A San Francisco homeowner rented his childhood home on Airbnb for years and typically hosted tech workers and families. A lawsuit claims a San Francisco startup booked the home under false pretenses to conduct tests on a robotic prototype and left the property in poor condition. The host seeks more than $12,000 for damages including personal property damage and unauthorized entry into a locked closet. The host said he and his partner had to do far more repairs than usual after the stay. The booking allegedly involved a group with little rental history and no reviews, and the host noticed unusual activity when handling guest trash, including visible wiring.
"Donovan alleges that a San Francisco startup booked his home on Airbnb last month under "false pretenses" to conduct tests on the "robotic prototype," and left the place in shambles, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in San Francisco County Superior Court. He's seeking more than $12,000 for a laundry list of damages from the Bot Company, (identified in court records as "Botco") for personal property damage and unauthorized entry into a locked closet."
"Donovan told SFGATE that he and his partner had never put more hours into fixing the house after an Airbnb rental. "We had a ton of work to do when we got back," Donovan told SFGATE. "Way more than we've ever had before.""
"Last month, he said a group with little rental history claiming to be remote workers from Thailand inquired about the house. (The lawsuit notes a May date range for the booking, which Donovan said was an error in an interview with SFGATE). Airbnb allows renters to check rating histories of potential guests to assess any potential risk, but this booker had no reviews."
"Donovan said he realized it wasn't a normal rental when he came to the house to take care of the guests' trash. While moving a bin, he said he could see bundles of wires strung"
Read at SFGATE
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