If you are passionate about traveling and tourism, then you are probably familiar with the mobile app called Airbnb. In fact, Airbnb is probably one of the most used apps on your smartphone along with Instagram, as it is for any traveler who stays up to date with the trends. As of 2019, Airbnb boasts more than 5 million listings in 191 countries across the world.
Fact: In Philadelphia alone, there are more than 2,500 Airbnb rentals available.
Airbnb has become a much more convenient and cheaper alternative to Booking because it benefits both tourists who for a place to stay in a foreign country or city and locals who own houses or apartments in these foreign countries and cities. The process of how Airbnb works could not have been made simpler. For a traveler, you can search for available rentals in the city you are planning to visit and rent it. For a local, you can offer all or part of your home for rent. That’s it.
“And while developers of the app have worked wonders to oversimplify the process of renting and offering for rent houses and apartments via Airbnb, many are confused about liability in case a traveler sustains an injury in one of those Airbnb rentals,” says a Pittsburgh Airbnb accident attorney from Shenderovich, Shenderovich & Fishman.
LIABILITY FOR AIRBNB ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES IN PENNSYLVANIA
Just like Uber, Lyft, and many other popular apps, Airbnb acts as an intermediary between travelers looking to rent a place and those who offer their homes for rent.This makes the process of recovering damages in the event of an injury in an Airbnb accident more complex than you think. It’s nothing like the process of booking a hotel room, where the hotel is fully responsible for everything that happens to you throughout your stay.
If you slip and fall at a hotel, your premises liability lawyer will be able to help you seek compensation from the hotel itself if the hotel failed to exercise reasonable care to ensure the safety of its patrons. In the event of an Airbnb accident, liability is not as clear and you will have to jump through quite a few legal hoops to recover damages.
In the best-case scenario, your experienced Airbnb accident attorney Pittsburgh will file a premises liability claim against Airbnb and the homeowner or landlord who rented their home to you.
WHO’S HELD LIABLE FOR YOUR INJURY AT AN AIRBNB RENTAL?
Luckily, Airbnb does offer host protection insurance of up to $1 million for those who rent houses or apartments through Airbnb. However, your Airbnb accident will have to meet very specific criteria in order to make you entitled to insurance coverage.
In Airbnb accidents resulting in severe injuries, the $1 million limits can dry up pretty quickly, which is why the injured visitor will have to seek compensation through the homeowner’s insurance coverage. The same goes for those whose Airbnb accident is not covered in the company’s insurance policy.
In Pennsylvania, most people carry homeowners’ insurance on the property, which may cover your Airbnb accident. However, our Pittsburgh Airbnb injury lawyer warns that many insurance policies do not provide coverage if the homeowner is using his or her home for profit. And renting a home out on Airbnb falls under the category of “using for profit.”
Let our lawyers evaluate your case and determine who can be held liable for your Airbnb injury. Seek a free consultation by contacting Shenderovich, Shenderovich & Fishman. Call our offices at (412) 391-7610.
