Safety steps Airbnb renters can take — and measures that operators must

A lethal hearth that swept by a constructing in Old Montreal on Thursday the place a number of residences have been getting used as Airbnb items is elevating security considerations about short-term rental properties.

Here are a number of steps friends can take to guard themselves:

For friends:

Check to see a rental’s registration quantity is posted within the itemizing as a option to affirm the operation is above board. (City officers mentioned short-term leases are unlawful in Old Montreal, with 10 institutions approved to function, having been grandfathered in. Yet Airbnb lists greater than 1,000 locations for lease.)

Scan the net evaluations for any security considerations.

On arrival, affirm that smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are in place, and check them. Guests may even carry their very own simply in case.

Look out for flammable supplies close to a fuel range, comparable to curtains or paper towels.

Check the home handbook for an evacuation plan, and map out an escape plan.

For hosts:

Airbnb suggests operators set up carbon monoxide alarms close to each sleeping space, and smoke alarms on each degree in addition to outdoors every bed room “at a minimum.” Check the batteries at the very least twice a yr. Rentals should adjust to all native security rules — on hearth escapes and emergency exits, for instance.

Install hearth extinguishers within the kitchen, storage and on each flooring “if possible.” Put stickers on doorways and cupboards the place they’re positioned to make them simpler to search out.

In the home handbook, lay out an evacuation plan that features two methods to exit every room and a spot to fulfill outdoors.

Ensure correct air flow and common inspection of family home equipment comparable to fuel stoves, water heaters, ovens and charcoal grills. Wood and coal stoves, fireplaces and furnaces ought to be cleaned by professionals annually, the corporate says.

Remind friends in the home handbook that they need to by no means use a grill or camp range indoors — for heat or different causes. If there are house heaters, select a mannequin that turns off when tipped over. Make positive wires and cables are in good situation.

RISING DEMAND

Short-term leases have surged over the previous yr, as shoppers return to journey after greater than two years of COVID-19-related restrictions.

Now, whilst excessive inflation and rates of interest erode travellers’ spending energy and the revenue margins of hosts with mortgages to pay down, Airbnb and different platforms proceed to see a rush of consumers desperate to lease a spot.

Airbnb and Vrbo listings grew by 41 per cent in Toronto, 38 per cent in Montreal and 49 per cent in Vancouver between the ultimate quarter of 2021 and the identical interval final yr, in keeping with AirDNA, which tracks short-term rental items worldwide.

– This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed March 20, 2023.