#trending: Airbnb guests in Seoul allegedly use 122,000 litres of water after host rejects cancellation request

SOUTH KOREA — Angry that they were unable to cancel an accommodation booking on Airbnb, a couple allegedly left the electricity and gas at a villa property running for 25 days to exact revenge on their Airbnb host.

The tourists apparently wasted more than 122,000 litres of water and racked up utility bills that amounted to $840,000 won (S$850) by the end of their stay, South Korean broadcaster SBS News reported.

The unidentified Chinese couple reportedly made a 25-day booking of the property in Seoul, South Korea on March 6, but later asked to cancel their booking.

The host declined to do so since the booking was confirmed and payment had been made, a news report by SBS 8 News stated.

The Airbnb host, identified as just Mr Lee, told SBS News that he realised something was amiss only when he received a call from the gas metre inspector for a suspected gas leak, four days before the Airbnb booking was supposed to end.

When he went down to the house to check, he saw the lights on with heated floors but no sign of the guests. 

The gas usage amounted to a charge of S$650, SBS 8 News reported.

Mr Lee said that what puzzled him more was that 122,000 litres of water was used. That is typically the amount consumed by eight adults in two months, the Seoul water authorities said.

Upon reviewing the surveillance camera in front of the accommodation, Mr Lee discovered that the couple stayed at the villa for five days and then returned to the villa every three to four days for about five minutes each time.

In addition, Mr Lee recalled that the Airbnb guests had changed their profile picture on the home rental platform and asked if there were surveillance cameras in the house, after their cancellation requests were rejected.

This led him to conclude that their actions were deliberate, in retaliation for him rejecting their cancellation request after they booked the villa. 

"Seeing how the utility bills went up by quite a lot, I wonder how unkind they have to be to be able to do such a thing," Mr Lee told SBS News.

Although Mr Lee tried to request help from Airbnb, the company said that it is unable to help because the utility bills do not constitute as property damage, and that the host should resolve matters with the guests directly.

Airbnb's AirCover protection programme covers guest damage to homes but not high utility bills.

Though Mr Lee reach out to the guests, they denied any accountability. As a result, Mr Lee ultimately had to bear the cost of the bill.

In a video posted by SBS News on YouTube on April 7, online users condemned the tourist’s actions. The video has reached 3.4 million views as of Tuesday (April 18). 

One YouTube user commented: “In order to use as much water as they did, you would have to keep the shower running as soon as you first enter the house. That was done intentionally to cause damage from the beginning.” 

Another called for action to be taken against the tourists: “They are really bad people... Please punish them…” ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY IZZAH IMRAN