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Energy clearing your Airbnb is a thing
We're here for it [lights up sage].
by Rebecca Willa Davis | 05.25.2018
Have you ever walked into a hotel room and instantly been hit with the smell of the person who was in there before you? [Insert gag sound.] Maybe it’s the faintest whiff of perfume, long-eaten fried chicken, or stale cigarette smoke, but whatever it is, it’s an unpleasant reminder that you’re never really alone when you travel.
And it’s not just scents or unchanged bed sheets that could be harshing your trip; there’s also the matter of, quite literally, bad vibes.
“If you come into a hotel room or Airbnb and you notice that the floors are really dirty, you’d be like, ‘Gross!’ It’s the same if the energy is really dense,” says Gina Gorelik, a Miami-based healer and founder of ritual kit company Moon and Jai. “Some people are sensitive enough to be like, ‘Ugh, it’s a little funky in here.’ Some people aren’t sensitive enough—but that doesn’t mean they won’t be affected by it.”
Cue energy clearing. All it takes is lighting up (no, not that way) and burning something like sage, copal, or sweet grass before you even unpack your bag to set the tone for the rest of your trip.
“If you come into a hotel room or Airbnb and you notice that the floors are really dirty, you’d be like, ‘Gross!’ It’s the same if the energy is really dense.”
While, as Gorelik notes, “people have used sacred herbs in ceremonies for thousands and thousands of years, you don’t have to believe in the ‘energetic hoopla’ to still use the herbs because they will literally clear the air.” Palo santo and sage have known anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, and anti-fungal properties, and a study found them to have actual purifying properties. “All of the sacred herbs change the ionic composition of the air,” she explains. “They fill it with negative ions, which means you’re breathing in clear oxygen.”
Ready to rid your hotel room of ghosts of guests past? Gorelik’s advice is to clear your space within the first hour of checking in. Before you strike a match, check for fire alarms—and if you can, open up the windows so you’re not that person who made the entire hotel evacuate. (Note that it’s highly unlikely—”I’ve had no accidents so far,” promises Gorelik.) Start in the back of the space and move towards the front of the space, with the front door open so you can let the air out.
Palo santo and sage have known anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, and anti-fungal properties.
If you’re feeling skittish about burning something in a rental spot (or just don’t want to be labeled a pyro in your Airbnb review), there are other non-flammable options. Try a smudge spray, which is smokeless and comes in a bottle, or opt for a crystal that serves the same purpose. “I always bring sage and palo santo with me, and then I have my own collection of crystals I travel with,” Gorelik says. “Clear quartz is a really good choice for energy clearing when you’re traveling. Selenite is a beautiful energy clearer too—it really neutralizes negative energy.” Keep them on your nightstand or, as she puts it, “anywhere where energy could enter or exit.” (Think a windowsill or by the door.)
“When I get to my room I’ll walk around like a normal person [laughs]. I’ll check it out and be like, ‘Oh, cute furniture!’ But then I would want to burn my sage and have my own sanctuary,” notes Gorelik. “It’s just about creating sacred space wherever you go.”
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