Question for those with firepits

[Dean-And-Stacey0]

Hi Everyone,

Due to covid, we have a lot more guests asking about a fire pit.  We live off site, and our rental is on 1/2 acre. We are in the process of building a fire pit that is not close to the house. 

For those who have fire pits, what rules do you have? 

Do you have a separate waiver form for them?

Thanks for the tips.

[Fred13]

"Do you have a separate waiver form for them?"

We just have one general disclaimer for our island - "You are stay at your own risk." - which we have everyone sign.

[Lisa723]

@Dean-And-Stacey0 we have no special rules or separate waiver. If I were going to add a rule, it would be "please don't leave trash in the fire-pit." This happens rarely, but it does happen.

[Dean-And-Stacey0]

@Lisa723  If you don't mind answering some questions....Do you live on site or off site?  Do you provide firewood?  What percentage of your guests use the fire pit?

We initially thought that we would provide enough firewood for one fire, but after reading some posts, we've decided that guests need to provide their own firewood.  We are hoping this would help people to be prepared, and would help to weed out any late night last minute decision to do a fire.

[Lisa723]

@Dean-And-Stacey0 we are off-site. We don't promise firewood, but generally do provide it (also for woodstoves). The place had been operating as a vacation rental for years when we bought it, with firepits in place without incident, so we just continued. Our region is subject to seasonal burn bans due to wildfire risk, so we are careful to tell guests when they can't be used. I honestly can't say what percentage of guests use them, but they get regular positive comments. 

[Dean-And-Stacey0]

Good to know.  Thanks for the feedback!

[Sarah977]

You might want to be clear about what they can and can't burn, silly as that may sound. I remember a host who reported here that when her guests had run out of the firewood she provided, they walked around and picked up all the pieces of driftwood she had artfully placed around her gardens and burnt it up.

@Dean-And-Stacey0

[Emilia42 · Accepted solution]

@Dean-And-Stacey0 This is not answering your questions but you received some good advice above. 

As a side note, I stayed in a place with an outdoor firepit once. After the stay, I came away with 3 things. The host should either:

a.) Provide wood

b.) Provide wood for a charge

c.) Clearly list options where a guest can buy wood in the area

[Paris-and-Jason0]

This is great ! I always feel weird just leaving guests an empty fire pit. 

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Dean-And-Stacey0 , we went with a propane fire pit, I dont want to deal with, bonfires, wood or ashes and it cant really get over blown or lose embers in a breeze.   JR 

[Dean-And-Stacey0]

@Melodie-And-John0  We haven't really considered a propane fire pit.  It's an interesting idea.  Do you live on site or off site?

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Dean-And-Stacey0 , Its with our Glamper across the road from our home and works as easy as a grill.   Some have tank storage underneath, others you need to get creative with.  People seem to love it and propane is pretty reasonable here.  

[Kelly149]

@Dean-And-Stacey0  we have a fire pit... but I can see it from my kitchen window from across the large yard... I'm not sure I'd want to provide a method for burning things at a listing I wasn't nearby... just do a search in CC for problems hosts discuss from fireplaces, cook stoves and fire pits.

I'm not super concerned about them hurting themselves but rather burning the place down or worse starting a wildfire. No waiver is going to help you if that happens.

[Dean-And-Stacey0]

@Kelly149  Yes, I've already done a search which is why we are looking to be proactive.  We have stayed in 2 different Airbnb's with fire options (one was a fire pit and the other a wood stove).  We really enjoyed them, and both owners of them were off site.  We are in an area with a lot of rainfall, so my concern is more personal injury.  Our rental tends to attract a lot of families and older couples.

[Fred13]

One thing we do is to provide the wood and we get that from the local furniture shop who fill bags upon bags of scraps to throw away. Here in Belize, the throw away wood is mahogany. Imagine.