STR liability: what happens if a guest gets injured at your property?

Category: Legal & Regulations

By: Daniel Kowalski

Posted: 2025-12-24T22:02:44.901Z

This is my biggest fear as a host. A guest slips on a wet floor, falls down stairs, or has an allergic reaction to something. What happens legally? Who's liable? What does Airbnb's coverage actually do? And how much could I potentially owe? Real stories welcome — I want to understand the ACTUAL risk, not the theoretical one.

Reply by Chris Nakamura:

Attorney here — I handle premises liability cases including STR injuries. Not going to sugarcoat this: as a property owner, you bear significant responsibility. You have a legal "duty of care" to maintain a reasonably safe property. If someone gets hurt because of something you knew about or should have known about — broken step, loose railing, slippery floor without a mat, missing smoke detectors — that's negligence, and you're liable for their medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, the whole nine yards. The numbers can get ugly fast. A basic slip-and-fall settlement runs $20-100K. Broken bones or head trauma: $100-500K. God forbid something truly catastrophic and you're looking at seven figures. Here's what actually protects you: First line of defense: STR insurance with liability coverage. Proper Insurance (https://properinsurance.com) gives you $1-2M in liability coverage plus legal defense. This is not optional — it's the cost of doing business. Second: umbrella policy for another $1-5M on top. Runs $200-500/year. If you have any assets worth protecting (which you do, since you own property), this is a no-brainer. Third: holding the property in an LLC separates your personal assets from the business. Not bulletproof, but creates a meaningful barrier. Fourth: actually maintain your property. Do safety inspections. Fix hazards immediately. Document everything. A host who can show a history of proactive maintenance has a much better legal position than one who ignored known problems. Total cost for proper protection: about $1,700/year. That's nothing compared to a $500K lawsuit.

Reply by Priya Nair:

Real story: Guest's child (8 years old) fell off our cabin's deck. Deck railing was 34" high — up to code when built but current building code requires 36" minimum. Child broke an arm. Parents sued for $175,000 (medical bills + pain & suffering). **What happened:** - Airbnb AirCover: denied claim ("railing was not defective, met original building code") - Our Proper Insurance: accepted claim, assigned attorney, negotiated settlement at $95,000 (paid entirely by insurer) - Our out-of-pocket cost: $0 (plus legal fees covered by insurer) - We paid to raise all deck railings to current code: $2,400 **Without Proper Insurance:** We'd have been on the hook for $95,000+ out of pocket. **Lessons:** 1. Just because something met code when built doesn't mean you're safe. Courts consider current safety standards. 2. Inspect your property for ANY potential hazard — stairs, decks, pools, hot tubs, loose tiles, low lighting 3. Get proper insurance BEFORE something happens. The premium ($1,400/year in our case) is pocket change compared to a lawsuit. 4. Document all maintenance and repairs. If you can show you've been proactive about safety, it helps your defense. Check Proper Insurance (https://properinsurance.com) or Safely (https://safely.com) and get covered today if you aren't already.