PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A Palm Beach County homeowner is threatening to pursue criminal charges after people damaged his Airbnb property while throwing an unsanctioned party with hundreds of people.
The renters are currently trying to raise money on a website to pay the homeowner $10,000 for the damage caused during the event. The homeowner is concerned the same group of people are trying to host similar events in Palm Beach County.
“I don’t want this to happening to any other Airbnb host. That’s the reason I wanted to talk to you guys,” said Johnny Meier, while giving WPTV’s Ethan Stein a tour of the damage still on the property after two days of clean-up activities.
WATCH: Homeowner gives WPTV tour of damage
Meier showed us his broken front gate along with cracked bricks from his pool’s patio and missing blinds. He also said he’s “glad the house didn’t burn down” while showing us a burnt outlet in the home’s living room and a broken window.
“The worst part about it is we just got this house,” Meier said. “…My wife and I put our blood, sweat and tears into this place to furnish it and get it cleaned up and we just had $10,000 in lighting installed. A lot of that was broken and it’s been replaced. So this is just heartbreaking.”
He said he expects the damage to cost him about $7,000, not including income lost from a canceled booking for a future weekend. Meier said he’s had the property listed on Airbnb for six months before this most recent rental, which he believes was a child’s parent unaware her credit card and driver’s license information was used to make the reservation.
He said while he was out of state, the renters asked to hold a family barbecue. Then neighbors sent him videos showing dozens of cars lined up on the street and kids trying to get into the property, some being charged $25 per person.
The organizers of the online fundraiser said they’re asking for money acknowledging damages, saying “the gathering got out of control” in the post.
WPTV isn’t naming the individuals involved at this point because they aren’t being charged with a crime as of Wednesday. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office confirmed deputies broke up the party around 10 p.m. Saturday. No arrests have been made, but Meier says he’s considering pressing charges if he isn’t reimbursed.
WPTV reached out to Airbnb, and a spokesperson sent this statement:
Unauthorized and disruptive parties are banned on Airbnb, and the reported behavior has no place on our platform. We’ve suspended the account of the guest who booked this reservation as we investigate, and we’re in contact with our host to support them, including under AirCover for Hosts.
