
Blocked drains and blood stains: our Airbnb guest cost us £15,000
The company assured us that all guests would be vetted and that adequate insurance was in place to cover us if our property was damaged. Smarthost accepted a request through Airbnb for a guest to stay in our home for four weeks.
When we came home, exhausted after our long journey, we were horrified to find extensive damage. The bathroom in our loft had flooded, causing water to leak over three floors. We also found that the guests had broken lots of items, such as furniture, electric blinds and even the freezer. The guests took a set of keys, which is a huge security risk and has caused me a lot of worry. They also took kitchen equipment including frying pans.

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Scottish Sun
6 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
UK holiday homes with private swimming pools that feel more like the Med
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Times
15 hours ago
- Times
Why is non-alcoholic wine still so dreadful?
A few months ago, I took a bottle (among others, I may add) of non-alcoholic wine to a dinner party. Rare and eccentric behaviour for a wine critic, I admit, but I was driving and had a very early flight to catch the next morning to Australia. There was another driver present and as we gathered by the fire, I gleefully remarked that I had brought something we could both 'enjoy'. Looking back, that was ludicrously optimistic. As our host decanted his finest claret we tucked into our alcohol-free red. I quickly realised the enormity of my mistake. Whereas the red Bordeaux had weight and texture and a complexity of flavour that evolved throughout the evening, our purple concoction tasted like a sort of medicinal, homemade damson juice. It was bland, barely drinkable and mind-numbingly dull.


Times
15 hours ago
- Times
Blocked drains and blood stains: our Airbnb guest cost us £15,000
L ast year my husband and I were planning to visit his family in Australia for just over a month and we decided to rent our home on Airbnb to help cover the cost of the trip. We hired a rental management company called Smarthost to arrange and manage the bookings. The company assured us that all guests would be vetted and that adequate insurance was in place to cover us if our property was damaged. Smarthost accepted a request through Airbnb for a guest to stay in our home for four weeks. When we came home, exhausted after our long journey, we were horrified to find extensive damage. The bathroom in our loft had flooded, causing water to leak over three floors. We also found that the guests had broken lots of items, such as furniture, electric blinds and even the freezer. The guests took a set of keys, which is a huge security risk and has caused me a lot of worry. They also took kitchen equipment including frying pans.