Teen permanently banned from Airbnb after Dunedin house trashed

The teenager who booked an Airbnb property for an alcohol-fuelled party in Dunedin last Saturday night has been permanently banned from the site.

Dunedin Airbnb host Jeremy Craw arrived shortly after the ''out-of control'' underage party at his property to find huge amounts of alcohol left behind.

''I put my faith in Airbnb that they are going to provide me with customers that are vetted, 18, and generally they have feedback from their last stay,'' Craw said.

He confirmed the booking was made by a first-time customer and he did not meet them on their arrival.

Airbnb policy restricts bookings to people aged 18 years and older.

An Airbnb spokesman said via email: "We have permanently banned this guest from our platform, are fully supporting our host while we investigate, and will provide law enforcement our full support."

Craw was concerned the site's systems and processes were not robust enough to prevent an event like this recurring.

The underage teenagers were able to not only book the property, but also had access to a credit card and alcohol, he said.

Airbnb confirmed it had launched an internal review to find out how the teenagers booked the property, saying even one incident was too many.

''We are constantly working to improve our platform, our policies, and our protections because even one incident is one too many,'' the organisation's statement read.

Earlier this year, international news outlets reported nearly US$20,000 in damage was caused when an American Airbnb guest threw a party for more than 300 people in her host's home.

Even more devastating was the Canadian couple who rented out their house for a weekend to 'wedding guests', who caused $80,000 in damage.

Airbnb began in San Francisco in 2008 as a way of helping people at a conference to find temporary accommodation.

The company has since become a travel industry juggernaut and was recently valued at US$31 billion.