Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
ON MEDIUM’S MATTER blog, writer Zak Stone described how his father died at an Airbnb rental.
In Stone’s telling, his dad went to go sit down on a rope swing suspended from a tree. The trunk that the swing was attached to broke and fell on Stone’s father, who suffered severe brain damage and died.
Stone’s story illustrates a bigger problem faced by so-called sharing-economy startups like Airbnb: a lack of regulation and safety standards, as well as a lot of liability at stake at these companies.
Unlike bed and breakfasts and hotels, for example, Airbnb rentals aren’t required to be inspected or even to maintain things like cleanliness.
Instead, the responsibility and liability are offloaded to the hosts themselves. Airbnb says on its website: “Airbnb has no control over the conduct of hosts and disclaims all liability.”
In a statement, Airbnb said:
We were shocked and heartbroken when we learned about these incidents and we continue to keep these guests and their families in our thoughts. Nothing is more important to us than safety. Over 60 million guests have stayed in an Airbnb and we are proud that accidents are incredibly rare. We know that every industry, every community, and every city grapples with safety issues and no one has an absolutely perfect record, but that’s what we strive for and we’ll keep working as hard as we know how to make our community safer for everyone.”
Airbnb users can provide reviews on properties if they have a negative experience to share and you can call and speak with an Airbnb customer-service representative at any hour of the day.
But ultimately it’s up to hosts to make sure they’re providing a safe rental — Airbnb doesn’t enforce specific safety standards.
And, Stone writes: “Home safety tips were not incorporated into the sign-up process for new properties until after my father’s incident.”
Incidents like Stone’s are rare on Airbnb’s platform (and rarely publicised) and Airbnb is not the only company to run into liability problems. You’ll read equally rare stories about Uber drivers behaving badly, too, for instance.
There has been chatter about the potential for liability with Airbnb for a few years. Stone cited The New York Times’ Ron Lieber writing in 2012: “It’s only a matter of time until something terrible happens.”
Easy to sign up
Part of what makes services like Airbnb appealing is that the sign-up process is seamless. You can snap a few pictures and list your home or apartment almost instantly on the company’s app and website.
And in an age of on-demand services, things like having a host complete a safety quiz or speak with an Airbnb trust and safety manager would impede that seamlessness.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky did hire Chip Conley as the company’s head of global hospitality a couple of years ago, and Conley has since begun providing “hospitality standards” for the company’s hosts to follow.
By Maya Kosoff from Business Insider
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
freak accident and could have happened anywhere
Well not really. It would have to be in a place a swing was available to use. If this was a hotel they would be in trouble for not making sure it was safe. It doesn’t sound like a freak accident but rather a swing attached to an unsafe tree.
The question now is the insurance the property owner has. It is likely there will be a clause excluding paying guests. Public liability for residential homeowners is a lot less than businesses. Airbnb are probably not liable but the homeowner is.
In a world where a homeowner was found responsible for a blind person walking out a window I can’t see how the owner isn’t responsible for a swing that collapses on the user
That’s a very good point because the home owners that were sued in that instance were friends of the guy who walked out their window at a party so they had some cover by their insurance company for accidents; if you rent out a room your insurance is higher to cover the risk so question here is what kind off insurance did the home owners have and will they be covered.
I don’t get why so many people claim a freak accident. If furniture such as a book shelf fell and killed somebody would you say the same? You wouldn’t question the fact the owner hadn’t secured it correctly?
Don’t see any difference to safety when it comes to internal or external furniture. The balcony in Berkeley was a freak accident or was somebody responsible? No difference here other than who owns it.
The point of air bnb is that its not a hotel, its private unregulated accomodation
I don’t think the point of Airbnb is that it is unregulated. The point was to have cheap accommodation. Either way you are responsible if you have unsafe places. In Ireland you can be held responsible for somebody being injured even if they are trespassing.
It is crazy how people think there is nothing wrong with inviting people onto property that is not safe.
so it couldn’t have happened in a place ud get on booking.com. no other accidents take place anywhere else.go have a lie down. dude
It can happen in a hotel but they have proper insurance and can be sued for failure to comply with health and safety laws. Owners of the business can also go to jail for gross negligence.
There will be more on this case and lawsuits. The homeowner could see jail and bankruptcy in their future
Was this article sponsored by one of the many major archaic hotel chains losing out to the likes of Airbnb?…
I’m sure proper insurance will be first thing on my mind when I’m dead.
Thank god I died in an insured hotel, I’ll be saying to meself.
That’s tragic, but freak accidents can happen anywhere. You can’t legislate everything away.
If I wanted a standard, samey experience I can go to any hotel. If I fancy a bargain and I’m comfortable with uncertainty, I can Air B&B.
I can see the hotels industry latching onto this story for their own agenda but I could dive into a hotel swimming pool, bang my head and go the same way as above. Hotels and taxi drivers, learn to differentiate yourselves if you want to survive, don’t go trying to tell customers we’re wrong for trying new things.
Me thinks the hotel lobby groups are trying to stir it up
I don’t see the issue, perhaps they could offer some incentive for hosts to subject themselves to some kind of inspection, but just letting it work itself out seems reasonable. People die all the time. The are fine to accept no liability.
I’ve just come back from Amsterdam and stayed in an Airbnb apartment which was fantastic. I’ve also stayed in many before and they too have been excellent but without and sort of controls in place then this could potentially happen at any rental.
It was a freak accident that can happen anywhere.
It’s just a network, it isn’t a hotel chain or a company, so I don’t see why the site should be responsible.
Sorry to hear the poor gentleman died from his injuries, but my question would be: since when do you expect a rope swing to be usable (strong enough) for an adult? I’d have thought it to be for children.
The attraction with Airbnb is that it’s a bit different and good value. If it’s fully checked and regulated then the cost increases.
Having stayed a few times in Airbnb apartments I think it’s a very good service but you know when you book you are taking a chance.
Sponsored by Irish Hotels Federation
What a crap article. Airbnb is a fantastic startup. That poor man died in a freak accident.
At least he went out with a bough
I wood expect you to display some probity on this issue.
when a news paper advertises a bnb offer, are they assuming responsibility for any accidents in that bnb? or popular hotel booking sites do they take in responsibility or is it still with hotel? airbnb is no different, hosts responsible not booking website
Back in the olden days, people took responsibility for their own actions. In the case of the swing, a person would check it out before getting on, by leaning on it, checking the attachments, and so on. Nanny State, the litigiousness of the country, and the attitude of entitlement seem to have removed some people’s common sense.
As others have said,that could have happened anywhere.
Around 70 people die, or are maimed, by falling down the stairs in Ireland every year.
Usually drunk.
Man fishing at rocks by the sea gets swept off by freak wave,
Ban the sea…
Living next door to an Air BnB in a small apartment complex is a nightmare, incident after incident that no one is willing to talk about.
have your say