Property tycoon sues Airbnb for £723,000 after his luxury mansion is trashed by 500 party goers
A PROPERTY tycoon is suing Airbnb for £723,000 after his luxury mansion was trashed by party guests.
Developer Michael Harold, 67, let out his posh pad in Chelsea, South West London, to what he thought was a family of four.
Instead it was used for a bash for 500 people and suffered almost £445,000 of damage.
Repairs took 2½ months — but in papers filed at London’s High Court, Mr Harold’s lawyers accuse the home-sharing site of offering only £102,586.
The writ also says that following the party in April 2017 Airbnb cancelled bookings before removing his property from its platform without notice in August 2018.
The mansion is now rented out for £5,5000 a night.
A second home nearby was also delisted, costing Mr Harold and his business partner Patricia Artega, 37, an estimated £9,490 a night in lost bookings.
The company has yet to file a defence.
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In April, an Airbnb in Manchester was trashed as 200 revellers gatecrashed a guest’s 18th birthday do.
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In January Elizabeth Sterling found her £2.5million London flat wrecked by drug-fuelled ravers after renting it out for a “baby shower”.
Airbnb said it would cover up to £780,000 of damage.
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