5 of the worst Airbnb horror stories
When it began, Airbnb was touted as the next big thing in getaways. The startup would disrupt the hotel industry in major cities, pundits said.
MORE: Rockland home trashed after Airbnb renter throws NYE party
MORE: Can towns regulate Airbnb?
The service — which allows homeowners to list their properties as if they were hotel rooms — was valued at nearly $30 billion in 2016, with 3,000,000 listings in 65,000 cities worldwide, despite some controversy.
There have also been a fair share of disasters.
Airbnb was sued for racial discrimination, for example, though the suit was not allowed to go forward.
Then there was the transgender woman who was denied lodging, the Brooklyn, N.Y. man who listed an igloo he built on the sidewalk and the college student who listed his dorm room.
Here are five of the worst Airbnb horror stories from around the country:
5. Guests discover hidden cameras
This has become the quintessential Airbnb tale of woe — a woman or couple rents an Airbnb only to find cameras in the bathroom or bedroom.
That's what happened to an Indiana couple who rented a room in Longboat, Fla., using Airbnb. They noticed a tiny black hole on the room's smoke detector. Upon inspection, the hole turned out to be a tiny camera equipped with a microphone.
The owner was arrested, telling police he used the camera to film sex parties he hosted at his home.
4. Police raid uncovers grow room
An Australian family's holiday was disrupted by several police officers who raided an Airbnb to find a marijuana grow room in the house.
"The cops piled in on a mission," Dieter Winkler told the Daily Telegraph. "They didn’t know who we were so it was quite mortifying. They didn’t know we were innocent, so it wasn’t a friendly reception."
The family was interrogated for five hours, Winkler said, before letting the vacationing couple free.
3. Renter lies, trashes home
It's not just vacationing renters who come home with horror stories. Homeowners, too, have stories to tell.
In Oakland, Calif., for example, a couple thought they were renting to an elderly man., until a neighbor texted to say a parade of teens and police were going in and out of the house.
The teenager apparently used the property for an 18th birthday party and invited hundreds of friends. The couple came home to dirty furniture, beer cans, cigarettes, broken glass and blood stains.
2. Art stolen from rented home
Some Airbnb listings are unique. There have been treehouses, igloos, LEGO homes and more, not a few listings advertising trendy, fancy digs in sought-after neighborhoods.
One even featured a print by the artist Banksy, worth about $11,000 — at least it did, until it was stolen.
Two London roommates filed a complaint against the Airbnb alleging that a recent guest not only trashed their apartment, but also stole the print.
In place of the limited edition print of Banksy's "Leopard and Barcode" stencil, the owners say they discovered the smoked ends of marijuana joints, condom wrappers and empty laughing gas containers littering their rooms.
1. A porn shoot
Apparently, this is a thing.
The Acacia Mansion in Ojai, Calif., is a well-known building. It's been around since the 1920s so it's probably seen its fair share of parties, but it's likely never before used as a set for a pornographic film.
That's what a lawsuit contends happened after the owners rented the property out through Airbnb.
The owner claimed she was tricked into renting out the property and returned to find enema kits and sexual devices.
She claimed the home, which she rented for $1,095 a night, had been used as the scene for a gay, fetish porn movie.
USA Today and the Associated Press contributed to this story.