Host a motorhome (RV) or camper van

[Motorhome-Experience0]

Hi all,

Myself and my wife have recently started renting our beloved motorhome and, since AirBnB is optimized for house or room rentals, we have the following doubts, specially regarding the Host Protection Insurance.

Will the Host protection Insurance cover the following circumstances:

1. In case the vehicle (motorhome) is stolen by a guest
2. In case of a driving accident (for self damage - since we already have a driving insurance that covers any third party costs)
3. In case of fire or any other damaging situation started, either directly or indirectly, by the guest

We would also like to know how to handle the following situations:

1. If, during the renting, the guest doesn't pay a toll, how can we proceed?
2. How should we handle traffic or parking tickets?

How can we have a written description from AirBnB for such situations? Do they have a legal email where we can place such questions?

All feedback of other hosts renting a motorhome or camper van is highly appreciated.

Best regards,

André **

[City-Limits-Ranch0]

AirBnb is not set up for you to rent your vehicle for off-site travel.  You would need to get RV rental insurance from an insurance company.  You might want to inquire with local RV rental companies about what insurance is available.

Just as with car rental, you pass that cost to your renter.  You would absolutely NOT want to depend on the AirBnb security deposit or host insurance for this situation.  It is very different than someone staying in your granny unit.  They could crash the camper into a crowd of people.  The liability is hugely enormous.  Your camper could be 100% destroyed in seconds and people could be killed.

We rent our RV/camper through AirBnb but it is fixed on site just like a cabin would be.  No one takes it off site.

Maybe there is a RV rental agency in your area and you could subcontract with them?  You identify the renters through AirBnb, they pay you, then they go to the RV rental agency and fill in their paperwork and pay them for the insurance and associated fees.

As far as it being stolen, as soon as it is stolen you call the police and they look for it but probably never find it.  The insurance you have for your possession comes into play.  Personally if I were to do this I would get a GPS tracker installed in a hidden location and I would make sure I could track my property.  I would require the guest to provide an itinerary and update it if it changed.  I would not trust them.

For tickets and other costs that the guest should pay but does not, have a big security deposit.  Detail in your written rental contract, in your listing and in person that these will be charged back if not paid.  The problem you will encounter is that AirBnb requires you to identify and charge back these items within 48 hours and you will not likely know about them in that time frame.

Again, I would go to a local or national RV rental company and see if they want to 'lease' your RV for a small amount of money, and handle all the paperwork for you.  You send them the renters, they rent them the RV and you collect the AirBnb funds and pay the RV company their portion.

[David126]

Excluded:

Vehicles (including, but not limited to, automobiles, scooters, vespas, and motorcycles). This exclusion does not apply with respect to any vehicle that is a Covered Accommodation. However, this exclusion does apply to vehicles that, at the time of the loss, are in transit, or are moving greater than 10 feet from their usual fixed location and moving faster than one mile per hour.

Sometime since I rented a vehicle but seem to remember they can recover tickets etc against the Credit Card you used.

[Patrice41]

What about a travel trailer where the guest would be responsible to own/rent their own vehicle that will tow it?  Does that change anything?

[Rachael26]

@Patrice41

In a word - No.

Nothing that is not fixed to the earth should be bookable through a listing with Airbnb. There are other companies that specialize in RV rentals - and I would assume your travel trailer would be included in that.

The negatives have already been superbly set out by @City-Limits-Ranch0 in the earlier post - so take heed - for the small amount of rental received there is a mountain of problems and financial ruin just waiting around the corner.

Don't do it.

[David126]

As long as you had Insurance to cover it being rented for damage and liability.

[Jeni5]

Maybe you could try Outdoorsy! for those in the U.S. and Canada

Outdoorsy is "The Largest & Most Trusted RV Rental Marketplace on the Planet"

[Lee165]

Hi, i have a camper rental site based in th UK [link hidden] we use a self hire insurance company that covers you and your customers as long as they meet the right criteria. For example; Age range 24-75 , less than 6 points, driving for more than 2 years, our customers leave a £500 deposit that covers the insurance excess. If my memory serves me correct we are only covered for 50% of the van price if a customer steals the van but you get customers details, utility bills, driving license etc. Check out our terms see if it helps [link hidden]

[Diane-Lucy0]

Hi Lee, can you give me the name of the self hire insurance company 

[Hilary117]

 A Hi Lee, I live on a Scottish island and am thinking about hiring out my beautiful 15 year old camper. I have had a quote for £1400 annual insurance which seems high. Did you have any problems getting insurance or has the whole process been straightforward. Any tips welcome!!

[Matt453]

Thanks for starting this thread Andrea. I'm thinking of getting into this area too; getting a campervan/motorhome, taking it to places where there are big events & putting it up on Airbnb and was curious about the implications. At the moment although I can see this idea as being very profitable, so far the risks and liabilities are far too great to proceed. I'll keep up with my research & keep you guys updated.

P.s. If there's anyone out there currently doing this I would love to hear from you. 

Many thanks

[Kevin122]

There is a class C camper on Airbnb in Lafayette Colorado for $160/night.  200 miles per day are free, $0.45/mile thereafter.

[Albert92]

Get your own insurance. Airbnb’s host protection insurance is a lie, and is more of a marketing scheme than something to protect you. 

[Ben579]

I would also love to see what ideas people have. I have been wondering about this subject for some time.

I have a vintage land rover with a pop up trailer attached. 

If I got seperate insurance, I don't see why I couldn't list this on AirBnB.

Anyone currently doing this or hear of anyone doing this?

[Megan650]

Hey guys! Thinking about doing this with a camper van that I am buying. I live in LA and believe it's a perfect market for this type of rental. I see that this thread has not been active in some time. Any updates?