Katherine Brook
THE Olive Press has helped reader Aditya Jain win a battle against Airbnb after he was left with an €800 bill to clean up the damage caused by a young Russian woman throwing a party.
Aditya, a 35 year-old man, from India, was shocked to find dented walls, sticky, alcohol stained floors, and a broken fridge, following the two-night rental of his three-bed apartment in Los Arqueros Golf & Country Club (Benahavis).
Security camera footage showed around 15 people arriving at the flat instead of the three he had expected.
Sticky stains of alcohol were left on the floor and carpets 
Paint was chipped on doors 
Walls were broken and full of scuff marks
The woman admitted having a party and offered to pay or send someone to fix everything.
Untrusting, Aditya arranged the work to be done himself: the entire place was painted, floors were polished, carpets were cleaned and the damage repaired.
But on sharing the €800 bill with the Russian, she refused to pay, offering just €200.
“I couldn’t believe it. I had previously offered to take the €400 security deposit from Airbnb – a fair option I thought. But she said no. So I was forced to take this issue to Airbnb,” added Aditya.
The Airbnb owner said the holiday rental company was ‘slow to respond’ at first, telling him his invoices ‘weren’t valid’.
On further probing from the Olive Press for a comment, Airbnb agreed to pay back two out of three of the invoices, totalling €703.64.
“I think a big reason they paid is because of you and I thank you for your support,” Aditya told the Olive Press.
“I just don’t want anyone else to fall into the same situation I did, with untrustworthy guests and a large bill,” said Aditya.
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