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?

[Brad145]

Hi Collen, 

Can you kindly share the waiver? 

[Dana287]

I have a pool and hot tub and wanted to likewise create a liability waiver/contract and was wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing yours with me so I could model mine after it where applicable.  Thanks! 

- Dana

[Dana287]

P.S. I see your post was from 2017.  Do you think it had a huge impact on your guest response as opposed to prior to instituting the contract?

- Dana

[Michele1265]

Hi Colleen, that sounds like the right course of action. Would you kindly share your waiver form? I have a upstate NY cabin and could use on but can't find any online. Thanks, Michele

[Robin4]

@Michele1265 

Michele, this is an old thread and Colleen might have majored in business economics, had a little baby boy, bought a yacht and sailed off into the sunset since she did that post!

If I can just wade in, don't place too much faith in damage waivers, many of them do not stand up in a court of law. It can be argued that the piece of equipment was not maintained in a fit state of use for its designed purpose!

I deliberately do not allow guests to use any piece of my equipment beyond the boundaries of the property. By that I mean pushbikes, walking our dog, use of my wife Ade's mobility gophers.

Within the property they are covered by my public liability insurance policy, beyond they are not. 

Unless you have an accredited rental company and a equipment rental licence, a damage waiver will not protect you from a smart lawyer!

Keep the equipment locked away.....it's just not worth the risk!

Cheers......Rob

[Zoe436]

@Colleen32 May I ask what platform you're using to ask for signatures? docusign? 

Also I don't get an email contact for my guests and im wondering if I can send a link instead, through the airbnb messaging platform. 

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Colleen32]

Airbnb removed my listings from the platform because I have hunters shooting into my property and law enforcement says it's legal for them to do it, so Airbnb removed me for Guest Safety reasons. 

[Adi27]

Great idea. If one guest books for 12 people, how do you get the other 11 people to sign the waiver? Do you gather their emails and send them the waiver?

I am thinking about the having physical forms available to sign soon after check-in and to be placed inside a form deposit box.

If anyone have any thoughts on this, please comment below.

[Carla1804]

Where did you get the waiver form from, please? 

[Kristine340]

Hi Colleen,

Would you mind sharing a copy of your liability waiver?

[Fred13]

Good question @Tj3, good answers. In many foreign countries 'outdoor' type of accomodations do require (especially 'foreigners') to sign a waiver of liability, after the fact (aka upon arrival).

[Tom716]

I am wondering if you have a seperate waiver for your visitors will Airbnb then slink out of their million dollar coverage. And a million doesn't that far these days either.

Maybe they will share the cost of any potential litigation?

Cheers

[Jess78]

It’s be so great if air as a company would put into place some guidance or ways to go about having guests digitally sign liability waivers. I would not sleep at night just having them check that they read it. Pretty sure that won’t do you much good if they take you to court. You need their signature or a digital representation of it. If I had a lake, or a river, or even a treadmill I wouldn’t let them use those parts of the property without physically signing something. People can always be more ignorant and more litigious than you think in the United States, best to protect yourself. Maybe it’s different elsewhere. 

And no way I’d trust the ‘million dollar guarantee’.  That is a load of glittery sh** pasted on the website as host bait. If I sound jaded, you’re correct. 

[Jonathan806]

This is all great info, thanks for sharing. I’m looking into opening a home located on a river for Air BNB and curious how risky it would be to allow the guests to swim

[Matt786]

A view from the customer perspective - a host has asked me to sign a waiver which removes their responsibility for anything and everything including negligence.  This type of waiver has no place on Airbnb and I wish that Airbnb would take steps to ensure the legality and standards of host waivers.   Here's the language "The undersigned hereby agrees to hold the cabin owner harmless against any and all claims, damages or causes of action for damages arising from injury to persons or property, or loss of life sustained in or about the cabin by any person or persons whatsoever.  The undersigned further agrees that the owners shall not be liable for any personal injuries or damages to any goods, wares or property regardless of how such injuries or damages may be caused, or whether resulting from acts of negligence."