FFamily members of three tourists who died while staying at an Airbnb Mexico Cityapparently due to carbon monoxide poisoning, urged the short-term rental company Thursday to require detectors at properties it lists to prevent future tragedies.
“Our main goal is to try to get the word out to those who plan to use short-term rentals like Airbnb,” said Jennifer Marshall, whose son, Jordan Marshall, is one of the travelers. “We want to pressure Airbnb to regulate and mandate carbon monoxide detectors going forward. It’s the only way we can think of to honor our kids.”
Wrongful death lawsuit in the works
Lawyer L. said. Chris Stewart of the Atlanta-based trial firm Stewart Miller Simmons said a wrongful death lawsuit was planned against Airbnb and others as a result of the incident.
“We ask Airbnb To require all their listings to have detectors, he said, “They have international and national bans on parties, on guns, on cameras. They could easily use carbon monoxide detectors, too. They know they’re killing people in their rental homes. We know of at least three other cases.”
But Stewart said they are waiting for information from investigators in Mexico to identify “all the accused” before filing a lawsuit.
The three travelers who died on October 30 were Candice Florence, 28, from Virginia Beach, VA; Her longtime friend, Jordan Marshall, 28, who was also from Virginia Beach but was studying in New Orleans; and Cortez Hall, 33, of New Orleans, who also studied in the city. They had visited the country on the Day of the Dead and were staying at the rental property in an upscale part of Mexico City.
According to news reports, Florence She called her boyfriend in the US to tell her she was sick, and he called her Airbnb host to go check on them. The authorities later found the three dead.
In a statement, Airbnb said it has suspended the listing and canceled upcoming reservations pending an investigation into the incident.
“This is a terrible tragedy and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones as they grieve such an unimaginable loss. Our priority now is to support those affected while the authorities investigate what happened, and we stand ready to assist with their queries however we can,” the company said.
Airbnb has not confirmed the cause of death yet
Airbnb said it has not yet confirmed that carbon monoxide exposure was responsible for the deaths, but noted that it runs a worldwide program that provides free smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to hosts, and more than 200,000 of them have been ordered so far.
Airbnb said it is also working with Mexican officials to enhance safety practices among hosts and is updating its detector software to speed up shipments in the country.
She added that the site allows potential guests to filter their searches for hosts reporting the presence of detectors, and flags any reservations where there are none.
Families want this to be a cautionary tale for other travelers
Jennifer Marshall said she hopes the death of her son and his friend will be a cautionary tale for other travelers.
“We want people to rethink how they vacation,” Marshall said. “Even if we can’t get any action from Airbnb, which would be disappointing, we hope it brings that awareness to many. If we can’t count on companies to prioritize the safety of their customers, we need to make sure we do that ourselves.”
Frida FlorenceHighlighting Airbnb’s “flaws” is a priority, Candice’s mother said.
“We’re asking people to take precautions,” she said. “They don’t require or require their hosts to guarantee a carbon monoxide detector, and they should. Doing so can really save lives. We don’t want any other families to experience what we experienced.”
Florence also called on the people to urge lawmakers to help address the issue.
“Our companies know better and they have to do better,” she said.
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