Airbnb renter arrested after trashing Oakland host's home

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- An Oakland couple says their home was thrashed after a party thrown by their Airbnb guest.

The renter had the party to celebrate not only New Year's Eve, but also his 18th birthday.



Neighbors tell ABC7 News that 200 kids were in all in the street until police came.

Photos taken after that party show beer cans, cigarettes, even pot, were all over the house.

The renter cleared out most of the furniture and put it in other bedrooms or in the back yard. The furniture that was left inside was stepped on and dirty.

There was even blood on the wall.



The homeowner says she has rented her house on Airbnb about a dozen times and has never had a problem. She thought she was renting to an adult man who was visiting from Chicago.

Airbnb requires users to be over 18 years of age, so she says had no reason to believe he was lying. They in turn didn't do a more extensive check on the renter and assumed he was legit.

"I'm a user, been a host. I have had good experiences, so I was not concerned. And he seemed very mature and was very polite," explained Reshma Vansanwala, the homeowner.

An Airbnb spokesperson sent a statement to ABC7 News saying: "We have banned this guest from Airbnb. And out Trust and Safety team has reached out to the host to work with them under our $1 Million Host Guarantee, which covers a host's property in the rare event of damages."

Police arrested the teenaged renter and he's been charged with vandalism.