Interesting how many places violate code.
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Yes, but that’s no justification to do it. if someone tripped and hurt themselves there would be excuse. The injuries could be severe. I wonder whether criminal charges could be made; in my view they should be depending on the severity of the injury and the sophistication of the host. If a case went to trial with a serious injury the Host would be made out to be reckless and reprehensible depending on the severity of the injury.
In this situation, with a new build, the OP could not violate the code even if he wanted to as new construction would be inspected. In my opinion, meeting the building code should be a floor not a ceiling to what a Host should offer.
Again, get the insurer’s input during the process as I wonder whether some insurers would want rails on both sides of the stairway. Many older people have balance issues; falls are a major health risk as we get older. I don’t know whether open risers as depicted would be legal in MI.
I’m not justifying it. I’m just a bit stunned to think of the millions of rentals worldwide that don’t meet current code. Just modern stair codes alone not to mention all the other hazards.
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Sure, stair railings would be nice. But I’d seriously settle for everyone washing their hands after they take a poo. 
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Well, worldwide, there are few countries that have as many building code regulations as the US and probably Canada. Nor is any other country as sue-happy as the US. I remember once reading about a guy who tried to sue his mother because she accidentally closed the car door on his fingers. And the 30-something year old who tried to sue his parents for booting his lazy unemployed ass out of the house.
Someone was building new properties in our neighborhood in St Luciaa couple of years ago. He showed us around one of those under construction. The electrical code in St Lucia does not allow outlets in the bathrooms, so we were surprised to see an outlet there. He shrugged and said “yeah, we cover it with a plate before the inspector gets here, then after he’s gone we take the plate off and put the outlet box in”.
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I agree. Remember, even if the guest is not ‘sue happy’ the health insurer will become aware of the injury and whether it was an accident if the guest is hospitalized. So the guest could be your brother who presumably wouldn’t sue you, but the health insurer will sue you.
Consider, too, whether you have gig workers who you claim to be independent contractors and have an accident on your property. Their insurers might sue too and perhaps claim that they’re not really independent contractors.
I don’t know how suits from workers arguably employees are handled by your insurer.
Even if the claim, say from a guest, is covered by your insurer, they might cancel you. If so, you might find it difficult/expensive to get a new policy for several (three?) years.
The bottom line is that you don’t want anyone injured on your property for legal and non-legal reasons.
Complying with the building code is a minimum.
You really want to prevent trip hazards everywhere on your property. You want grab bars in your bathroom.
In my opinion, adequate 24/7 lighting by stairs inside (including the fire evacuation path) and outside is a wise and inexpensive precaution against such falls. Outside you can get solar motion-activated lighting at a very reasonable cost ($13 - $30).
You missed the whole point of my post. You are thinking and talking like an American, and your advice might be fine for Americans, but the rest of the world doesn’t operate like that. Gig workers in Mexico don’t have “insurers”. I don’t have an insurer. Everywhere you walk in Mexico has tripping hazards. No one sues anyone because they weren’t looking where they were going and tripped. And I most certainly do not want grab bars in my bathroom, nor a light on 24/7. And a motion sensor light outside would be going on and off all night, every time a cat, a dog, a bat, a bird, a cow, a horse or a person walked by. My neighbor already tried to bust the street light none of us want with a slingshot and it bounced right off. I’m considering getting a paint ball gun and spraying the thing with black paint.
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No, I got it, and I responded as a U.S. provider in a country that you and I agree to be ‘sue happy.’
I understand the rest of the world doesn’t operate like that.
Like every post the reader needs to filter that based on their location, their type of hosting, the kinds of risks they’re willing to take, their personal philosophy. [I suppose I could add that to each of my posts but I don’t want to be wordy. But re-reading my post the sentence beginning with “You really . . . " should have been prefaced IMHO or 'I’ve concluded for me that . . .”]
I have a feeling that I’m going to regret asking but
Why? The grab bars add to the guests’ safety. The inside lights can be LED and consume very little electricity.
I am not responsible for ensuring that a guest can’t possibly get hurt at my property. Of course I wouldn’t have nails protruding, or loose area rugs with no gripper material under them, or things strewn around they could trip over. But I’m not going to bust out my tile work in the shower to install a grab bar nor bust out my concrete walls to install one. If a guest has mobility issues they wouldn’t be able to get up my metal slat outside staircase to their room, anyway, and I mention in my listing info that it isn’t a suitable listing for anyone with mobility issues. I’m 73 and don’t need grab bars.
And not wanting a light on 24/7 has nothing to do with the cost of electricity. I live in the countryside because I like it dark at night. There are plenty of lights a guest can turn on if they need to walk to their ensuite bathroom or anywhere else they need to at night. Why have lights on when everyone is asleep?
Because if there’s a fire they might not be able to see how to quickly get out of the house or quickly find a light switch in the panic of a fire. Maybe that’s a consideration in your home, maybe not. I don’t know – and you like it dark anyway.
I’m not saying that you ‘have to’ do this. Of course it’s your choice and your listing is not in ‘sue-happy’ USA.
But let me point out that a fall is not necessarily about mobility issues. It can be about our proprioception cells and the strength of their connection in our neuromuscular system.
Proprioperception cells are the cells in your body that tell your brain where your body is. As we age we have MANY fewer of these cells and so typically older people become more visually-oriented to get their bearings.
If they lose that visual connection – the lights go out or they become startled by something and involuntarily look away – that older person might fall even though they had not previously exhibited a mobility issue.
So that’s an FYI but of course you are not responsible for ensuring that a guest can’t possibly get hurt at your property.
As for busting out tiles or concrete walls I am understanding that there are ways to anchor properly grab bars in concrete tiled walls with flanges hiding the wall perforations, if you ever felt so inclined. https://pba.it/images/stories/virtuemart/product/PDF3_4CN_440_001U.pdf
All kinds of things “might” happen. I don’t live my life imagining all the things that might possibly happen and spend my time and energy trying to ensure that they don’t. My house is made of concrete and tile. It can’t catch fire. And it’s 4 steps from the bed to the bedroom door, which is an exterior door. There’s nothing to “see” about how to get out.
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Well there you go – there’s no need or benefit from lighting the fire evacuation path in your home. I feel that there is in mine.
I absolutely understand and am deeply familiar with your point of view.
As you might have guessed, while I don’t ‘live my life imagining all the things that might possibly happen.’ I intentionally invest time in trying to imagine what could go wrong and then I try to prevent that. This drives my Host crazy as does her unwillingness to consider these possibilities frustrate me.
Each of us strongly believe that our approach is the better one.
Consider again The Odd Couple. @muddy, this is what makes the world go round. We’re different people and each of thinks we’re ‘right,’ that we ‘know better.’ [I could agree with you but then we’d both be wrong. ]
I don’t. I just know what’s right for me and find it irritating when others think they know what I "should’ do.
I don’t know if this is a non-sequitur or whether it pertains to me.
After all, I wrote:
Not in my experience. I have a 3bd 2 bath and a 1 bedroom cabin. The little one booked more and made more almost every month I had them both on the STR market. I have leased the 3bd out now.
The one bedroom was priced at 2/3 the nightly rate as the 3 bedroom.
RR
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That’s why a Host needs to run their numbers. There’s no one-size-fits all ‘rule.’
The reason why I would think a larger listing is likely more profitable here was partly based on an assumption (again, running the numbers would enter valid assumptions for a Host’s situation) that the cleaning fee would be a greater percentage of the nightly rate plus any additional guest fees for the smaller unit than for the larger one. In the projections I’ve seen and in my own situation cleaning fees are a significant consideration (of course, not so when the Host cleans).
The additional guest fees that a larger property provides can substantially increase profits for the Host while the per person cost for the guest is still reasonable. In this Host’s situation it appeared that there might be demand for more bedrooms given that the four other local properties could host 8-12.
Demand is important, which is why I openly wondered whether AirDNA might provide data that would help a Host who is thinking of building/buying property to make a more informed decision in their marketplace based on their situation (e.g., self-cleaning or hiring out, nightly rate amount, demand, etc.). Of course, as it turns out, the flood zone/septic situation here mooted considering a larger property.
ALL: Has anyone used AirDNA? Is it a useful service? How do you use it?
It really depends on how much you want to spend and how complex you want to go.
You can spend some more and go the “eco” way with a big hot water buffer, solar collectors, heat pump etc.
Ecological filtration water filter system. You can filter off your waste water with a swamp like system and just return it to your lake. The possibilities are endless if you want to spend the money.
I mean essentially isn’t that what a septic system does? The water eventually makes it’s way down into the water table.
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I’m 71 - same. No mobility issues. Yet.
But installing a grab bar is not just for infirm. It’s super convenient when you need to reach down and scrub your feet, for example.
I have a ‘grab bar’ over my mudroom shoe tray. No, it is not ‘needed’ all the time, but I have guests complimenting us for having it (and a 2’ long shoehorn).
Sometimes hosting is more about options for guests.
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