Should guests with out of the norm issues such as excessive weight alert hosts in advance?

[Edward200]

Hi,
I don't know if there are any measures that AirB&B takes on this but we thought we should put it out there as a possible issue for hosts (and guests when you think about it). We recently had two guests who we estimated weighed in total over approximately 600 pounds, she was likely 250+ and he was well over 300, maybe close to 400. He stepped on one stair on our steps to the bedroom and it sounded like it cracked so it started our concern. Would our bed hold up to their combined weight? Fortunately the couch they both sprawled on was new but would other hosts have furniture that could accommodate that weight? Can this become a safety issue for both guest and host? We made it through fine but we know others might not so we wanted to put it out there. They did not warn us in advance - should a guest be required to mention something that wouldn't be an issue in a hotel but might in a private home? Would other hosts become alarmed about safety and whetehr they are equiped in furniture, etc. for such out-of-the-norm weight issues? We never said anything and aren't asking this in a discriminantory way - but there are real-world issues with not having furniture, etc. equipped for that much weight as well.

[Rebecca160]

Hmm, this has not happened to me, yet it would definitely be a problem. I know that my personal bed frame has a limit of 500 pounds. No idea what the limit is on the guest bed frame. That one is wood and I suspect it has about the same weight rating.

This could definitely be a safety issue, yet it also is an issue covered under the ADA. We cannot discriminate based on weight, yet if we have furniture that is not designed to accomodate large sized people, then what are we to do? If we ask their combined weight, we violate the law. If we say nothing and hope for the best, and the worst happens (broken furniture, possible injuries from breaking steps, etc) will Airbnb  pay for restitution?

Perhaps we could say something in our listings, such as beds have a combined weight maximum of x pounds and leave it at that?

[Letti0]

This weight issue was a real concern for me when I was setting up my Venue. Wedding and Event guests come in all sizes I ended up spending twice the price on chairs to make sure they were heavy duty ones. I carried over this concern to my rental furniture. I checked the weight limits on all beds and chairs and again spent more money for heavy duty on these items. This is one of the reasons my listing says 10 Adults and 2 Children Maximum. I have a set of twin bunk beds I will not allow adults to sleep in them, it's a safety issue as far as I'm concerned.  

[Cormac0]

@Edward

This issue has come up before at least a year ago, where a morbidly obese guest broke a bed that was not sufficient to the task if my memory serves me right the host's conjecture was that she should have been told in advance. 

In the same post, a commenter alluded to a court case of morbidly obese man have a toilet collapse under him with obvious unfortunate consequences.

The beds that hotels use are of an industry standard designed for comfort, strength and longevity and carry a commensurably premium price.

I think good manners would suggest that a person with such a condition should bring this to the attention of the Host, as very few hosts would have installed a bed sufficient to the task. I think an additional problem certainly in America is, that people that are morbidly obese don’t see it as a problem and trying to convince them otherwise, would lead to a pretty bad review.

Additional there is the difference between mass and weight, a bed designed to take two people weighing in total 300Kg (circa 660ibs) is not necessarily designed to take the weight of one person weight 250kg.

Perhaps Fred could offer a solution to this problem?