He left for Taupō that morning, arriving to discover the property was extensively damaged.
He said the car had gone through several rooms of the house, which was sitting on piles about one metre off the ground.
It came to a stop four or five metres into the property, having hit the bed one of the men was sleeping in.
“I can’t see how he’s survived.”
Deuchar said the driver had returned to the scene on Monday to recover some items from the vehicle and had spoken to him about the incident, seemingly unaware that Deuchar was the property’s owner.
“He was a bit shaken up, by the look of it.”
Deuchar has owned the Lockwood property for about five years and rented it out without incident.
“It’s a very popular Airbnb.”
He has cancelled all future reservations, which amounted to about 25 stays, and that would have financial consequences.
“This is my retirement income gone ... it’s about $1000 a week.”
The property was insured and he said it would now be up to the insurance assessors to determine whether the building could be salvaged at all, but given the scale of damage, he was not optimistic.
Taupō Police confirmed that two people were injured and taken to Taupō Hospital by ambulance.
Deuchar said the injured guest stayed the night in hospital before returning home to Auckland.
One of the injured people was the driver of the car, said Detective Sergeant Andy Livingstone.
He said the incident was still being investigated.