Stephanie Sabela didn't know what to expect when she first decided to list her backyard swimming pool for rent on the popular online platform, Swimply,
Sabela saw an online ad for Swimply back in June. On a whim, she decided to advertise her saltwater pool — complete with access to lounge chairs, barbecue, and pool toys — on the platform's website.
"After a week and a half on the site, I had like 200 requests," Sabela said. "I signed up for a lark. And then it was like a second job. I couldn't keep up."
Like Airbnb but for swimming pools, the California-based Swimply provides a forum for homeowner "hosts" to rent out their backyard oasis by the hour. Sabela started out charging $100 an hour on the site, and quickly upped it to $200 as she learned that pandemic-weary city-dwellers would pay good money for the chance to escape for an hour or two to a private piece of paradise.
"I've made $10,000 since early June," Sabela said. "So that's serious coin."
The site is based in the U.S. but has more than 500 listings in Canada, including many in the Lower Mainland. One Burnaby resident told the NOW that they made thousands of dollars when the heat dome made local temperatures skyrocket.
“I’ve taken it down now because it’s getting colder but it was a nice way to make money,” said Clay. “I made out like a bandit.”
But while renting out a private pool can be lucrative, experts say anyone considering it — either through Swimply or some other platform — should think long and hard before taking the plunge.
Darcy Merkur, a personal injury lawyer with Thomson Rogers law firm, said the $1 million in liability protection offered to hosts by Swimply amounts to "peanuts" in the unlikely event a pool rental results in a serious injury or death.
"If I was consulted by someone who was injured at a swimming pool, I would sue the homeowner," Merkur said. "It doesn't matter if they have an airtight rental agreement, we would absolutely implicate the homeowner . . . and those cases are often quantified in the $10-million range."
On the Swimply platform, some hosts require renters to sign a waiver ostensibly releasing them from all responsibility. Merkur said waivers can help in the event of a lawsuit, but they aren't bulletproof.
“Lawyers like us get around them all the time," he said. "Renting out your pool, as a side hobby, is not advisable from a liability perspective at all."
- With files from the Canadian Press
