Bay Area Airbnb host says her home was brutally ransacked by renters

DISCOVERY BAY, Calif. -- Sheriff's deputies and Airbnb are now looking into the ransacking and burglary of a rental home in Discovery Bay.

The entrance to Kaz Jones' weekend home in Discovery Bay says "Welcome." It does not say "Help Yourself."

But between Sunday and Thursday, the host says people who rented their home did just that. Her daughter Emily says the first Warning came when her mom checked the security cameras early Tuesday morning.

"Three a.m...the security cameras went out. That's when we knew something was wrong," said Emily.

Emily, who doesn't want her last name used, says that's because the burglars took the security cameras and that's not all.

"The TV is gone," she added.

The cleaning staff found the extent of the damage later that day. To add insult to injury they stole the washer and dryer and apparently tried to take the dishwasher and couldn't.

"This was not a gentle crime. The doors were ripped off their hinges," Emily said.

The burglars also coated the floors, steps, and counters in vegetable oil in hopes of hiding the fingerprints. The family says they have reported the crime to Airbnb, but are waiting to hear back.

In fact, they say the only message received so far is one asking them to review the renter.

Airbnb sent a statement saying: There have been over 300 million guest arrivals in Airbnb listings to date and negative incidents are extremely rare. We have zero tolerance for this type of behavior. We have permanently banned this individual from our platform and will be reaching out to the local authorities to offer our assistance with their investigation. We apologize to our host for the delay and will be providing them with our full support under our $1 Million Host Guarantee program. The safety of our community is our priority.

Airbnb says they are working with the family to make things right.