Do you include kayaks, paddle boards, motorboats, bikes, in your waterfront STR?

[David H.]

Hi.  

I'm opening up a new STR on a speedboat-friendly lake in Indiana, and I'm thinking about including kayaks, paddle boards, and bikes (there's a great 20 mile paved biking path next to our property).

These items would add a lot of built-in recreation to our listing, but I have been warned by an insurance agent that this will open our LLC up to a ton of liability should something happen to a guest using one of these items.

(I also have a 10 year old pontoon boat that I was thinking about offering as an additional rental, but I'm leaning against this due to maintenance and possible breakdowns (and especially liability)).

Does anyone have any advice on this?  And if you do offer recreation items such as these, how do you protect yourself from liability?

Thanks!

[John Underwood]

We provide 2 kayaks, a paddle boat, a canoe and life jackets.

Our dock area also has insurance coverage.

[Michael Baum]

I would never offer a power boat of any kind to guests. Drunk guests and boats equal dead guests.

Your LLC would never survive a lawsuit.

Kayaks are a maybe for me. People who want them bring them with them in our instance.

[Tim J.]

Agree with Michael Baum - I would never offer use of, or rent something with a motor.

[Andrew Steffens]

100% agree on powerboats although I think some success can be had with waivers.  Would definitely consult an attorney however.

Unfortunately we as a PM do not include those things because it is too much extra things that can go wrong like things going missing, broken, etc.  If you are self managing with few units I think it is a nice touch.  We have had some owners do this on their own whilst we manage the other aspects of their unit as an option as well.

[David H.]

Quote from @John Underwood:

We provide 2 kayaks, a paddle boat, a canoe and life jackets.

Our dock area also has insurance coverage.

Hi John.  

Would you mind sharing the name of your insurance company that covers your pier? Is it a rider, or is it part of the basic coverage?

I'm looking for a new landlord policy for the house and have gotten a few quotes.  It was very hard to get a firm "yes" from the insurance companies that our pier would be covered for liability... we also have a bridge that connects our mainland to a small island that is also part of our property.  The insurance company said the bridge is covered because it is "permanently" connected to the land, but they were very unclear about the pier since it is "removable" and not permanently connected to the land.  I'd love to find a company that is 100% clear in that they cover the pier...

Also, do you have your guests sign waivers for use of your kayaks, paddle boards and canoe?

[Clay Asplundh]

I agree with the others saying the boat is not a good idea. All of those other amenities sound like great ideas though. If you have a shed or additional storage area, you could charge an additional fee to use the equipment during a guests stay. If they don't want to just keep the area locked. 

[John Underwood]

I use Foremost.

[David H.]

Quote from @Clay Asplundh:

I agree with the others saying the boat is not a good idea. All of those other amenities sound like great ideas though. If you have a shed or additional storage area, you could charge an additional fee to use the equipment during a guests stay. If they don't want to just keep the area locked. 

 Yeah, that's a great idea about locking them in a storage shed.  But still concerned about the liability aspect.  Since guests would be using the items off of our premises, home insurance would not cover them getting hurt.  I think getting them to sign a strong waiver would be very important...

[David H.]

Quote from @John Underwood:

I use Foremost.

 Thanks, I will check out Foremost.