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Last Updated on August 30, 2026 by Sarah
In today’s Airbnb blog post, I want to talk about Airbnb Emergency prep. This includes how to prepare your short-term rental for possible emergencies as well as how best to help your Airbnb guests handle them. Good emergency preparation is crucial for any Airbnb host — not for the good reviews, but for peace of mind!
Airbnb Emergency Prep
In this Airbnb hosting blog post, when I talk about emergency prep, I mean everything from first aid and fire prevention to poison control and preventative measures. When something goes wrong at your Airbnb, your guests will likely be panicked. As an Airbnb host, you need to stay calm, remain accessible, and help them through an emergency.
What Type of Emergencies Might Occur at Your Rental Property?
When thinking about how best to plan for emergencies at your Airbnb rental property. It’s important to consider which types of issues are most likely to arise.
Here are four of the main Airbnb emergencies that you need to be able to respond to:
- weather emergencies
- power outages
- accidents and injuries
- medical issues
#1 Weather Emergencies
Consider the location of your Airbnb rental. What weather issues are most likely to arise? Hurricanes are likely a big one in Florida. In the Midwest, it can be Spring tornadoes. If it is a cooler destination, it can be intense winter storms.
For hurricanes, you need to first make sure you know your zone and evacuation routes. If tornadoes are an issue, where should your guests go during a tornado warning? Are wildfires a possibility? What should they do if one breaks out? These are all very specific to your Airbnb’s location. I just want you to think about it and arm yourself with knowledge here!
Also, you need to have an Airbnb cancellation policy in place. Typically, if there is a hurricane warning, Airbnb will allow guests to cancel without penalty, and you don’t want guests there anyway! However, if there is a hurricane several states away and only light rain is forecast for your area, are you going to allow cancellations?
#2 Power Outages
Even if it’s not a significant weather event, power outages can occur anywhere during severe weather and even when there aren’t weather issues. Make sure to have flashlights and extra batteries on hand. These tend to walk away when kids play with them, so have extras for your extras. I will include a shopping list later in this post that contains flashlights and my other reccomendations.
Know where your breaker boxes are located so that you can give easy-to-follow instructions for resetting them if needed. You also should know exactly where all of your utility shut-offs are. Next time you are at your rental property, make sure to take pictures of your breakers so that you can easily walk guests through things as needed.
Additionally, if you use Airbnb smart locks, make sure to have a lockbox with a key on-site for manual entry if needed.
New host? Here are the items that I always buy multiples of!
#3 Accidents & Injuries
Accidents can happen anywhere. Your Airbnb guest could fall down a flight of stairs or slice their finger cutting lemons. I always recommend having a good Airbnb First Aid Kit or two at every rental property. Replenish or replace items within them as needed.
#4 Medical Issues
This category includes medical emergencies such as heart attacks, poison control issues, allergic reactions, etc. For these, your job as an Airbnb host should be to have all of the local emergency services info on hand. This includes:
- nearest hospital
- nearest pharmacy
- nearest urgent care
- fire department
- poison control number
- local emergency number
You can either keep these in a saved Airbnb response to provide as needed, or print them off and keep them on hand in your rental. If possible, it’s always nice to have a custom magnet made with this information.
As a rental owner near the beach, I would even add the beach flag warning system to mine.
QUICK LINK: Are you ready to create your new Airbnb listing? Click here to get started on Airbnb!
Guest Safety at Your Airbnb
So, what can you do to help prevent emergencies or quickly address them?
First, provide fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and a first aid kit to cover the necessary bases. A key part of your Airbnb emergency prep is to make sure they are always in working order.
Then, walk your rental with a critical eye. What could possibly go wrong? Do slick stairs need some grip? Should you paint that short drop-off so that people don’t trip? Could a child open a window and fall? Are railings too wide? Is the gate around the pool secure?
One of my best Airbnb kitchen safety tips is to make sure knives are out of reach and have cabinet locks available for your guests with small children.
Once you have a list, address anything or make your guests aware of any potential safety issues. Proactive communication goes a long way here!
Being Accessible in Case of an Airbnb Emergency
If an emergency were to occur at your short-term rental property, you need to be accessible!
If you have read my other Airbnb hosting blog posts, you know I always ask guests to communicate with me in the Airbnb app. However, I do have a couple of lines at the end of my House Manual letting them know they can call me in an emergency!
I think guests must always be able to reach someone during an emergency, so I always cover my bases, especially as I self-manage our Airbnb rentals while traveling myself!
For example, if we are going to be on a long-haul flight to Europe, I let my guests know. I have a friend and local host, as well as my cleaners, as my backup emergency numbers, and I proactively offer them to my current stays if there is a chance we won’t be reachable for more than a couple of hours.
So, before I board my flight, I send them a message that says, “I hope that you are enjoying your stay! I just wanted to let you know that we are boarding a long-haul flight. While I should have internet access and be able to respond quickly, there is always a chance it won’t work. If there is an emergency and you can’t get a hold of me through Airbnb or via phone, please reach out to PERSON at PHONE NUMBER.”
Airbnb Emergency Prep Shopping List
Here are some of the Airbnb emergency prep items I recommend Airbnb hosts buy for their Airbnb rental property. Of course, some of these vary by Airbnb location, but I wanted to include them all just in case!
Everyone anywhere needs Airbnb fire safety items!
Also, please make sure guests know where to find these items. I include the location of my first aid kit, fire extinguisher, flashlights, child locks, and toolbox in my Airbnb House Manual. Other things are stored away, and I would bring them up only in an emergency.
Airbnb emergency prep recommendations:
- first aid kit
- baby first aid
- fire extinguisher
- flashlights
- extra batteries
- child locks
- snow shovel & salt
- tarp
- fire blanket
- lockbox with key
I also really like the idea of having a portable power station onsite, especially in places where power outages are frequent or would greatly impact a stay. Typically, these are more remote places where power isn’t usually restored quickly. I would keep this fully charged and locked away, giving guests access only if needed.
Or, if you have a large property, consider installing a generator for emergencies!
More Airbnb Hosting Tips
Here at Our Little Lifestyle, I have countless free hosting blog posts to help you become a better Airbnb host, earn 5-star reviews, streamline your Airbnb workflow, support your Airbnb guests, protect your home, and maximize your profits! These are all 100% written by me and based on years of first-hand experience!
Feel free to browse all Airbnb posts, or you can start with my 5-Star Airbnb Hosting Guide and my FREE Airbnb Setup Checklist!
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