Four injured as balcony collapses at Airbnb property in Brighton
ABTA chairman Noel Josephides said the collapse of a balcony at an Airbnb property in Brighton, injuring four people, has raised some important questions.
Airbnb has since removed the property from its listing while it investigates the incident, which resulted in two men and two women being hospitalized with serious leg and arm injuries when the fell from the first floor flat into the basement.
Josephides said there were ‘many questions to be asked’ following the collapse of the balcony.
"Did the host have a public liability policy which covered for the fact that the property was being rented?" said Josephides. And, he queried whether Airbnb has a duty to check the policy.
"If the host was a leaseholder, did he/she need permission from the freeholder before renting the property? If there was a mortgage on the property then do the terms of the mortgage permit sub-letting? Does Airbnb have a duty to check such details and has the host followed Airbnb instructions?" he asked.
Also, Josephides wanted to know who a client would pursue for damages following such an incident.
"Is it the host or Airbnb? If a client books with an operator that complies with the Package Travel Regulations then the course of action is quite simple, the action is against that company because the PTRs say the operator has to take full responsibility for the actions of its suppliers.
"ABTA checks that every tour operator member has adequate public liability insurance. It is then up to the operator to sort it all out with the supplier," added Josephides.
Airbnb states on its website that it provides protection insurance against guests injuring themselves or damaging a property, which is automatically included in every hosts’ account.
However, while tour operators, hotels and even small B&B owners are tightly regulated, there is no requirement for private properties rented on sharing sites such as Airbnb to be inspected and checked for health and safety issues.
A spokesman for Airbnb said: "We have removed this listing from Airbnb while we investigate and are in contact with the host and guests.
"There have been more then 80 million guest arrivals on Airbnb and problems for hosts and guests are extremely rare."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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