A Chinese couple visiting South Korea took revenge on the Airbnb host who refused to cancel their booking by using over 120 tonnes of water as well as thousands of dollars worth of gas, electricity and other utilities.

A Seoul Airbnb owner recently experienced a nightmare scenario in which guests went out of their way to waste as much water, electricity, and gas as possible during their stay. It all started when a Chinese couple booked a stand-alone villa in Seoul on Airbnb for 25 days without checking its location in the South Korean capital. When they arrived and realized the place was in the outer suburbs, they decided to contact the owner and ask for a refund, claiming that traveling to and from the city center was too inconvenient. However, the host refused, arguing that the booking had been confirmed and the payment made in full. The couple seemed to accept the situation, but they were secretly plotting to make the host pay…

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At first, the villa owner noticed nothing out of the ordinary about his guests, other than them asking him whether there were any surveillance cameras inside the property. Little did he know that they were actually planning their revenge. During their 25-day booking, they only came by the villa for about five minutes every three to four days, spending most of their time traveling to different regions of the country.

It was only when the gas company contacted the owner about the sharp increase in consumption at his villa that the owner realized something was wrong. But by that time, the guests had already left South Korea, leaving him to cover massive utility bills. He later learned that the couple had used enough water for eight adults to use for two months, as well as lots of electricity.

“They used 120 tonnes of water in five days,” the host said, referring to the fact that the couple only stopped by the villa five times during their 25-day booking, and then only for a few minutes.

In addition to the hundreds of dollars in gas and water bills, the Airbnb host also had to pay $728 in other miscellaneous expenses, leaving him about 1,570 out of pocket. He tried reaching out to Airbnb support about this issue, but was told that the company bears no responsibility and that the matter was between him and the guests. Unable to reach the couple in China, the man ultimately had to cover all the bills himself.