Couple’s house trashed in ‘drug-induced orgy’
A Canadian couple who rented out their house for the weekend on popular accommodation site Airbnb returned to find it had been trashed, in what police described as a “drug-induced orgy”.
Mark and Star King said they were almost knocked over by the fumes when they walked into their home, in Sage Hill, north-west Calgary, after they returned.
They were then confronted with the extent of the destruction – estimating between A$52,000 and $77,000 – which was devastating, the couple told the Calgary Herald.
• What you need to know about being an Airbnb host
• Paris mismatch: why I’ve given up on Airbnb
• Billion-dollar startup entrepreneurs recreate the world
The couch cushions were stained and piled in a hallway, nearly every surface was covered in garbage, dishes, sticky substances and cigarette butts.
The couple’s kitchen. Photo: Twitter
There was barbecue sauce on the ceiling and the remains of a birthday cake sitting on the kitchen counter.
“For me, my first feeling was shock,” Mr King said.
“I couldn’t process it. This is our home, this is our sanctuary. We’ve got a five-year-old and a one-year-old, and the sense of violation … the lie that was told and the trust that I had in somebody, and then this happens.”
Upstairs, the Kings found bras and underwear strewn about, with condoms and wrappers in the garbage cans.
Cigarettes and joints had been stubbed out on Mr King’s desk and on the furniture.
Mrs King also found a chicken bone in one of her shoes.
“Chicken thighs in our shoes? It’s just unbelievable,” Mr King told Global News in Canada.
“When we came in, one of the police said, ‘this isn’t a party, this was a drug-induced orgy’.”
The Kings could smell liquor and marijuana, and one of the girls in the home told Mrs King that people had been taking ecstasy as well.
Mr King said police told them a hazardous materials crew would have to enter the home before clean-up could begin.
Constable Attila Horvath, the lead investigator, said body fluids were also found.
“In my nine years of policing, I’ve never seen anything like it,” he told the Calgary Herald.
The pantry. Photo: Twitter
Mr King said he and his wife believed they were renting out the house to a man in his 40s who had contacted them through the short-term rental site. The man claimed that he and three other adults were visiting Calgary for a family wedding.
The Kings handed over their keys on Saturday and went to stay with Mr King’s parents, hoping to make a bit of extra money.
But that night, the Kings’ neighbours reported that guests started arriving at the house, before a party bus pulled up and more guests piled out.
About 100 people crammed into the house, prompting numerous noise complaints to police over the weekend.
Police said the man who rented the Kings’ house could face charges of mischief.
Airbnb spokesperson Jakob Kerr told the Calgary Herald that the organisation had a $US1 million ($1.25 million) host damage guarantee, and had offered the Kings cleaning services and accommodation while their house was fixed.
“We have zero tolerance for this kind of behaviour and our team is working quickly to make this right,” he 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.”