Advice on Airbnb my boat

[Parsnip]

Hi, I am looking to Airbnb my boat through the summer months, has anyone ever done this and are there any restrictions? Also what sort of insurance will I need? 

[Alan de Enfield]

4 minutes ago, Parsnip said:

Hi, I am looking to Airbnb my boat through the summer months, has anyone ever done this and are there any restrictions? Also what sort of insurance will I need? 

 

 

Yes it has been done and in several instances a lot of tears have resulted (both by renters as the boat sank and they lost everything, and owners when renters have destroyed their boat)

 

The cost of achieving all the legal requirements will far, far exceed any likely income.

Special safety certificate (Commercial BSSC)

Commercial Insurance

Commercial Boat licence

Seperate Landlords gas safety certificate

etc etc

 

New licence introduced for boat renting | Canal & River Trust

 

From 12 June 2017 boat owners will be able to apply for a Static Letting Licence for static boats which will cover all types of boat rental, including long-term renting, Airbnb-style short breaks, and overnight stays. The boat owner will need to have a permanent mooring and should talk to their local planning authority to see if planning permission is needed. The price will be the same as for the current Self-Drive Holiday Hire licence.

The Static Letting Licence has more rigorous requirements to make sure that both the boat is safe and that potential renters are fully briefed before spending a night on board. Boat owners will be required to have: proof of adequate insurance; a Non-Private Boat Safety Scheme Certificate; a detailed handover document including emergency procedures and contact numbers; a Landlord Gas Safety Certificate; and written permission from their mooring provider.

Edited February 1, 2021 by Alan de Enfield

[Sea Dog]

Popcorn anyone?

 

[GRLMK38]

Everything you need is described here https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/business-and-trade/boating-business/application-process-and-fees

 

[Jen-in-Wellies]

Where are you moored? Is it on canal river trust waters? Requirements here. Short answer, it isn't easy to do properly and very costly. Cutting corners can lead to insurance being invalid and claims denied. People have lost everything when boats have sunk with renters in charge.

Jen

[Tracy D'arth]

Its been tried before. The legal necessities make it a non-starter. See similar threads on here with the search button.

[Sea Dog]

Just now, Tracy D'arth said:

Its been tried before. The legal necessities make it a non-starter to do it above board. See similar threads on here with the search button.

Fixed that for you...

 

[LadyG]

General advice is: don't

Things are so volatile at the moment it would be even more difficult. 

I understand the boat sales market is good, you could try selling it now, and buy it back at a discount when purchaser has discovered the real costs of owning a boat! 

Edited February 1, 2021 by LadyG

[Arthur Marshall]

In those halcyon days before airbnb  I used to lend my boat out to friends when I wasn't using it. After the third time, I stopped. By that time I'd had the boat left stranded in the  middle of nowhere with broken deck boards, an overflowing toilet and all the batteries totally flat, including, god knows how, the starter; it been driven halfway round the 4 Counties for a week with the bilge pump on full time as the boat had sprung a leak - pump failure would have been a sinking - lost mooring stakes and lock keys;, a huge bash in the bows of the boat: none of these thing ever admitted or apologised for, and these were friends.

Now think what strangers are going to leave you with...

[GUMPY]

3 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Popcorn anyone?

 

 

 

Edited February 1, 2021 by Loddon

[Hudds Lad]

9 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

In those halcyon days before airbnb  I used to lend my boat out to friends when I wasn't using it. After the third time, I stopped. By that time I'd had the boat left stranded in the  middle of nowhere with broken deck boards, an overflowing toilet and all the batteries totally flat, including, god knows how, the starter; it been driven halfway round the 4 Counties for a week with the bilge pump on full time as the boat had sprung a leak - pump failure would have been a sinking - lost mooring stakes and lock keys;, a huge bash in the bows of the boat: none of these thing ever admitted or apologised for, and these were friends.

Now think what strangers are going to leave you with...

 

question is, are they still friends?

[dmr]

Boats have been rented out for years, some totally informally without any paperwork (or insurance). A popular wheeze was/is to "sell" the renter a tiny share in the boat so hat they become joint owners rather than renters.  Only trouble is that if they run off with your boat you will be in a difficult legal position.

 

Most people have no real concept of living on a boat, you will get phone calls in the middle of the night because the hair drier has made the batteries flat, the gas has run out and the bog is overflowing.

 

..............Dave

[Tracy D'arth]

I know of 2 boats "borrowed" on a fee paying basis which were moored in very bad areas and burnt out totally.

Insurance declined to pay out, re-floating and salvage cost to the owners near bankrupted them.

[David Mack]

11 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

In those halcyon days before airbnb  I used to lend my boat out to friends when I wasn't using it. After the third time, I stopped. By that time I'd had the boat left stranded in the  middle of nowhere with broken deck boards, an overflowing toilet and all the batteries totally flat, including, god knows how, the starter; it been driven halfway round the 4 Counties for a week with the bilge pump on full time as the boat had sprung a leak - pump failure would have been a sinking - lost mooring stakes and lock keys;, a huge bash in the bows of the boat: none of these thing ever admitted or apologised for, and these were friends.

Now think what strangers are going to leave you with...

Back in the 60s my parents hired out the 20 ft fibreglass cruiser they owned, in an effort to recover the purchase and running costs. The last lot of hirers having picked the boat up from its base at Olton on the GU abandoned it at Somerton on the Oxford Canal towards the end of September. I have abiding memories of travelling down with my father on a cold autumn Friday evening by train to Banbury, then bus down the main Oxford road to the crossroads up the hill from the canal, walking down the dark country lane to Somerton Wharf were we spent the night aboard. Next morning we set off, breaking the ice as we headed up the canal. At one point I went down into the cabin where the noise of the ice breaking reverberating round inside was frightening. "Daddy, we're sinking!" became a household catch phrase after that, although in fact the boat was fine. So we abandoned the trip and headed for home. Meanwhile my mother and sister were following on (having been to the Saturday morning ballet class first) and my mother remembers the indignity of waiting on Leamington Spa station to change trains hearing the tannoy announcement "Would Mrs Mack and daughter travelling to Banbury please come to the ticket office."

They didn't hire the boat out again.

[Arthur Marshall]

48 minutes ago, Hudds Lad said:

 

question is, are they still friends?

Course they are. It was my fault for lending it to inexperienced people, wasn't it?

[Hudds Lad]

Just now, Arthur Marshall said:

Course they are. It was my fault for lending it to inexperienced people, wasn't it?

 

i don't know, you never said if they were experienced or not? glad it didn't get in the way of your friendship.

 

we let my wife's parents use a week we couldn't use on our boat, they have been with us about five times and are not green to narrowboats, i was still worried the entire week though  

[Arthur Marshall]

1 hour ago, Hudds Lad said:

 

i don't know, you never said if they were experienced or not? glad it didn't get in the way of your friendship.

 

we let my wife's parents use a week we couldn't use on our boat, they have been with us about five times and are not green to narrowboats, i was still worried the entire week though  

None of us were experienced really, back then. Sorry if my reply came over a bit short-like, it wasn't meant to.  I still let one friend use it if he wants - he's the engineer who helped me rebuild it. If it breaks down, he just fixes it and carries on. It's too old a tub now to risk it with anyone else.

[Hudds Lad]

13 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

Sorry if my reply came over a bit short-like, it wasn't meant to.

 

i was 50/50 on it but you don't usually come over as snappy so was hoping i wasn't in bother again  

the joys of the written word on the internet.

[baldlimey]

It does not even need to be inexperience, I have replaced many water pumps but when  one packed up on a Easter Sunday on a boat we had rented in Dublin the poor owner still ended up coming out as I had no tools, or a spare pump.

 

You could of course leave spares and tools but would you want to trust 'anyone' repairing your boat

[Trevor Lyons]

One way to share costs reliably would be to share the boat with co-owners. A number of people have done so, particularly on Dutch Barges in Europe; and, having recently spoken to a co-owner, it can work well. I might even do this myself in due course. In the 1980s, when I had a narrowboat, I lent her out to a relative who, despite having some boating experience, brought her back with a huge dent in the bows which needed bashing back out again. Clearly co-owners have a strong proprietorial interest in caring for the vessel.

[Detling]

In addition to the above if CRT discover by whatever means that cash or reward has occurred your license is cancelled as is your insurance and you are only allowed days to get it off their water, or they will confiscate and sell/scrap it. Bit like your car, if you use for hire/reward without correct paperwork your insurance is cancelled and then the police can confiscate or tow away.