AirBNB gone bad: Calgary home gets annihilated by party-hard AirBNB guests

[Ozy_Flame]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...shed-1.3053555

A Calgary family let a group of adult AirBNB renters use their home for the weekend while they attended the wedding. The house got destroyed and the cops described it as a "drug-induced orgy".

These are the horror stories that keep me away from services like this, albeit they are probably rare to this extent.

[FlamesAddiction]

Is AirBNB even legit in Calgary?

I think most Canadian cities have bylaws about short term rentals where you cannot rent out a living space for shorter that several weeks without being registered as a hotel, bed and breakfast or motel. I know that is the case in Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City.

[Calgary14]

This is exactly why I wouldn't rent out my home. The rental income is tempting for some (especially during stampede here) but it seems risky. I'm sure it will be lots of fun trying to go through insurance.

[Travis Munroe]

Looks as if there was no shortage of fun at that party.

On a more serious note, these are the risks you take by partaking in such services. It is extremely unfortunate when you select the bad apple in the bag but it happens and will happen again.
I wonder if there is some sort of additional insurance one can cover or request a tenant to have on these short term stays.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by Calgary14

This is exactly why I wouldn't rent out my home. The rental income is tempting for some (especially during stampede here) but it seems risky. I'm sure it will be lots of fun trying to go through insurance.

AirBNB has confirmed their $1 milllion insurance policy will kick in for this one.

[calgarygeologist]

I assume Sliver's parties are like this. It explains why he wants people partying in his garage and encourages his neighbours to find a hotel for the night.

[Hack&Lube]

I got an AirBnB in Vancouver and the guy rented me his entire condo with all his furniture, clothes, record collection, kitchen equipment, road bike, stocked fridge, etc. and the kicker was he even rented me his cat!

He just gave me the keys and told me he'd go stay with his family or girfriend for a couple of days. I got heated underground parking, biked from Richmond to Stanley Park, and played records and hung with a cuddly cat everyday. Super awesome for $80 a night. It was like living another life where I lived in Vancouver. Left him a big tip.

[Calgary14]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

AirBNB has confirmed their $1 milllion insurance policy will kick in for this one.

That is a relief for the owners, looks like extensive damages

[Nyah]

Crazy photos from the owners Instagram:

https://instagram.com/staryeyes1986/

[shermanator]

Great response to the situation on Air BnB's part IMO. These are the risks owners take when renting our their place unfortunately. Same risk as landlords renting to bad tenants.

I have a friend that uses Air BnB to rent out a room in her condo and raves about it, though with the owner in the same place I'm sure that prevents situations like these from occurring.

[Kjesse]

Keep in mind that if you do rent your place out, your homeowners insurance likely does not cover damages occasioned by your renters, whether you found the renters through airbnb or elsewhere. So if you do want to rent your place out short term, call your insurance company first. Most of the majors will not cover it but there are specialty underwriters who, for a large premium, will provide coverage.

[Russic]

Good on AirBnB for their response. I assume it'll work out because they'd be insane not to handle this seeing as it's in the news. The people who did the damage though? I bet they're about to be destroyed financially. I would not want to see what's in the fine print on those rental agreements. My guess is AirBnB is going to dismantle them.

[RedMileDJ]

nm

[nik-]

I'm glad I'm over the initial guest hump on AirBNB. Now my prospective hosts can read reviews about how I'm a scholar and a gentleman ...

... if they can read Spanish

[pylon]

I can't feel sorry for someone turning over the keys to their house to a total stranger, and having it trashed.... just to make a quick buck.

I have a hard enough time having strangers in my home, farting into my couch, touching my cutlery, pooping and doing whatever else they are doing in my bathroom, when I am there, I couldn't even fathom just giving someone free run to my personal space when I am not.

I don't know, it just seems weird to me, people willingly agree to this, at any price.

[polak]

Absolutely love using AirBNB on vacation. Used it when we were in Vancouver last weekend for Game 2 and got a 2 story, 2 bed, 3 bath loft on the 31st and 32nd floor on the corner of Granville and Seymour. It was incredible and it only cost us $300 a night and easily slept 6. Far better than a hotel.

Same thing in Croatia. Got a 3 bedroom apartment for 100 Euro a night.

Never booking a hotel without checking there first again.

[Language]

AirBNB is extremely popular, and these stories are quite rare. To be honest, it's the first time I've heard of a person's place being trashed, especially this bad. It seems that AirBNB is going to help the family cover the costs for this, so good on them.

I really hope the renters in this case can be charged. They absolutely destroyed that home and should be punished.

[Weitz]

Possible NSFW, but applicable photo.

NSFW!

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by pylon

I can't feel sorry for someone turning over the keys to their house to a total stranger, and having it trashed.... just to make a quick buck.

I have a hard enough time having strangers in my home, farting into my couch, touching my cutlery, pooping and doing whatever else they are doing in my bathroom, when I am there, I couldn't even fathom just giving someone free run to my personal space when I am not.

I don't know, it just seems weird to me, people willingly agree to this, at any price.

Farting into the couch is specifically reserved as your job eh?

[Cappy]

Also in the Pro-AirBnB camp. Use it all the time in Europe and have never had an issue.

Although, I don't know if I would use it for MY place, but different circumstances i suppose. How many people are coming to stay in Calgary as tourists to see the sights? Assuming most Calgary users would be people in the same situation here: weddings, stampede, etc. all parties. Another issue is payment. Would I accept less than $120.00 a night for my place? probably not, but that is what a hotel runs at so maybe its cheaper for a renter to use a hotel.

On the travel side, i would recommend it to anyone; especially traveling to Europe. Hotels can be pricey and many people by a place and just rent them out to tourists for $100 a night or less. But you have to present yourself in a good light. They will ask you questions or want to know what your doing in the city etc. to get a sense of whether you are an "drunken orgy" kind of person. In these circumstances we just explain that we are there as a couple (old lady and I) and travelling around. We mention what we do and in some cases provide links to our professional bios etc. as an added ease. Sometimes we dont hear back but mostly we do.

As someone mentioned though, once you get passed the "initial user" status and have a couple good reviews (yes owners rate renters) then you are usually golden.