Slashdot Mirror
'My Airbnb Guests Threw a New Year's Party For 300 People' (theguardian.com)
"What's the worst that can happen?" thought Nicko Feinberg last December when he listed his house on Airbnb.
The listing explicitly said no parties. Then a request came through to book the house for one night on New Year's Day. It was from a young man, probably in his early 20s. He had one review but it was terrific.... I picked up my boys and we stayed down the road at my mother's apartment... When I got back [the next day] I saw three or four cars in the driveway. I threw my food down and knew I was screwed. Inside there were about 12 young adults, all trying to clean.
The floors looked like someone had poured Jagermeister and champagne everywhere and then danced on them. Everything seemed wrong: my artwork was not on the walls; there was furniture missing; the glass panel on my staircase was shattered; even the floor didn't seem level any more. Then I noticed they were using my best sheets and towels as mops....I told them no one was leaving and I called the police and Airbnb. When a police officer turned up, he said it was a civil matter, before adding: "We were here last night...."
Ultimately, it was just stuff and I knew it would be OK. But I felt a massive disappointment in humanity. That night, it wasn't hard for me and my boys to find Instagram pictures and videos of the party. It was horrifying to see so many people in the house, jumping up and down on the furniture and windowsills. They broke my hot tub and tiles in the bathroom; when I looked in the rubbish bags, I saw all my drinks bottles empty, as well as broken glasses and towels. I found an image online of the invite that said, "Mansion Party" with my address. There had been 300 people there. Boys were charged to enter; girls got in free.
While he won't disclose what Airbnb paid him for the damage, "a year later repairs are continuing. The floor is still uneven." But he told one local news channel that the damage was over $100,000, adding "There's footprints on my bathroom walls."
At one point more than 100 cars had been parked outside, according to a police report, and the 23-year-old was ultimately charged with "disorderly conduct". He also was banned permanently from Airbnb -- which said in a statement that "negative incidents are incredibly rare."
The floors looked like someone had poured Jagermeister and champagne everywhere and then danced on them. Everything seemed wrong: my artwork was not on the walls; there was furniture missing; the glass panel on my staircase was shattered; even the floor didn't seem level any more. Then I noticed they were using my best sheets and towels as mops....I told them no one was leaving and I called the police and Airbnb. When a police officer turned up, he said it was a civil matter, before adding: "We were here last night...."
Ultimately, it was just stuff and I knew it would be OK. But I felt a massive disappointment in humanity. That night, it wasn't hard for me and my boys to find Instagram pictures and videos of the party. It was horrifying to see so many people in the house, jumping up and down on the furniture and windowsills. They broke my hot tub and tiles in the bathroom; when I looked in the rubbish bags, I saw all my drinks bottles empty, as well as broken glasses and towels. I found an image online of the invite that said, "Mansion Party" with my address. There had been 300 people there. Boys were charged to enter; girls got in free.
While he won't disclose what Airbnb paid him for the damage, "a year later repairs are continuing. The floor is still uneven." But he told one local news channel that the damage was over $100,000, adding "There's footprints on my bathroom walls."
At one point more than 100 cars had been parked outside, according to a police report, and the 23-year-old was ultimately charged with "disorderly conduct". He also was banned permanently from Airbnb -- which said in a statement that "negative incidents are incredibly rare."
I felt a massive disappointment in humanity.
You played a stupid game with your personal property, and it looks like you won some pretty stupid prizes. Hopefully this was a learning experience.
You rent your home full of your stuff to a total stranger. What do you expect?
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
In a world where everyone reviews everyone, airbnb type places are a lot less likely to have negative reviews. It's not worth giving a negative review and getting negative effects in the future. So you start getting reviews like this:
"It was a great experience. I enjoyed looking at the interesting patterns the mold made on the bathroom tiles. Five stars."
Another thing: for a while, Agoda would ask you to rate a place, and if you didn't put five stars, would ask, "What was wrong with this place?" As a result, it was easier to just not review, unless you wanted to give them five stars.
Lately I've stopped looking at hotel reviews at all, and just sorting by cleanliness rating. If it doesn't get a top clean rating, it's probably not worth visiting.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Stupid person did a stupid thing and what everyone who is not an idiot expected after the first line happened.
Seriously. A 20-something rents a house for one night on New Years Eve. If that didn't raise every red flag within 20 miles, I have no idea what it takes to telegraph you "something just might be a bit wrong here".
I have a hard time believing this story is real. If it were told to me as the plot of a movie I would say it stretches the suspension of disbelief quite a lot.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
Do you know how to tell if someone doesn't give a shit about their place or their neighbours? It's on Airbnb.
You spelt bogan wrong.
Disappointing comment Michael, but far worse is being given a "score 3" on this site.
I moved to Melbourne more than 50 years and there's been a great tradition of vilifying each new wave of immigrants
However, it usually reflects more on the family of those doing the denigrating - in my experience at least.
(I was born from English dad & "Aussie" mum whose family was hugely racist against Australian aboriginals - I never worked out why.)
"I let random strangers that I didn't know stay in my house unaccompanied and unsupervised and it got trashed".
News at 11.
Honestly, no matter WHAT the rules for Airbnb may or may not be, why on earth would you be stupid enough to do that? If someone "random" asked to borrow your car for one night, would you let them? Would you let them if it was a sportscar? But you'll let them do it with a house worth what? 10 times as much?
20-something pays a minimal fee to use your house for one night over New Year's... bad enough. With a single review? Just what the hell were you thinking?
This is nothing to do with Airbnb per se, it's just bog-standard stupidity. And I bet it's not covered under any of your home insurance policies - for good reason. Airbnb probably aren't even obliged to do anything either... they just choose to do so to as a goodwill gesture to limit the bad press.
Honestly, some people are so stupid it defies belief.
The whole idea of Airbnb is a stupid concept in the first place, though I'm sure profitable when it does work. When it goes wrong, seriously, what did you expect?
If nothing else, a ten second Google will show you things like people Airbnb'ing and turning places into brothels and drug-dens, by comparison a party is the low-end of the scale. Not to mention that they have access to your address for the period of time they are Airbnb'ing... they could be doing all sorts with that kind of access - I could destroy your credit rating in a week in my country by getting access to things addressed to me at your mail address.
I wouldn't even trust a 20-something who might be my own son to have a place "just for New Year's" without making sure they couldn't have a party without my knowledge. Let alone a random stranger.
You learned a lesson that most people never have to learn because they're just not that thick.
Either rent out your place, with a full rental agreement, deposit, month's-rent-in-advance, insurance and all the legal trimmings that come with that, or don't. Short-term rental based on an app EULA is the most ridiculous thing ever and you only need one bad incident to wipe out an entire lifetime's profit doing it.
I disagree. These sorts of people have always been around. The difference is that back in the day, the level of reporting was much lower so you probably never heard about it. I suspect that the old "boys will be boys" mentality probably resulted in more people looking the other way, too.
Our history is defined by people being assholes. There are just more cameras around to catch it now.
It turned out to be a big party and porno shoot.
Always wondered about that. Back in the 'old days', porn shoots looked like they were done in Motel 6. After the 2008 recession, lots of porn looked like it was being made in high end, well furnished properties*. I guess it was one way for the formerly rich people to make the mortgage.
*Sometimes, I'd be watching a scene and hoping that the actors would get their fat asses out of the way so I could get a better look at the architecture.
Have gnu, will travel.
Though I agree in principle, there are a reason for (most) such rules.
Your park one - the alternative is that even when you provide tons of homeless shelters at great expense, people still seek places away from authority. Fuck using a bathroom in a park late at night on my own when it's being used by homeless and those thrown out of the shelters.
Most countries have "the pedestrian has right-of-way" because pedestrians can't avoid a 60mph car, but a 60mph car can avoid a pedestrian. Daylight savings - agree, it's a nonsense. New Year's - no idea if that's the rule but if so it seems likely there's a reason for that. Catering bathrooms for 1,000,000 people on a one-off event is a big deal. Try it. Honestly. It's hard even for 1000 people, especially if there's an "event" where they all want the bathroom at the same time - seriously, marshal even a small-town event and see what happens. Just handling 1,000,000 people ANYWHERE doing ANYTHING is a nightmare. That's why there are rules about how and when that number of people can meet and organise such events.
It's nothing to do with people wanting to make up stupid rules. It's to do with people all wanting to do something "quite simple" for themselves, that actually has a huge number of serious knock-on consequences that they never have to consider, and they care only about the self.
He declares bankruptcy, because few people could ever be able to afford anything even approaching that over their lifetime, and then you lose it all anyway. And you can't seek any further remedy as you already have your "win" in court.
Agree that you should charge the perpetrator and seek further action against them, but he took Airbnb's offer so that's a no-go.
Public liability insurance exists because no one person could ever operate under such a system of fines. But neither the guy who rented, or the one renting out, had that, it seems. Airbnb's insurance no doubt paid out, but only on private terms outside of court.
Indeed. The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.
For nights like New Year's Eve, the deposit will be like in the "rent a helicopter" scene in the film "Clear and Present Danger":
Jack Ryan: I’m here to rent the Huey.
Helicopter owner: We don’t rent it anymore, but it is for sale.
Jack Ryan: How much?
Helicopter owner: Two million dollars.
Jack Ryan: Uh, my pilot and I will have to take it for a test drive.
Helicopter owner: Of course, you just have to leave a deposit.
Jack Ryan: How much is that?
Helicopter owner: Two million dollars.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
I know I got up to a lot in my youth. I've also heard the stories from my father and his friends. The main difference now is that it's all recorded and then either published online on social media or (rarely!) just shared privately. If anything kids are far more restrained now: they know they're being watched.
At least AirBnB stood behind the homeowner is making good on what its idiot customer did. I would have expected AirBnB to hide behind some nebulous legal language and walk away from this scot-free. I guess I am jaded towards corporations and impressed that AirBnB took actions to try and make the entire situation right. Still, I never would use AirBnB offering accomodations.
the gig economy is making poor and even middle class people do things they would not normally do. the fact that uber/etc make you use your own car, your own insurance and you are NOT using commercial type, but personal type, which limits what you are supposed to be able to do or claim.
the gig econ puts the cost of business on YOU. the risk on YOU.
this is fucked up. but, well, the top percent that own everything are laughing so hard at us all, just trying to make ends meet.
when do the pitchforks and fires come out, again? we're getting to that point. the gig econ is just a stepping stone to that, no doubt about it.
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
Worse, if you leave a negative review, future homeowners could see them and decide not to rent with you because you are the type that leaves negative reviews. And that is an entirely rational thing for them to do.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
That's my biggest gripe with this. They did the AirBNB thing. Shit happened, but they knew the risks. Their neighbors however didn't ask for this, and if the area was zoned purely residential, a house used commercially shouldn't have happened. They had to deal with 300 random people parking outside and enough shit that the cops were called. All because someone got greedy and can't follow the rules.
(If that kind of shit is allowed in their municipality, then the administration of the city needs to go to hell)
I can see where she went and what she did based on the credit card receipts. She's a total milktoast. More than once she's remarked that it's only old folks where she goes, and I know she ain't lying because, again, I can see the admission fees and souvenirs on my credit card. I didn't even raise her this way. Doesn't help that she hasn't got much to rebel against (I'm kind of a loser, so the only "rebelling" she can do is not being a failure in life, also I'm pretty into death metal so there's not a whole hell of a lot of music she can "shock" me with. )
Anyway, Not every 20 year old is a party animal. This one was pretty clearly running a professional party for money. Anyone could do that, not just a 20 year old. The real problem is that you put 300 folks in a building meant for 20 tops it warps the floors.
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"immigrants" aren't a homogenous group and aren't perceived as such.
For example traditional Asian immigrants in Europe are generally well liked and there's no "oh they're all like that" generalization. That's exactly why British journalists try to rebrand criminals from the middle east as "Asian".
The Cat in the Hat?
"Slow down, Cowboy! It has been 3 years, 7 months and 26 days since you last successfully posted a comment."
Debunked as ancient:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/05/01/misbehave/
because pedestrians can't avoid a 60mph car, but a 60mph car can avoid a pedestrian
You've got that backwards. A pedestrian can stop in one step, about 2 feet. A 60 MPH car stops in about 120 feet. If that doesn't make sense, compare the stopping distance of a car and a train. Probably a similar disparity. Who gets the right of way?
Have gnu, will travel.
Your mistake is thinking humans are rational actors.
explain why any hotel would accept a reservation without ID and credit card
Pretty much any hotel I've stayed at does that, but then I don't stay at the places that are hourly and bill more for discretion than anything else...
and a pre-auth on the credit card of say 1,000 to 10,000 to cover damages
Sadly such a large pre-auth would lose probably about half of all hotel customers. Yes, even at $1k. Not to mention it's really pad PR as it panics most people to see such a large charge on the CC, they don't necessarily understand it will not actually go through.
I would have thought it was more like, the guest used a fake ID and also one of those temporary CC numbers you can't charge above a certain amount to (though how you'd go about using that in conjunction with a fake ID I'm not quite sure).
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Dead give-away that it's shot in an AirBnB (the kind that is not somebody's actual home) would be the "artwork" from HomeGoods. Stupid, inspirational phrases in the cheapest possible frames.
My friend shops at AmVets for artwork. Cheaper than HomeGoods, and actual art, or at least nicely-framed reproduction prints.
The bad thing about that incident is it WAS in my friend's actual home. He vacates from time to time if he gets a bite from a "whale". It's set up for that - everything personal gets locked in his bedroom (separate entrance) behind a cool pivoting mirror wall.
He also decided to turn a 3-bedroom into a 2-bedroom, locking one bedroom off. At least for weekend-only guests. 3 bedrooms are trouble. The say they need a bedroom for the kids, and the third bedroom for Uncle Phil. But it's the whole extended family, or else all of the college buddies, packed 4 to a room plus the living room.
I've got an apartment in Flemington (Melbourne) as well as one in Elizabeth Bay (Sydney), so when I'm in Melbourne, I'm in African immigrant central. There's almost no trouble here. In fact, most of the trouble involving Africans is vandalism targeting businesses owned by Africans in the main street. A few years back, they had to sack most of the local cops because they were targeting African kids for no reason. The trouble is, when you have to cops unfairly targeting a group, they'll think, "Well, I get treated like a criminal even when I'm clean - I may as well just be a criminal."
If you haven't noticed that every group of immigrants in Australia is racist to the next group, you've had your eyes shut. The western Europeans/Brits hated the Greek and Italian "wogs", then the "wogs" hated the Chinese/Vietnamese, and the Chinese/Vietnamese feel entitled to hate the Indians and Africans.
Now there have been issues with groups, but you get that with kids that grew up in a war zone - they're going to have trouble adjusting to a "normal" society. Do you remember the 4T gang in western Sydney? They'd shoot people for looking at their girlfriends wrong. They imploded when their charismatic leader was killed. But what would've happened if instead of targeting the problematic behaviour, we'd alienated the entire Vietnamese community? We'd have a permanent underclass at odds with the rest of society. What about the MERCS (middle-eastern raping cunts)? Do you remember the outrage over that? When the other Lebanese people found out who was responsible for this, they started sending death threats to their parents, like, "Your fucking kids are giving the entire Lebanese community a bad name! We're gonna kill you!" But it was the same thing - kids from a war zone not knowing any different.
Wait a decade or so, and Sudanese will be the same - the Sudanese community will be an integral part of Australia's multicultural society, everyone will look back on the initial issues through the lens of hindsight, and they'll join in with everyone else in hating on whoever the latest round of refugees or economic migrants are.
Wait a decade or so, and Sudanese will be the same - the Sudanese community will be an integral part of Australia's multicultural society,
Wishful thinking at best. How are the Aboriginals doing? Living in Melbourne, you probably don't meet any, but come to WA or Queensland.
These social divides can last centuries with no solution in sight. Yes there are big differences in the two groups, but also similarities. And overseas experience with sub-Saharans has not been good. Look at London or the US. Or visit sub-Saharan Africa - it is nothing like Eurasia.
I fear there is no factual basis for your optimism, but I do hope it proves correct.
They're already integrating. When the Sudanese arrived, they started opening gender-segregated coffee shops etc. - you'd have these places where just Sudanese men hung out, no women or other nationalities. Now most of them have closed, and when you walk past the ones that haven't, you see women and white Aussies sitting down there as well. There are three Somali restaurants on up the street, and there are Vietnamese people working alongside the Somalis in the kitchens. I bet there are gonna be a hell of a lot of half Asian, half African babies in Melbourne's next generation, because the local schools (St Brendan's, Mount Alexander College, St Aloysius, etc.) are full of African and Asian kids mingling.
The media loves horror stories. They've blown up a few incidents in Melbourne out of all proportion, because it gets them eyeballs. A few years back it was drug gangs and home invasions they were making a big song and dance about, and most of the perpetrators were white or Vietnamese. There's still some of that going on, particularly around St Albans (western suburbs of Melbourne, poor working class), but the media's moved on to the next thing to get people worked up about.
You mention the Aborigines, but I think that makes my point about disenfranchising an entire community. The Aboriginal community as a whole has been disenfranchised, and that's led to this rift that we can't bridge. If we target the entire Sudanese community rather than just the problematic people/behaviours, we'll create another disenfranchised group. But I think in a way it's already too late for that to happen. Walk up the main street of Flemington some time - the Sudanese Australians are already Australians.