Weird, but maybe not....

[Jolly Roger]

During a recent visit to a marina I saw a sailboat which purported to advertise on Airbnb for overnight accommodation, including an evening trip on the river. It struck me then as bizarre, but I’ve wondered since if anyone has tried this? I can’t locate the boat on AirBnb.com by the way.
Landlubbers might pay for the unique experience of sleeping on a boat for a few nights, and a useful source of income if you found yourself stuck in some nice marine, with a suitable boat.
There are certainly more weird places advertised on that website throughout the world.

[Stumble]

Not weird, just possibly incredibly illegal. To take paid passengers requires a captains license if you have one your fine, without expect jail time. On the rental side you will need commercial insurance which can be very expensive, but that's just a financial issue not a legal one.

[john61ct]

I doubt if even 5% of what AirBnB sells is strictly "legal" at all layers of jurisdictions.

The whole sharing economy, freelancing, crowdfunding, AI running things, surveillance, self-driving vehicles, drones, blockchain trading, genetic modification, life extension etc etc

No way for the laws and regs to keep up, the average law-abiding citizen is weekly committing dozens of felonies s/he doesn't even know about.

So TPTB can target anyone they like for any old arbitrary reason.

[nauticalnomad]

I have seen plenty in the Med for rent overnight. Gibraltar has a fair few for rent on Airbnb.
There is also the following sites ive heard of-
https://www.alltherooms.com/VB/
https://www.sailo.com/
Home
https://techcrunch.com/2013/02/20/bo...bnb-for-boats/

[toddster8]

One guy in my marina lists his "classic" (old) power cruiser on AirBnB. I wouldn't mind, except that by giving his guests a key card, they have access to my (every) boat. There have been some issues with unknown persons boarding boats, and a few thefts - not necessarily related to his operation, but how can you tell? In the last few days, I've seen people from that boat wandering the docks, taking each others photos in front of the nicer boats... harmless fun? Probably. I've also seen some of them going down the finger docks and peering into the ports of boats - curiosity? Also a little creepy...

I do AirBnB myself, on the farm, and after seeing how people struggle to operate a toilet or a hot tub, or a bicycle, I don't think I'd let them anywhere near my boat, unsupervised. The cluelessness of the general public is just hard to believe.

[Jolly Roger]

This is an interesting tack isn’t it?
I also rent my cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains with Airbnb and others, and I agree with todster8, about thickies. Some also think they’ve rented the Hilton at $50 a person, including concierge.
I couldn’t find a single boat offering short term overnight stays on any of the sites Norticalnomad posted. They were all actually chartering, for which I agree you would be well to have suitable licenses, insurance, etc.. That is, in the US, but who’s talking just about the US?
I’ve lived aboard my boat in Gib’ and it would be an ideal spot. Plenty of eateries and good night life, but no so much cheap accommodation.
What if you just offered overnight accommodation, where the owner also lived aboard?
Would that constitute “chartering,” and would you need additional insurance, over and above a comprehensive policy?
If the boat was in a decent marina, or town, food need not be provided. If you kept the guests, (sorry, your “friends”) in line, it shouldn’t present too much of a problem for neighbours either.
Anybody might go for it, instead of staying in a motel, or just for the experience.

[belizesailor]

Check with the jurisdiction of your boat/property before offering it up on AirBnb. Some have pretty stiff fines for running an unregistered hotel in some places.

The regs appear to vary by municipality or equivalent. Here in Panamá for example, you can get slapped pretty hard in Panamá City for an illegal short-term rental (less than 30 days). I suspect the hotel industry lobbied pretty hard for this. But, out here in the highlands where we live...no regulation at all for AirBnb and such. Just finishing a house here that we plan to AirBnb when out cruising or traveling.

I also AirBnb my place on the Rio Dulce as do many others.

Austin, TX for example has strong penalties and enforcement resources. I discovered a tenant of mine there was running an illegal AirBnb...kinda hated to evict him because he was doing a fine job, but I could have ended up holding the bag, so hasta luego!

I love AirBnB, we use it a lot. And Uber etc. Good stuff. Trouble is it cuts out the government thieves and their special interests so they dont like it...till they figure out how to steal their cut.

I would be hesistant also to AirBnB my cruising boat unsupervised, too many systems, but Im likely to include the Hobie 33 as an amenity for the Rio rental in the future because it has zero systems.

[valhalla360]

We use airbnb regularly.

Doing it on a boat just creates too many complications:
- You need commercial insurance covering renters. This can be difficult as most commercial insurance is going to assume the boat goes out, so you won't get much if any discount for the boat never leaving the slip.
- If the boat does leave the slip, particularly with you or someone in your employ piloting it, better have a captains license and appropriate safety equipment.
- Does the marina want more for a "commercial" slip? This assumes they even allow this at all.
- What to your neighbors think of this? I'm not comfortable with any random guy getting access to the docks. At least if it's limited to owners, it thins out the worst of the petty crime potential.
- Do you really trust some random idiot not to damage something?

Airbnb have their issues but it's not a matter of regulations not being able to keep up. It's mostly an issue of many trying to fly under the radar. If you have a hotel chain with thousands of rooms spread across the country, you will have a slip and fall accident at some point (probably a few times per year), so you learn what precautions are necessary and you get the right insurance. Your typical airbnb has one, maybe two, rooms for rent and has only done so for a year or so. They live hoping nothing goes wrong (or are blissfully ignorant of the risks).

[Jolly Roger]

I didn’t start this thread with a view to renting a bunk or two. The marina my boat’s in are trying to get rid of liveaboards anyway, and it’s not exactly a salubrious establishment, with dirt roads and crappy facilities.
I was just interested whether the AirBnb concept had trickled into boats at all.
I agree that regulations, particularly in the US, might make it difficult, but boats are international, (as is this forum), in some exotic places, all over the world.
As John61ct says, there is a regulation for everything in The States nowadays, but not everywhere is like that. I can think of many fabulous marinas I’ve wintered in where there is no security on the docks, and the public are walking up and down all the time. So it would be easy to receive “friends” for a weekend or two each month.
Nor would I dream of letting complete strangers stay on my pride and joy without me being on board as well. The systems are complicated enough for experienced people, never mind landlubbers complaining at 3am about the bed rocking about. But if you lived aboard anyway, what would be the difference? You might also meet some nice people.
Liability could certainly become an issue as Valhalla360 states, especially in these litigious United States. I slipped in the saloon and broke my leg not so long ago, and I’m sure I could have made serious trouble for an owner if I had been paying to stay on board. But we cover accidents with a clause in the short term rental agreement for our Blue Ridge Mountains cabin, (which is unsupervised), and which satisfies our insurers. So I’m sure it could be covered specifically on a boat as well.
I just thought it might be another way for a cruising boat to earn a bit of extra money when stuck somewhere for the winter, or during the hurricane season, etc. Even if you wintered somewhere else the following year, you would just change your location on AirBnb and other sites.
But since nobody has said they are doing it anywhere, I guess they aren’t. But I bet they are—somewhere.

[CaptTom]

One success story seems to be when the marina does this. One marina in Maine (Robinhood) rents what amounts to a barge (custom-built, non-motorized houseboat) on a mooring. They started with one, and have added a few more, so they must be doing well with it.

Another I know of (Badger's Island) has started to rent houseboats. Their marina is in a great location, but has strong currents around the slips, making getting in and out difficult. Rumor has it they make more money putting houseboats in the slips than they would renting to boaters. All I know is they've added a few more houseboats this year.

If I didn't already have my own boat, I'd certainly be a customer. And as a marina, they already have access to appropriate insurance coverage.

[Leo Ticheli]

I've got a slipmate who just started listing his boat on AirBnb; to my surprise, he quickly became fully booked. We are in a tourist destination, so I guess that's why people find it attractive. He restricts his renters from using the propane stove and provides a microwave and coffee maker in it's place. No sailing involved, just use of the boat as a hotel room.

I believe the AirBnb guests are well qualified, so I'm not concerned about security, but there are some funny people out there. Time will tell.

He's now able to write off his boat as a business expense; he's smarter than I am.

It's definitely not for me, but interesting none the less.

Fair winds,
Leo

[SV Siren]

Not weird...I just did a search in Chicago for Airbnb boats, and there are 15 of them listed...not sure as to how legal they are, or if they are insured.

https://www.airbnb.com/s/Chicago--IL...verride%5B%5D=

[Jolly Roger]

Well here we go! Clearly I didn’t do a thorough enough Airbnb search.
They obviously do accept boats as accommodations, but it would seem the owners are not on this forum—or they’re keeping their heads down?
There are some limitations. Some don’t allow use of the gas stove and I can’t be sure if I would be allowed to even use the head on one boat. That could be tricky at 2am! They also have pretty hefty deposits and cleaning fees, but that’s normal.
Looking at the calendars some are doing extremely well if they actually get the nightly fee they advertise.
For me it would beat actually taking people out for a sail, i.e. effort compared to return.
It would also be a big deal if it is possible to set it up as a company, to be able to off-set the running expenses.
It’s beginning to make me think…Britannia could field two spacious doubles (with me in the port single), two bathrooms with idiot-proof electric heads and showers, air conditioning throughout, TV and cockpit stereo, microwave, dishwasher, fridge and freezer, and even a washing machine/drier, (just for when someone falls overboard).
The old gal’s better equipped than many apartments. Better get myself into a half decent location quick…

[JPS27]

Since I have a boat (obviously) and I like sleeping on my boat, when I accompanied my wife to one of her exceedingly high mileage running races -- in Annapolis--the deal was we'd Airbnb on a boat. It was great. 34' Beneteau. Another upside was it got her more open to an upgrade on our boat. Lol.

[Jolly Roger]

Yes, having searched further, I’ve come to the conclusion it is much more prevalent then the responses to my little thread implies. An advantage over renting a dwelling is that if it becomes untenable for any reason, i.e. local regulations, marina rules, or even objections from fellow owners: you can just move to a more amenable location.