When taking any type of vacation, whether close to home or afar, you’ll need to stay at one of the various forms of lodging now available in the market. The more traditional approach is to stay at a hotel, motel, or resort, but there is also the option to stay in an actual home through the “sharing economy” services such as Airbnb. No matter where you stay, hotel lawsuit cases can arise from a number of issues and it’s important to know what issues to be aware of when you book your next stay away from home.
If you do encounter a situation that causes injury or harm to you or someone in your family while you are enjoying some time away from home, it’s important to know that liability can be different whether you are staying at a traditional hotel or someone’s home through Airbnb. Every situation will have different circumstances, but it’s good to have a general idea of who is liable for what types of damages.
Hotel and Airbnb Personal Injury Liability
Hotels have a responsibility to ensure the safety of all guests. This means providing warnings if there are potential hazards and including safety measures such as railings on stairways and cleaning up spills in a timely fashion. If a hotel fails to provide safety mechanisms, and/or staff acts in a negligent way that leads to the injury of a hotel guest, that property may be held liable for the injury of the guest.
With regards to Airbnb properties, the company does offer host protection insurance up to $1,000,000 per occurrence in the event of bodily injury or property damage while staying at a property booked through the site. However, there are several exceptions to this policy including any intentional acts, property issues, auto accidents, or criminal acts.
Bedbugs and Vermin Liability
It is required that hotels have regular measures in place to check for the breeding of vermin. Additionally, hotels can be held liable for instances when there is a bed bug infestation. When staying at a hotel, it is reasonable to expect that the hotel staff has taken proper measures to ensure a clean and disinfected environment for you and your family’s stay.
With Airbnb properties, it can be a different situation. Airbnb is not responsible for a host’s bed bug problem, but it is the host who can be held responsible. If you feel as though you may be the victim of an infestation while staying at an Airbnb, it’s important that you report all issues immediately, so that a resolution can be found and the proper measures can be taken to accommodate your needs and losses.
Crime Liability and Hotel Lawsuit Cases
All hotels have a responsibility to maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition. This includes taking steps to secure common areas against foreseeable criminal acts. The key word in here is foreseeable, meaning the hotel must take reasonable measures to secure their spaces, but not all criminal acts may be foreseeable. If a crime happens in a poorly lit area of the hotel or a crime is repeated and the hotel did not take steps to ensure that specific crime could be prevented, the hotel may be liable for damages from that crime.
Airbnb’s host protection program does not cover intentional acts or crimes. In the event that you are the victim of a crime at an Airbnb, it may come down to the liability of the owner who did not properly secure his property, but it is important to contact an attorney who specializes in premises liability.
In the event of any type of injury or damage that occurs while you are staying away from home, you should contact an experienced personal injury attorney who can help you determine whether there was negligence on behalf of the property owner that led to your injury. Your attorney may be able to help you recover financially from your losses.
References:
Florida State Law Innkeeper Laws. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2018, from https://legalbeagle.com/6728312-florida-state-law-innkeeper-laws.html
What is Host Protection Insurance? (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2018, from https://airbnb.com/help/article/937/what-is-host-protection-insurance
Can I Sue A Hotel For Bed Bugs? -. (2017, November 03). Retrieved March 28, 2018, from http://bedbuginjuries.com/can-i-sue-hotel-for-bed-bugs/
Harrow, R. (2017, July 01). Airbnb Offers Insurance But Coverage Is Far From Comprehensive. Retrieved March 28, 2018, from https://huffingtonpost.com/robert-harrow/airbnb-offers-insurance-b_b_10735610.html
Legally Speaking: Hotels hold no liability for unforeseeable injury. (2016, April 25). Retrieved March 28, 2018, from https://hotelmanagement.net/operate/legally-speaking-hotels-hold-no-liability-for-unforeseeable-injury
