By Mitchell Clarke
More than 300 drunken teens have trashed a Pakenham Airbnb rental which was originally rented out for just two guests.
The 27 acre farmhouse on Pakenham Road was originally bought as a family getaway but since last year has been leased on Airbnb as it wasn’t being fully utilised.
It’s believed unruly and unwanted guests descended on the property in early August and left broken glass bottles and rubbish strewn across the property, with significant damage to the house and fence.
The woman who rents out the property for her father wanted to remain anonymous but told the Gazette she had no reason to believe this would occur and was only made aware of the incident after receiving a call from U-nome Security.
It’s believed the brother of the party host called U-nome to request security services for the party, assuring it’d be registered with police. Suspicious about the manner of the call, the company warned the property owner who called police.
But police wouldn’t take action unless the owner was present. Forced to travel over 50km to the farmhouse, the family found their farmhouse littered with trespassers.
It’s believed each guest paid a $10 cover charge to enter the property.
“This seems to be a common occurrence where young groups utilise properties to conduct parties for a cover charge as a business,” the homeowner said.
And U-nome Security’s Naomi Oakley supports this claim, stating the company has noticed a dramatic rise in instances where Airbnb’s are used to host parties.
“These events are getting bigger and these young people are sourcing Airbnb properties, because councils aren’t allowing them to rent halls and other facilities,” Ms Oakley said.
“A party that big with 300 people, you won’t get a hall willing to put that on, even for smaller groups, these councils aren’t supporting the younger demographic.”
Ms Oakley told the Gazette she’d be willing to work alongside local councils to ensure their halls are equipped with the appropriate security measures.
“It’s very difficult to get a venue nowadays,” she said.
“I’m prepared to work with them to ensure the right people are using their venues.”
It could be too little too late for the homeowners who are now contemplating closing their house to strangers, after a previous incident in July saw four people turn the house into a farewell party where over 30 uninvited guests rocked up.
“This may have happened more before in the past without our knowledge as the home is leased on a trust basis that Airbnb is conducting all the necessary identification,” she said.
“I am disappointed that when we open our homes to others it is being abused including our trust. I am hoping to see severe penalties and charges being imposed to such intruders.”
An Airbnb spokesperson said negative incidents like this were extremely rare and the company is always working to strengthen policies and protections.
“We have absolutely zero tolerance for the unacceptable behaviour reported and as a result we have removed the guest from our platform,” the spokesperson said.
“While Airbnb has and will continue to do much, we have also supported tough laws in Victoria to crackdown on bad actors.”
Airbnb have since reached out to the property to offer their support through their host guarantee property damage protection which covers up to $1 million USD worth of damage.
