Managing risks when renting your facility to others.

A word or two of advice about renting your camp site and facility to others seems appropriate, in view of some claims that we've seen in the ACA Insurance Program recently.

More and more camps are renting their facilities to outside groups. Some camps host corporate picnics, others provide environmental education program resources to schools in their area, and others rent to high school bands or football teams at the end of the summer. Regardless of who uses your camp, your relationship and responsibilities to them along with the services you will provide should be clearly and firmly established in a contract, lease, or use agreement.

There is a baseline of responsibility owed to the safety of all guests. The role, responsibility and risk assumed will depend on how involved you become in the services and activities the guests want to have provided.

Determine Your Level of Responsibility

If you only rent the facilities and are not providing a program, you will still be held responsible for the existence of natural and manmade hazards on the premises. Natural hazards include cliffs and waterfalls, and environmental conditions that could reasonably be expected to result in a hazard such as ice on walkways. Manmade conditions include the maintenance and general condition of buildings, and accessibility to aquatic areas and ropes courses.

For the purpose of illustrating some issues to be aware of and concerned about let's use the scenario of a corporate picnic. In this situation, you must make sure steps, porches and railings are in good repair. Will they hold the weight of an adult? Further care should be taken to be sure any playing fields to be used are in good repair, free of broken glass, rocks and holes. Likewise, check to make certain all paths and parking areas are well marked and clear of all obstructions that might cause someone to trip and fall. Are swimming pools fenced and gates locked? Are ropes course elements secure from being an attractive nuisance? Have warning signs been posted if there are any areas or problems of which people should be aware?

If you agree to cater the picnic, the risk you assume increases. Add in swimming or use of rowboats, and the risk and responsibility (duty of care) you owe to your guest increases again. Allowing the corporate group to supply their own lifeguard may not be sufficient, as that person would not have been through a staff indoctrination, emergency procedure orientation, or skill assessment test.

Serve beer, and a host of other issues develop. Directors should be aware that most camp liability policies do not cover the service of alcoholic beverages for a fee. Liquor law liability can and should be purchased separately if you are engaged in providing beer and wine to any rental group at camp. In addition, you'll probably need to acquire some type of temporary license in your state to serve alcoholic beverages.

Take a Proactive Approach

The best approach to managing rental groups in the pre- and post-camp season is to take a proactive approach toward risk management and safety. No one knows your premises better than you do, so you'll want to be in control of the situation. Just as during summer camp, a roving camp director or facility manager can often head off accidents before they occur. Anyone who has rented their facility to short-term groups knows that the camp director's idea of supervision and the group's idea of supervision are usually worlds apart. Also, the group can often find "creative" ways for becoming a hazard on its own.

An important place to start is with a clear and concise contract for the use of the premises. Although I'm not a lawyer, most contracts of this nature I've seen simply separate the two parties' respective responsibilities for their own negligent acts or omissions. However, when the rental group involves adults, and adventure activities are planned, I've also seen the use of releases (hold harmless clauses) that absolve the camp, its agents and employees from liability. These are necessary in case an adult is injured while involved in the activity. Some states have begun to enforce the assumption of risk doctrine again and are giving new credibility to the releases from adults.

In summary, I hope you can see that renting your site and facilities can present some new risks and entanglements that require other risk management strategies and techniques. Be aware of the potential for problems and for possibly being caught unaware. If you rent your camp to others, develop a contract that spells out responsibility and liability of the respective parties and monitor their activities. And if you've already got a contract, have it reviewed by your lawyer to make sure it's still relevant to the legal environment in your area today. The extra effort could pay back big dividends in the event of an incident or injury.