Um, yeah. Renting out my house to total strangers isn’t on my list of things to do, lol. Sounds like a hell of a party though… :rollingonasslaughing:
It looks like someone didn’t read the Airbnb etiquette guide to not being a terrible houseguest. While virtually everyone reports having a positive experience using the home-sharing platform, for some homeowners that just ain’t the case.
A woman and her husband in Calgary, Alberta who thought they’d make a few extra bucks renting out their home for the weekend via Airbnb were shocked when they returned to it on Monday to find the smell of pot streaming from the windows, chicken thighs in their shoes, and estimates of $75,000 in damages.
Homeowner Star King told CBC News:
“We came and wished the home was burnt down to ashes. It would have felt way better.â€
Just hours after they forked over the keys to the renters, a party bus rolled up to the door and over 100 people streamed into the home.
Star and her husband Mark found cigarettes butted out on furniture, food and garbage strewn throughout the premises, condoms plugging the toilet, and ketchup and mayonnaise smeared across the walls and paintings. Broken glass competed with discarded panties and bras for floorspace. Alcohol, vomit, and semen were found throughout the premises.
The couple, who had stayed with Mark’s parents for the weekend, reportedly believed they had rented their home to an upstanding chap in his 40s, who along with 3 adult friends, was in the city for a family wedding. A neighbor contacted the Kings early Monday to see what the heck was going on, saying that the cops had visited the home on multiple occasions during the weekend to deal with noise complaints.
When the Kings arrived at the house, the police were already there responding to a call about a fight that had broken out in their front yard. The Kings, however, initially weren’t permitted into the house, since the renter’s privacy was protected under Alberta’s Residential Tenancies Act.
Finally, the partiers piled into a stream of taxis. In a smartphone video shot by Mark, you can hear one police officer saying:
“I’ve had my fair share of party days, but I’ve never been privy to something like this.â€
The latest Airbnb incident comes at a time when authorities in the province of Quebec aim to beef up rules surrounding home-sharing sites like Airbnb. In addition to adhering to Airbnb’s guest code of conduct, renters must abide by the homeowner’s house rules, and are given guidelines to being a considerate guest.
While Airbnb is no stranger to unwelcome houseguests, this particular renter won’t be a problem for future homeowners. In a statement sent to Road Warrior Voices, Airbnb spokesman Jakob Kerr said:
“We have banned this guest from Airbnb, and our Trust and Safety team will offer its full assistance to law enforcement in any investigation of this incident. We have been in very close contact with these hosts and we are working quickly to reimburse them under our $1 Million Host Guarantee, which covers a host’s property in the rare event of damages. Over 35 million guests have stayed on Airbnb, and property damage is extremely rare.â€
The Kings are hoping to get more than a deep cleaning. Mark told CTV Calgary:
“The drugs, the sex … everything imaginable that would violate a home has happened here. We don’t want to touch anything. We don’t want to sleep in these beds again. We can’t walk on these carpets in bare feet ever again.â€
The Kings, who have successfully rented out their property numerous times in the past, appear to be sticking by Airbnb. Mark told Global News Calgary:
“This isn’t the Airbnb experience. We happen to be that one in a million that it happens to.â€
We’re all for maximizing your Airbnb experiences, but some folks take it just too far. Sadly, this is not the first time someone has resorted to the guise of a wedding to use an Airbnb rental for an orgy.
Hopefully the Airbnb folks will stick by their guarantee, but I wouldn’t want to have to put that one to the test… :snoop: