The parents of a 4-year-old autistic girl who drowned in the swimming pool of an Airbnb in Florida are planning on suing the rental company and have called on the homeowner to remove the listing as it was labeled “family friendly.”
The tragedy occurred on March 5th at a property in MiamiDade county which was rented through Airbnb. The body of 4-year-old Kennedi Ray was discovered at the bottom of the swimming pool on the property. According to the New York Post, the parents had fallen asleep when Kennedi ventured into the backyard by herself before falling into the pool.
Safety with Airbnb has been called into question in the past, but this horrific tragedy has left the family of Kenndi in a state of immense grief. “I lost my child. I lost my 4-year-old. She only got four years here. We loved her so much. We miss her so much. I’m never gonna hear my child laugh again. I just wanna hug,” Kennedi’s mother, Adenah Francis said in a press statement on Tuesday.
The Airbnb lawsuit
According to the family’s attorney, the property should have had mandatory safety features that are required for pools located on rental properties. Such features include things like safety barriers, safety covers, pool alarms, door latches, etc. Attorney Adam Finkel of the Haggard Law Firm claimed that such features were missing, “A child got access to the backyard. No alarm went off, no barriers were there, and we lost Kennedi.”
Finkel went on to ask, “How on earth can a house be advertised as family-friendly when it has a pool and none of the safety measures are effectively in place?” Meanwhile a spokesperson for Airbnb claimed that the death of Kennedi Ray was a “tragedy” and that the company was cooperating with Florida authorities and partners to promote safety around water properties.
The progress of the family’s lawsuit is unclear as of writing but this isn’t the first time the company has been taken to court over inadequate safety features in properties listed on Airbnb. Last year a Minnesota man filed a suit against the rental company after a fire at a property listed on the app/site resulted in the death of his daughter, wife, and four other family members. That trial isn’t due until 2027.
The parents of Kennedi Ray may have to wait a long time before they get the chance to see Airbnb lawyers in court. Whether they are successful in their lawsuit or not, we can only hope that the tragedy brings about positive change when it comes to safety and swimming pools in rental properties.
Published: Mar 25, 2026 02:12 pm