Post a liability waiver form on AirBnB site for river property

[Tj3]

I have a place on a river with canoes and kayaks. It is a lovely place for outdoorsmen, but there are about 100 ways to get hurt, bitten or drowned if you don't know what you're doing or aren't keeping an eye on your kids. I would like to post a liability waiver form of my own before the renters arrive. Is this possible? any suggestions?

[Robin4]

@Christina994 

Christina, if an 'accident' happens on your property (within the boundaries of your insured space)  the public liability section of your household insurance policy will cover you, provided your insurer accepts paid rental risks!

There are two potential issue here....

1/..... Many insurers will not extend their insurance coverage to paid rental guests and as soon as they find out that STR is taking place in their insured space they will cancel their cover!

2/.....Insurance coverage is only offered withing the perimeter of the insured space. What this means is a guest can injure themselves on a piece of your equipment on your property but if they, for example, take pushbikes that you may have offered out onto public property, roadways, parks there will be no insurance coverage. The same goes for trail bikes, kayaks, jetskis....anything that can be used in a public space! 

And as @Matt786 mentioned, Damage Waivers will not stand up in a court of law. Unless you can provide professional certification it can be argued that the piece of equipment was not maintained in a fit state for use.

My strongest advice is, don't offer anything to guests that can be used outside the property, don't even allow them to take your dog for a walk! And make sure you have an insurance policy that covers what paying guests might do while they are on your property! Don't think just because you have a household policy that you are automatically covered.....you may not be!

And thirdly, do not expect that Airbnb are going to be your fairy god mother when something goes wrong. In some instances they may accept some form of responsibility but in many instances they don't. What Airbnb offers is a marketing tool, it is not an insurance policy, it is an adjudicated system and is open to individual interpretation! It does not necessarily cover a defined set of events.

Sorry I know that sounds bleak but, when responsibility come knocking most businesses will duck for cover!

Cheers........Rob

[Fred13]

Hey all, trust this finds you in the best of health, spirit and happiness in hosting. I haven't posted in ages, but just happened to be bopping the Internet and checked into this forum, and stumbled on this thread.

I can't speak for all countries, but having gone to law school and being originally an American (lived in the US till 10 years ago), my impression on this issue is - too often the common mentality in the US, is that everyone and any event can can possibly 'qualify' to be either a victim or transfer personal responsibility on someone else; IF they look hard enough or find a lawyer (you got 1.3 million to choose from which means the  highest lawyer-per-capita in the world), to 'invent' a reason. That is why you constantly hear of 'frivilous' lawsuits or absurd ones in the US; to me they are like a lottery and one may get lucky.

I am in Belize and run an island surrounded by water, so I do have my guests sign a waiver and have ~signs~ in my place explicitly stating "Swim and Use Equipment at Your Own Risk'. Every other hotel/tour business here does the same thing, especially because their clientele is mostly Americans and Belize doesn't feel they must 'cover' what should fall under individual responsibility, starting with common sense. IF that would not suffice to eliminate my personal responsibility, I wouldn't be in the STR business in the first place. Regardless, I have always worked 'backwards' in Belize and even when I was in the US.

Meaning, anything that could cause a legal 'problem' should be eliminated or not provided in the first place. I provide kayaks, but would never consider jet skis, who can go 15x the speed and thus 50x the  inherent risk of a slow-moving kayak. Btw, the fact they use the equipment in public places vs. in one's own place I don't think has any legal bearing; in my case, I do not own the ocean which guests have to share with others, so hard to control where they use it.

Remember - 'Nothing Has To Be'. Nothing., when you really think about it. Take good care all and happy hosting. 😉 

[Stephanie]

Good to see you back @Fred13 !

[Jonathan1321]

Great info! Is the waiver the same? Have you changed it since 2017? Have you changed the way they acknowledge the waiver such as wet signature or is it still on your listings? @Colleen32 

[Melissa1813]

We are changing our insurance to a commercial policy.  we do not allow guests to use bikes, small water crafts etc.  yet sometimes they help themselves.  is there a liability waiver we may add to our agreement which requires guest approval before they book and arrive for their stay? 

[Helen3]

How are your guests 'helping themselves' ?surely you lock such items away in a secure area @Melissa1813 

If you want liability insurance for bikes, boats etc you need to add it  as an addition to your STR home insurance.

[Tamara682]

@Tj3  for your best protection, consult a local attorney to decide how best to effectively protect yourself. If the attorney is worth their salt, it's worth the $.

[Fred13]

My new 2022 sign in my property reads:    "Breath at Your Own Risk"

That should cover everything else.

[Helen3]

Love this reply 🤣🤣🤣 @Fred13

[Chris20059]

Taking inspiration from the text originally published by @Colleen32 , here's what I have done. We own a house on a small lake. We have a dock, rowboat, fire pit and a lakeside deck. Like Colleen, we post the text below in the House Rules section of our listing plus:

> Print a copy that is the first page inside the activities binder we keep inside the house

> Post a No Diving sign on the dock and a Swim at Your Own Risk sign near the water

> Add a short note to any photo captions showing the dock, waterfront or rowboat that says. PLEASE READ HOUSE RULES BEFORE BOOKING. 

Here is the text we use in the House Rules section, written by a human, for humans: 

-----

LIABILITY WAIVER: Our property provides you with a unique opportunity to swim, fish, enjoy the decks, dock, fire pit, and use the rowboat(s). We want you to take advantage of these amenities and have a memorable visit. However, by agreeing to our Airbnb House Rules, you acknowledge that there are inherent risks involved with participating in these activities and that lakes, docks, decks, stairs, campfires and boating may present dangers for adults and children. Children must be carefully supervised at all times when near the water. If you swim or use the rowboat (especially children) we strongly recommend the use of life jackets which are provided for you and your guests. Because the water at the end of the dock is only 4' deep, no diving off the dock is allowed. By agreeing to the House Rules, you acknowledge the potential risks discussed above, agree to accept full responsibility for any bodily injury that may occur to you and others in your party, and waive any claim whatsoever against the owners for accidents or claims arising from these activities.

----

Here's my view on the topic:

1. Lawyers are opportunistic, but also pragmatic. They work on commission. If a client comes to them and said their 12 year old dove off the dock and injured their neck, the lawyer is absolutely going to take a case if no waiver or signs were posted. But if a "No Diving" sign was clearly posted and disclaimers were made in the listing prior to booking, they will probably decline the case and move on to lower hanging fruit. Would an attorney drafted 10 page liability waiver signed by everyone staying in the house be better? Sure. Is is realistic to get this? Not for me. 

2. Your homeowners policy probably does not cover short term rentals. Just because your policy says it has $300,000 of liability coverage does not mean that coverage extends to rental guests.  Also, in our case, our insurance forbids us from having any watercraft with a motor that a guest could access so we stick to human powered watercraft. Ask your agent.

3. Get an umbrella liability policy. $1,000,000 of coverage is quite cheap and well worth the cost. This kicks in after your homeowners policy.

4. Don't in a million years assume that Airbnb's million dollar liability coverage is going to cover you. Do you really think Airbnb is going to stroke a seven figure check to your guest without a fight? They, too, would be looking at what precautions you made, what signs you had posted, what disclaimers you noted in the listing. In this situation, it's more likely that you would be fighting Airbnb to come to your aid. Don't bet on it. Count on your homeowners and liability policies instead, and think of Airbnb as bonus coverage that may or may not exist. 

Look, the reality is that millions of stays happen each year without incident. Yes, guests do stupid ** and those events get publicized. Yes, you could lose everything if you don't take precautions. But if you take modest steps to limit your liability without putting off guests, you should sleep pretty well at night. I do.  

[Keith824]

Great topic to discuss. We all want to minimize risk and inconvenience to guests. Has anyone figured out a way to have an electronic waiver they digitally click off on? Seems that would be pretty easy for the guests.