case?
Plan for a deep clean, then consider a 48‑hour window from the last symptoms of the sick person. The right wait depends on the areas and materials affected.
Will my insurance pay for this?
Sometimes. Many policies cover professional cleanup caused by a covered event, but many exclude communicable disease liability. Read your policy and talk to your agent. We work with adjusters and can share the documents they expect to see.
When should I replace soft goods instead of cleaning them?
If vomit or feces soak into cushions, seams, or batting, replacement is often safer and faster than trying to certify a complete neutralization. Document the condition and dispose of items properly.
When should I call a pro?
Call when the incident is large, hits porous furnishings, affects multiple rooms, or you need rapid, certified service with documentation for claims or guest disputes. My team can deploy HEPA filtration, set containment, steam or extract soft goods correctly, and handle waste and paperwork.
The Proactive Host’s Edge
The best hosts plan for the worst day. Stock a norovirus kit, train your cleaners on PPE and contact times, and add a short illness clause to your house rules so you get notified when it matters. Audit your insurance for biohazard and communicable disease clarity. Build a relationship with a qualified biohazard contractor before you need one. That way, when norovirus shows up uninvited, you will not be scrambling for bleach at 10 p.m. while your booking calendar ticks toward zero.
