Thank goodness the owner has it in writing multiple times trying to get them out. I hope the booking guest gets sued by all the injured parties!
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The critically important part of sharing this tragic hosting story here is, IMHO, to have full disclosure with your homeowners insurance company that you do short term rentals. Many (most, in my experience) do not permit it. Itâs all fine and dandy until a calamity happens and if your insurance company was not informed and permits you to operate short term rentals, theyâll likely deny your claim.
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The Lawsuits have begun
- A lawyer representing the AirBNB guest is claiming that the beams supporting the deck were rotting. His defense (for his client) is that âthe deck was in a pretty poor condition. Even if it was six people or one person, nobody should have been allowed on that deck.â
- There is a recording of the host talking with the AirBNB guest outlining the 6 people maximum, that there were no parties allowed. She was practically begging that the excess people be vacated, with the guest placating her saying they would try to get people out of there.
- The rental agreement is very specific. Itâs six persons at all times. And no parties and events are allowed. She even had signage posted at the entrance stating such.
This will be a nightmare for all involved.
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KenH. I completely agree. Please make sure your home is adequately and properly insured. Youâve got too much to lose. I insure many Airbnb hosts across the country. Please contact me if you need to discuss or review your needs.
Sean Murphy 708 361 9430
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A more recent news bit:
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They even play a recording of the owner discussing with the renter to get them out. Obviously, the booking guest didnât care or do anything. I totally hope that the booking guest gets held liable for this disaster!
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The party goers interviewed were odd. The wife was like, like, like it was suddenly no floor, like it was scary.
She is a poster child for how to make yourself look foolish.
The guests walked by the sign stating Max 6 guests.
Just awful
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Of course it wasnât at all traumatic for the host to try to get 24 extra people to leave before the deck gave way.
If I say something about Darwin Awards, will I get attacked?
All things considered, the willfully ignorant should avoid crowds. Theyâd be better off standing alone.
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Itâs hard to say if the wood is actually rotted, but I believe it is. The deck definitely would not have collapsed with only 6 people, but it also shouldâve been able to hold 20 people with ease. The lawyers are still going to go after the homeowner and the insurance company because thatâs where they know the money is. If the guest actually has money, theyâll probably go after him/her as well. Zillow says the home value is $3.7M, but whether itâs insured adequately and correctly is another matter.
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@Arbek
Agreed - this is a business and homeowners does not cover business use. I have heard that in some states a few insurance companies will write policies/riders for STR businesses, most will not. I have also heard that for some, operating a STR business in the home will provide the excuse to not cover the property at all. The potential for a claim is too high, they donât want to touch that level of risk. The industry may change, but until then, we must find and use alternatives.
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As they were young people in the US who were partying @Annet3176 itâs hardly a stretch to assume their American.
What also struck me is that the host had to be told by neighbours there was a party so clearly didnât have CCTV or similar.
And the host rather than them or the co-host going to kick the party goers out in person was âon the phone to themâ when the incident happened.
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If its helpful I want to say that I have insurance through Chubb, walked them right through the rentals and they said it wasnât a problem. But, Iâve never filed a claim, so canât really guarentee that theyâd pay up as needed.
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The Airbnb Host Protection Insurance does cover the host (and their staff, and their landlord or condo or homeowners association) as liability insurance up to $1,000,000 (unlike the Host Guarantee for when a guest damages your property, which is not insurance at all).
Condition of the deck may result in legal liability which the insurance should cover. (Where coverage is not provided, as I understand it, is for intentional infliction of harm.) I guess it might get down to parsing whether the guests exceeded the deck limits.
I donât know hostsâ success with Airbnb liability claims, nor do I have insurance expertise other than my personal research resulting in my current homeowners rider for rentals and liability umbrella. The fine print is critical of course.
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