Call to cops ends Airbnb party
Host mystified how 14-year-old boy booked holiday let
ADunedin Airbnb host who had to call police when about 100 young teenagers held a boozy party on his property is mystified as to how they were able to use the site, and wants answers.
Jeremy Craw said he had to clean up glass, vomit, and “booze splashed up on the walls” after the Kaikorai party on Saturday night.
He had no idea the person who had booked his property for a night about a month before was only 14 years old.
He called police after a neighbour alerted him shortly before 8pm to an “out-ofcontrol, under-age party” on the premises.
About 100 people were at the party, and police told him they were aged about 14 or 15.
The teens “scattered like ants” when police arrived, beating a hasty retreat through rose bushes and over a fence on to a rugby field that bordered the property.
“Some of them might have a few scratches,” Craw said.
The person who booked told Craw he planned to have a couple of people over.
Under the site’s terms and conditions, guests are meant to be at least 18 years old before they can create an account.
“My big question is how does a 14-year-old book an Airbnb property,” Craw said.
“And how did they get hold of that much booze?”
Craw said police shut the party down by about 8.30pm, but there was glass at nearby Balmacewan Intermediate School the next day, indicating it had carried on there.
Fortunately his property was not damaged, Craw said, but it would need to be professionally cleaned.
He said he had complained to Airbnb and was keeping them up to date. The site was his livelihood, so he would continue to use it, he said.
Craw admitted the method of organising the party was “ingenious . . . police told [the boy] he should go into events management”.
He had spoken to the organiser’s parents, who lived outside of Dunedin. They were were apologetic and prepared to contribute to cleaning costs, he said.
Police confirmed about 100 people had turned up to the house.
The party organiser had been taken home by police, but it was understood that no charges had been laid.
An Airbnb spokesman said via email that the site was investigating, but he did not comment on how the 14-yearold might have been able to book.
“We have permanently banned this guest from our platform, are fully supporting our host while we investigate, and will provide law enforcement our full support.”
Three boys came to help with the cleanup effort yesterday morning, Craw said.
He understood the boy who organised the party went to school in Dunedin.
— Otago Daily Times
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