Boy's death at Outer Banks beach house prompts action by consumer watchdog
Vacation rentals services should alert customers to the dangers of home elevators and refuse to list homes until their elevators have been inspected, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Tuesday.
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The family was visiting Corolla from Canton, Ohio, when he became stuck on July 11 in the doors of the elevator in the four-story beach house where they were staying, authorities said.
"Residential elevators can pose a deadly but unforeseen hazard to children, particularly children who are encountering them in vacation or rental homes," Robert Adler, acting chairman of the CPSC, wrote in a letter to officials at Airbnb, Vrbo, TripAdvisor and other platforms and rental services. "I reach out to you, not as a regulator, but in the hopes that you will join us in ensuring that children are safe in rentals on your platform."
Adler said the danger posed by residential elevators can be reduced by having a licensed inspector install guards or electronic monitors to prevent children from being trapped between the interior and exterior doors.
He urged the platforms to take the following steps:
- Immediately notify all renters of the potential hazard via email or in a warning box on their reservation or booking pages
- Immediately require all hosts using the platform to lock outer access doors or otherwise disable the elevators in their properties until they can provide proof of an inspection
- Make such inspections a requirement of anyone posting a listing on the platform going forward
"By working together, we can stop these agonizing deaths and prevent further harm to children and families," Adler wrote.
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