The Practical Checklist Before Your First Summer Booking for your STR

Good insurance does not replace good operations. The properties that generate claims are usually the ones where the physical safety setup has been ignored.

Before your peak season bookings check-in, run through this list:

1) Pool fencing and gate latches: Self-closing, self-latching gates are code in most jurisdictions and a basic line of defense. Inspect them before every season.

2) Drain covers: CPSC-compliant anti-entrapment drain covers are required by federal law under the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act. If yours have not been inspected recently, have them inspected now.

3) Antislip surfaces: The deck around your pool and the steps leading to your hot tub should have nonslip surfaces in good condition. Replace anything worn.

4) Depth and safety signage: Posted pool depth markers, “no diving” signage in shallow areas, and hot tub temperature and time limit warnings are cheap. Replacing them after an incident does not help you.

5) Lifesaving equipment: Have a reaching pole and life ring within easy access of the pool, with their location documented in your house manual.

6) Lighting: Guests use pools and hot tubs at night. Unlit decks and steps are how slip-and-fall claims start.

7) Hot tub chemical logs: Documented maintenance records are evidence of due diligence if a waterborne illness claim is ever filed.

8) House rules in the listing: Explicit pool rules, hot tub occupancy limits, and prohibited hours in your listing and house manual create a paper trail that matters if a guest ignores them.

What a Claim Actually Costs

Nobody publishes a clean “average drowning settlement at a vacation rental” number, but wrongful death data across premises liability cases gives you a range worth knowing.

Recent wrongful death settlement analyses show that serious negligence cases typically land in the high-six-figure-to-seven-figure range. One review of 956 wrongful death cases found a mean settlement of around $973,000. Other analyses describe settlements ranging from $500,000 to over $1 million, with cases involving clear negligence and substantial lost earnings that reach several million dollars.

Even before you get to drowning, the slip-and-fall numbers are significant. A 2026 premises liability review puts the average residential slip-and-fall settlement on private property at around $105,000, with severe injuries regularly exceeding $500,000 and catastrophic cases topping $1 million.

A wet pool deck, a missing antislip mat at the hot tub steps, and an unlit path from the back door to the spa at 10 p.m. are not edge cases. These are Tuesday nights in a vacation rental.

I can see where a pool might be a plus in a short term rental in a hot weather area, but I solve the pool problem by never buying a place with a swimming pool.

My dad bought a place to flip. It was a horrible ordeal. He paid retail, there was a lot more wrong with it than he knew.

Plus he got called away to work out of state for a long job.

I finished the place up and sold it for him.

The people buying it said they didn't want the above ground pool. I popped holes in the liner and let it start draining.

Meanwhile the wife decided that she wanted it at out house.

Paid someone to move it, new liner, new prep work, new filer media. It was fabulous (sarcasm). We filled it and got it going that year, but it was cold. Swam in it once then closed it down.

The next year I think maybe half a dozen times it was used. Then less the following year. Finally she decided that I should just remove it altogether.

Pools are great when other people own them. Unless you are really into it the headache isn't worth it.