Actually, given it had been dead for two years, the whole tree likely would have been removed over concerns a branch (or the whole tree) could come down in wind or due to rot.

But you’re incorrect to assume that the only alternative to hotels is AirBnB. There are plenty of legal rentals of many lengths and style that are licensed, inspected and easy to find that are cheaper than hotels and live exactly like a home and are not owned by major corporations. VRBO.com has tons of them in every…

A lot of homeowners insurances will not pay out of they discover that the policyholders were renting out their home as a hotel. You could just as easily end up screwed, on top of experiencing injury.

Hotels are often dramatically safer because of the elevated liability for innkeepers.

Literally just a basic inspection of the structural soundness of a property would pick up on that swing being unsafe. Hotel pools and the area surrounding them get inspected. Rooms get inspected. Dining areas and kitchens get inspected. Gyms get inspected. We don’t have specific treadmill laws as far as I know. And…

I am with you - I would not ever use Air BnB or Uber because I am all too aware that the major component of the business model is avoiding liability (like, “all independent contractors”). This kind of story does not surprise me in the least. I used to travel constantly for business, and as a petit young woman…

It was November. Most trees look dead in November.

I am unclear how the guest bears responsibility? Ass too big?

I feel the same way. Getting into a strangers car?! Also staying at someone’s home that I don’t know?! Just sounds dangerous/high bacterial factor for me. Yes there is filth in Cabs and Hotels but at least there are people working regularly at the hotel to clean.

True but the big cities are where they are pushing the hardest. From my travels I have seen that even if the mass transit is not the most robust then they do have plenty of cabs. If the price is an issue then that is an issue for the locals to take up not some townie in for 1 weekend every 3 months.

Would you at least concede that the current system that AirBnB operates under creates significant moral hazard where the corporate entity that facilitates amatuer renting/subletting of property advertises in a way that implies the services offered are comparable to a commercial rental while purposefully keeping…

In the case of a hotel, motel, or B&B, though, the presumption made via the licensing process is that inspections have happened and insurance procured. That means that both responsibility and accountability are known and understood. The thing may still happen - you can’t regulate away bad luck - but there are remedies…

The question isn’t how many people died at the hotels, it’s how many deaths there were that were a direct result of hotel negligence.

If you go to someone’s house & die there in an accident such as the one in the story above, they are usually liable and their homeowner’s or renter’s insurance normally covers that liability to some degree. I can see an argument that Airbnb should require property owners to provide proof of sufficient homeowner's…

Yes, and then the hotels can be sued and held liable for those deaths as either not inspecting the pool (to take one example) or not following through with safety updates after inspection are considered a breach of duty to care and thus negligence. Far fewer people die at hotels and resorts by causes that are…

...except that if this happened at a hotel, as a result of negligence, you could sue the hotel. AirBnB, on the other hand, claims no responsibility.

It’s not being used for AirBNB bookings though. That’s the thing.

if the tree was dead it should have been removed, not just the swing — Texas winters are very icy and any weight would have caused it to come crashing down... That poor family... :(

That’s a good starting question, but it’s only the start. That one figure wouldn’t mean anything on it own. How many hotels and motels are there? How many people have stayed in hotels and motels and experienced harm? How many have stayed in hotels and motels and not experienced harm? Percentages, son.

So someone help me out. Is uber/air bnb crazy cheap or something? Because when these services came out my first thought was, why the fuck would i get into some rando car who i don’t know where anything could happen? Same with air bnb, maybe this person claims they’re gone and then they come and hacksaw me to pieces.…