Vacation Rental & Airbnb Pool Safety Checklist

What families need to check before anyone swims at a rental with a pool or hot tub

WaterWiseKids.com — Free water safety education for families

Run through this the moment you arrive — Airbnb, VRBO, cabin, condo, or family rental.

Family / group:

Dates:

Address to give 911:

Nearest hospital / clinic:

The Moment You Arrive: First-Night Walkthrough

Walk the pool area with your kids — do this before you unpack, and say the rules out loud so every adult and child hears the same thing.
Find the exact address for 911 — a rental address is easy to forget in an emergency. Write it down and keep a charged phone poolside.
Locate rescue gear — any reaching pole, life ring, or shepherd's hook. If there is none, keep something you can reach or throw at the edge.
Note the deep end and slippery spots — walk the edge, find where the bottom drops off, and flag steps and slick decking.

Is there a fence between the pool and the house? — short-term rentals are inconsistently regulated; do not assume four-sided isolation fencing.
Test the gate — it should swing shut on its own and self-latch above a child's reach. If it does not, treat the pool as unfenced.
Seal off the doors to the pool — decide how you will keep them locked or alarmed when no adult is watching. Pack a portable door or pool alarm.
Store pool toys out of sight when closed — so a child is not drawn to the water to reach them.

Check every drain cover — in the pool AND the hot tub, it must be in place, intact, and secured. A missing, cracked, or flat cover can trap a child underwater.
Keep the hot tub covered and latched — the CPSC recommends keeping children under 5 out of hot tubs and everyone away from the drains.
Find the emergency cutoff switch — know how to shut off the hot tub pump fast.
Tie back long hair near suction — loose hair, limbs, or a swimsuit can be pulled into a strong drain.

Assign a Water Watcher — one adult whose only job is watching the kids, no phone, no distractions. Trade off every 15-20 minutes.
Touch supervision for little ones — stay within arm's reach of any child under 5 or any non-swimmer, every second near the water.
The pool is closed unless an adult opens it — with a big group and a relaxed schedule, make it explicit: no child near the water without a named adult on watch.
Life jackets for non- and weak swimmers — U.S. Coast Guard-approved, sized by weight, not foam floaties or armbands.
Check the pool FIRST if a child goes missing — and do a verbal headcount every time the group moves.

Enroll in swim lessons — a child who can roll to a back float, breathe, and get to the wall has a real advantage if they end up in the water unexpectedly.
Practice floating in a life jacket — let kids feel how the jacket holds them up before the trip so it is not a surprise.
Teach "reach or throw, don't go" — kids should call an adult and hand or toss something to a struggling swimmer rather than jumping in.
Point out the exits and steps — show every child how to get out of this specific pool on day one.

Layers, not guarantees — barriers, supervision, and swimming ability work together. No single layer is enough on its own.
Drowning is fast and silent — it does not look like splashing and shouting. Watch the water, not just the deck.
Learn CPR — at an unfamiliar rental, help may be minutes away. Every supervising adult should know child and adult CPR.
Swim lessons do not make a child drown-proof — even strong young swimmers need barriers and an adult watching.