Key Highlights
- TikTok creator @donatella_westaway documents extensive damage and bizarre behavior from Airbnb guests during a 10-day stay, with the video amassing 2.5 million views.
- Guests allegedly moved 90% of items in the property, left candle wax throughout the home, damaged the sofa with pen marks and stains, and left behind an apparent acid tab in the furniture.
- The host states she does not want financial compensation for damages but rather wants the guests permanently removed from the Airbnb platform.
Airbnb Host Documents Guest Nightmare: Candle Wax, Furniture Damage, and Safety Hazards
TikTok creator Donatella Westaway, known as @donatella_westaway, has gone viral after sharing a detailed account of what she describes as the worst guest experience in her three years of hosting. The video, which has garnered 2.5 million views, 242,800 likes, and over 1,100 comments as of publication, documents a 10-day stay that escalated from promising praise to property damage, noise violations, and alleged safety hazards.
From Praise to Property Damage
According to Westaway, the guests initially complimented the property upon check-in, giving the hosts confidence they would respect the space. However, approximately a day and a half into the 10-day reservation, a loud domestic argument erupted between the guests. This was followed by friends visiting and loud music playing until 1 a.m., prompting the hosts to message the guests reminding them of quiet hours between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.
The situation deteriorated further at checkout when the guests refused to leave for an hour past the designated time. Upon entering the property, Westaway and her partner discovered the unit in what she described as a “weird state.” Initially believing only small furniture items had been displaced, they soon realized the guests had moved virtually everything.
“I already had an issue with the big furniture that they moved. But then they also moved things like plates,” she said.
Candle Wax, Stains, and an Apparent Acid Tab
The video reveals pen marks and stains on the sofa, prompting Westaway to ask, “What were they doing?” She reported finding candle wax not only on a wooden table but “everywhere around the house,” leading her to speculate the guests were conducting “some kind of ritual in which the guests were just throwing candles around.”
The kitchen required complete reconstruction, with the fridge left full of leftover food and dirt. Westaway summarized the cumulative impact: “If you look at each individual thing, it’s not a big deal, but when you put it together, it’s basically putting the whole kitchen back together,” she said.
Most alarmingly, Westaway claimed in her TikTok caption that they discovered “a a-cid tab in the sofa,” raising significant safety concerns, particularly for future guests with children.
Host’s Message: Platform Accountability Over Compensation
In her video caption, Westaway delivered a forceful message about guest behavior and platform responsibility:
“If you think leaving a place like this is okay, I promise you airbnb hosts don’t want your money. Hotels can have your money along with your awful behaviour. We aren’t here to make a quick buck. We are here to provide a service and a home away from home and in return you are meant to be respectful of the safe space that is offered to you. These guests not only made our lives stressful but also contaminated our guest house with dangerous things which if found by a child could be a risk to their lives. This is no joke. Forget the damage, the endless things left behind and the moving of 90% of the things in the guest house. Health and safety is and will always be our no.1 priority and these people put our place at risk. We also found a a-cid tab in the sofa ?️ I will do another video to show all the things that they moved because that alone deserves to be reviewed. It took sweat and tears but we managed to get the guest house back to the best condition we could for the next guests. That extra hour would have been so helpful as the next guest checked in as we were taking the cleaning bits into our house but it’s just another thing we had to deal with thanks to the previous guests. If you ever wonder why some Airbnbs have really high cleaning fees it’s because of guests like this. So stop being angry at airbnb hosts and start calling peeople out for their poor behaviour as guests that make hosts turn into the villains trying to protect themselves from situations like this. It’s the classic few that ruin it for the many ? #airbnbnightmare #storytime”
Despite the extensive cleanup required, Westaway emphasized her primary goal is not financial restitution. “I don’t even care if they are going to pay for the damages; I just want these people off Airbnb,” she concluded.
Why This Matters: The Growing Tension in Short-Term Rental Hospitality
This incident highlights systemic challenges facing the short-term rental industry. As platforms like Airbnb scale, the trust-based model—where hosts open private homes to strangers—faces increasing strain from high-profile guest misconduct cases. The economic impact is tangible: hosts increasingly build risk premiums into cleaning fees and security deposits, effectively penalizing responsible guests for the actions of a destructive minority.
Safety concerns extend beyond property damage. The alleged discovery of a controlled substance residue in furniture cushions raises liability questions for hosts, platforms, and insurance providers. Current platform policies typically address property damage through host guarantee programs, but contamination hazards involving potential drug residues fall into a regulatory gray area with limited precedent.
The viral nature of this complaint—2.5 million views on a single platform—demonstrates how social media amplifies individual disputes into industry-wide reputation issues. Hosts increasingly use public documentation as leverage when platform resolution processes stall, creating a parallel accountability system outside official channels.
Frequently Asked Questions
What specific damages did the Airbnb host document?
The host documented guests moving approximately 90% of items in the property, including large furniture and kitchenware; pen marks and stains on the sofa; candle wax throughout the home; a refrigerator left with leftover food and dirt; and an alleged acid tab found in the sofa cushions.
Did the host request payment for damages?
No. The host explicitly stated, “I don’t even care if they are going to pay for the damages; I just want these people off Airbnb,” prioritizing platform removal over financial compensation.
Has Airbnb or The Daily Dot verified these claims?
The Daily Dot reported it was “unable to independently verify the personal opinions and experiences shared in this video” and noted the details reflect “the personal account shared by @donatella_westaway on TikTok and represent her individual perspective.”