Water Safety Tips for Holiday Lodge Owners
These water safety tips for holiday lodge owners are designed to be essential reading for anyone who owns or manages a lodge—particularly if you’re letting it out to guests. Water safety isn’t just about preventing slips or using a pool safely; it includes protecting against waterborne diseases, maintaining hot tubs correctly, using proper signage, and ensuring that the right procedures and precautions are in place. This isn’t just good practice—it can be vital for keeping people safe and maintaining your insurance cover with Park Home Assist.
Whether you’re hosting friends and family or paying guests, water can pose risks. While your holiday lodge should be a place for fun and relaxation, any setting where people interact with water has the potential for serious incidents. Here’s a rundown of practical and responsible water safety tips, and how the right holiday lodge insurance can help safeguard both you and your guests.
- Signage around water: Clear, visible and sensible
Any outdoor or indoor area where water is present, from hot tubs to private lakes or pools, should have clear, appropriate signage. This may include:
- “No diving” or “Shallow water” signs at pools or plunge pools
- Warnings about slippery decking or steps after rain or use
- Hot tub use rules (such as max numbers, time limits, and age restrictions)
- Notices reminding users not to use glassware near water
Good signage can not only prevent accidents but also demonstrate that you’ve taken reasonable steps to protect guests. If you let your holiday lodge to paying guests, this becomes even more crucial—failing to provide proper warnings may be seen as negligence.
Park Home Assist’s holiday lodge insurance includes property owners’ liability cover, which is designed to protect you in the event of injury or illness to guests at your property. However, this is subject to reasonable safety and maintenance standards being met—clear signage is part of that expectation.
- Hot tub safety and maintenance
Hot tubs are increasingly popular in holiday lets, but they need care. Poorly maintained tubs can harbour Legionella bacteria, which can cause Legionnaires’ disease—an extremely serious form of pneumonia. Other hot tub hazards include:
- Electrical faults
- Overheating or temperature fluctuations
- Injuries from unsupervised use, particularly with children
If you provide a hot tub, it’s your responsibility to make sure it’s properly cleaned, filtered, and treated. This means checking chemical levels daily when in use, emptying and cleaning regularly, and keeping a maintenance log.
Crucially, if you fail to maintain your hot tub properly and someone falls ill as a result, this could invalidate your liability insurance. Park Home Assist insurance provides liability cover that helps protect you in the event of illness or injury, but only when you’ve taken the right precautions. Without documented maintenance, the responsibility may fall on you, including legal and medical costs.
- Safe use of swimming pools
Many holiday parks have swimming pools, often with employed pool attendants, but they can get busy and it’s much better to be safe than sorry so that the pool can be enjoyed responsibly.
- Never leave children unattended, either in or near a pool. Drowning can occur in very shallow water.
- Don’t swim alone. Swimming with a buddy is more fun and crucial if there’s no pool attendant.
- Don’t drink alcohol before swimming or when supervising others.
- Don’t run and avoid boisterous play around the pool to prevent slips and injuries.
- Know how to do CPR and where the nearest defibrillator is – it could save someone’s life
- Drinking water, pipes and general hygiene
Water safety isn’t only about swimming or bathing. Contaminated drinking water, lead pipes, or unclean tanks can pose serious health risks.
If your holiday lodge relies on a private water supply (such as a borehole, well, or stream-fed tank), you should have it tested regularly for bacteria and other contaminants. Even mains-supplied properties should:
- Check for signs of leaks or rust
- Run taps after long periods of disuse
- Clean and flush tanks regularly
Stagnant water can become a breeding ground for bacteria—especially in seasonal properties that are closed for part of the year.
Your Park Home Assist policy may include home emergency assistance cover, which can provide support if a plumbing issue leads to a sudden emergency, such as a burst pipe or contamination incident. However, general wear and tear or neglect is usually excluded. Regular maintenance is crucial, both for health reasons and to protect your insurance position.
- Taking paid guests: Know your responsibilities
If you’re letting out your holiday lodge to paying guests—even occasionally—you take on the legal responsibilities of a landlord or property operator. That means:
- Carrying out risk assessments, especially around water
- Documenting maintenance and inspections
- Having the appropriate cover in place
At Park Home Assist we offer specialist holiday lodge insurance tailored to this kind of use. It can include public liability protection, accidental damage by guests, emergency assistance, and legal expenses. But as with any insurance, the policy works in partnership with your own risk management.
If a guest becomes ill from a waterborne infection due to neglected maintenance, or if someone is injured in an unfenced pool area, the cost of a claim could run into thousands—or more. Without proof of responsible management, your policy could be challenged.
Water safety tips: In summary
Water safety tips for holiday lodge owners aren’t just helpful—they’re vital. From pools and hot tubs to drinking water and bathroom plumbing, every holiday lodge owner should take water safety seriously. It helps protect yourself and your family, your guests, your reputation, and your legal position.
Insurance from Park Home Assist is there to support you in the unexpected—but only if the expected precautions have been taken. That includes maintenance, signage, and documentation.
To find out more about our specialist insurance for holiday lodges, or to check what’s covered under your existing policy, visit www.parkhomeassist.co.uk or call 01604 946 796. We’re here to help you stay covered—while you and your guests stay safe.
Please note that all insurance cover is subject to acceptance of terms and conditions.
This is a marketing article from Park Home Assist, multi award-winning providers of park home insurance, mobile home insurance, insurance for static caravans, insurance for holiday homes and holiday lodges, as well as boat insurance and touring caravan insurance. If you have any questions about your insurance, then please call our office on 01604 946 796 and one of our insurance advisers will be happy to help.
Published – 08/08/25
