NEW ORLEANS (WDSU) — A press conference was held Thursday with the mothers who lost their children last month in Mexico to carbon monoxide poisoning at an Airbnb.
Courtez Hall’s parents Jordan Marshall and Kandace Florence and an attorney discussed the investigation as well as the mothers’ call for carbon monoxide detectors at all Airbnb properties.
The families plan to file a lawsuit against Airbnb just a month after the deaths of the three tourists in the apartment they were renting in Mexico.
The families’ attorneys have requested a meeting with Airbnb officials to discuss a warrant for detectors at their properties. The families are also calling for an FBI investigation into the deaths of their children.
The mothers are also urging anyone renting an Airbnb ahead of the holiday season to check their properties for working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
According to the attorney representing the families, Airbnb does not mandate carbon monoxide detectors in their listed properties.
Hall was a social studies teacher at Kipp Morial School, and his mother said she got the dreaded call of her son’s death on his birthday.
Airbnb did not confirm reports of carbon monoxide exposure and said it was suspending this listing in Mexico City and canceling all future bookings.
Airbnb released this statement to WDSU:
“This is a terrible tragedy, and our hearts go out to the families and loved ones who mourn such an unimaginable loss. Our priority at this time is to support those affected as authorities investigate what happened, and we are ready to meet their demands as much as possible.”
Background
We have suspended the listing and canceled future reservations while we investigate. We are in contact with the host and provide our support. We have been in contact with the US Embassy regarding this tragedy. We can convey the following regarding our work on CO detectors:
Our global teams work every day to promote safe travel for our community. We operate a worldwide detector program, providing free combination smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to all eligible Hosts. To date, over 200,000 hosts worldwide have ordered a detector through this program. In Mexico, Airbnb worked with Mexico City’s Global Risk Management and Civil Protection Secretariat to launch an information campaign for hosts to promote safety best practices. Additionally, we’ve introduced updates to our free global smoke and carbon monoxide detector program to speed up shipping for Hosts in Mexico. We encourage all hosts to confirm that they have installed a smoke and carbon monoxide detector, and homes that claim to have a detector are clearly marked so that this information is visible to guests. Customers can also filter listings by homes that claim to have them. If a guest books a listing in which a host has not yet reported the presence of detectors, we flag this so they are aware and can take the necessary precautionary measures.
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