A San Francisco woman says renting out her room on Airbnb quickly turned into a nightmare when a renter reportedly trashed her house and used it to record “pornography.”
Sharon Marzouk was out of town for work last week when she rented out her place to woman she believed was a real-estate agent.
But Marzouk claims evidence suggests the guest was using a fake name and was actually a “sex worker” who was operating an “adult” business in her room.
“I noticed that there was a handbag with only condoms in it,” Marzouk told CBS.
She said the guest also left behind sex toys, an x-rated shot list, and installed extra lighting in the bathroom.
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On Facebook, Marzouk complained directly to Airbnb. She wrote: “I feel completely violated and Airbnb couldn’t even guarantee me or offer reassurance that the person staying in my house held even the same name as what was given to me.”
She said she expected Airbnb to verify the IDs of renters.
On top of that, she claims the woman who rented her room had also left the bath faucet on, which caused thousands of dollars in damages.
“It had overflowed from the second floor to the first floor and water was pouring from all the light fixtures,” said Marzouk. She said the flood caused nearly $25,000 USD in damages.
In a statement, Airbnb wrote: “We have zero tolerance for this kind of behavior and have removed this guest from our platform.”
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Airbnb said hosts have the option of verifying IDs directly with renters, if they chose to do so. They are now working with Marzouk to cover the cost of damages.
Nonetheless, Marzouk said the experience has left her with serious doubts as to whether she will ever use the service again.
“This experience has severely shaken my confidence in this technology driven ‘sharing system’ and has put my safety and well-being at risk,” she said.