South suburban woman says Airbnb host charged her over $18K for damage she didn't cause

NEW LENOX, Ill. (WLS) -- A south suburban woman said she was sent a bill for more than $18,000 in damages she and her friends did not cause in a home they rented through Airbnb.

Amy Peto of New Lenox, Ill., said her girl's trip to Michigan was nearly perfect. She and her friends rented a vacation home in Douglas, Mich., through Airbnb.

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"It was a beautiful place that we stayed at," she said. "Went to the beach, did some shopping, played some cards at night and really had a good time. I never laughed so hard in my life."

But that laughter turned to tears when she got back home and received an invoice from the Airbnb host for more than $18,000.

"I read this review and my stomach just dropped," she said.

The review stated, ""Amy made huge damage to the house that will result in very expensive repairs. Horrible guests."

"I had absolutely no idea what he was referring to," Peto said.

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The damage in question was a large hole inside of the bathtub. Peto said she was shocked.

"That, to me, looks like a sledgehammer. And this is not damage that we did," she said.

Peto claimed she and her friends left the place in great condition and didn't even leave a scratch. She got angrier as she read the invoice more closely.

"He's having me not just repair the bathtub, but pay for his plumbing fixtures, his tile, his glass door, painting, management fee, plumbing, trash and demo to the tune of $18,820," she said. "As soon as I saw this, I knew exactly what he was doing. He's trying to get some fool, who wasn't going to be me, pay for his bathroom remodel, because his house was on the market for $1.5 million. You messed with the wrong girl."

Peto said she tried contacting the host to put an end to this bill, but he never responded

"I'm single. I have two young boys. There's no way I would be able to drop $18,000 on a teacher's salary," she explained.

Peto said she contacted Airbnb and went back and forth with the company for weeks to fight the charges. She said they eventually accepted her appeal and closed the case. She was never charged for the damages.

As for the host, Airbnb told the I-Team. "The host provided evidence to support the claim, and our team did not find any evidence to suggest that this host was committing fraud."

Peto said she's done with Airbnb.

"This has really left a scar on me and I don't think I will ever use or recommend Airbnb because he is still a Superhost," she said.

For context, a "Superhost" is "a host that goes above and beyond to provide excellent hospitality. Guests can easily identify a Superhost from the badge that appears on their Airbnb listing and profile," according to Airbnb's website.

ABC7 tried to reach the host of the Airbnb home but he did not respond.

Airbnb said that if a guest believes a review violates its policies, they can contact Airbnb and report it. But Peto said the company refuses to remove the bad review from the host about the damages, and the host is still listed as Superhost on its site.