Warning to all NZ Hosts : British Tourists on a house-trashing tour

[Ben551]

Greetings ~

After today's headlines I feel the need to extend a warning to all AirBnb hosts in New Zealand, Australia and the UK.

A group of ten British tourists have been in the New Zealand news headlines all through January 2018.  They have been not paying for meals, trashing hotel rooms and litering during their stay in Auckland and Hamilton.  Last night, they turned up in my city of Wellington,  and were sighted making trouble a mere 2 minutes drive away from my house. 

The damage toll from the group is estimated to run into the hundreds of thousand as they continue a path of destruction through the country, but the Police and politicians can't move fast enough.  They are likely to remain at large for several days before action is taken to arrest and deport them all (it seems to react to a situation like this is more than our criminal justice system is designed to cope with).  If they leave on their own, they will likely pop up in Australia or the UK.

Here is the series of events as they have unfolded over the past few weeks:

15 January: First they trashed an Auckland beach.

15 January: Then the NZ Police investigated.

15 January: They said they were just here to see the hobbits.

16 January: Then they stole a Christmas tree.

16 January: And pled guilty to two counts of theft.

16 January: So the NZ government issued a deportation notice with 28 days to leave.

17 January: Then the media reported what they are like back in the UK.

17 January: So the NZ Police Minister called for the group to be sent home immediately.

18 January: Then they turned up in MY HOME TOWN!!

Warning: Some of the video footage contained in these news articles could offend.

Here is a map covering the first few days of their damage path:

What AirBnb Hosts Need to know:

The family are known to use information on private accomodation websites (like AirBnb) to make bookings waaay into the future that they never intend to pay for.  They do this to immediately gain access to property addresses and use it to locate vacant rental accomodation (i.e. they choose ones with space in their calendar 'now' then make a booking for the 'future').  They then break in and trash it without the owners knowledge.  this link describes what they do - I do not have the stomach to re-write it.

If they turn up at your property, do not engage with them.  Call the Police immediately (if you are in New Zealand the number is '111').

If they leave New Zealand before the authorities can act, they are likely to turn up in Australia or the UK.

Meanwhile, I'm going to sleep with a crow bar under my pillow until these jerks are out of my country...

~ Ben

[Julie143]

I read this morning in the Daily Mail (my secret vice) that they have been spotted at the international airport.  I guess you can breathe a sigh of relief? On their way to the airport, they stopped at a gas station and tried to scam a can of Red Bull.

[Ben551]

@Julie143  We will be relieved when they leave, yes. The only slight issue with them leaving voluntarily is that they wont be deported back to the UK.

That means they can pick a new country to continue their free holiday. Australians watch the border...

Free holiday is the best way to describe what they are doing. In addition to intimidating people, reports say they don’t pay... for anything. They steal what they like from shops, lie their way into accommodation then leave without paying, eat at restaurants and leave without paying.... clearly they think this is how to do a budget holiday?

[Julie143]

Maybe they can have their own reality show which shows them traveling from country to country, wreaking havoc as they go. It might be fun to watch how the locals in different places respond to them.

[Ben551]

Greetings ~

Quick update on the rowdy tourists blazing a mayhem trail through New Zealand...

18 January: They were hiding in the Wellington Hills (**where my AirBnb is!**)

21 January: They lied about leaving NZ from Wellington and instead died their hair.

21 January: So the NZ Media revealed their true identities on the internet.

22 January: Then 4 out of the 15 member group flew to Hong Kong.

23 January: But the rest were spotted getting more parking tickets.

Twelve members of the group remain unaccounted for and are assumed to still be in the country.

~ Ben

[Susan1028]

@Ben368

...wait, there's more!  https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/unruly-tourists-abandon-crashed-car-in-auckland/

Melting icing on their fallen cake...This really is like a bad reality show. 

Thanks everyone for the head's up.   This bunch wll be on every black list around the globe...except ABB's, and as hosts we'll have to hope they use thier real names if they try to book on this site, since we can't see thier photo and they don't even have to be validated to book...

[Sarah977]

I don't get- why have they not been arrested yet? How is it they can fly to Hong Kong and not be detained at the airport after stiffing all these hotels and restaurants? 

[Ben551]

@Sarah977yeah that's what really annoys me about this situation.

It seems that NZ laws just aren't designed to cope with this kind of thing.  Not paying for food or accomodation, defacating in a hotel room, or incurring parking tickets by privately owned car parks aren't considered "criminal" in New Zealand.  They are considered civil matters that individuals are expected to hire lawyers and sue for.  The Police have already said all those matters are beyond their scope.

Out of all the things these people have done, the only thing NZ laws considers criminal is stealing things from a petrol station. 

Which... is... ridiculous.

[Sarah977]

@Ben551 How about trashing a beach reserve? That's not illegal?

[Ben551]

@Sarah977  yeah it is, but it carries only a littering fine.  After one of them was prosecuted for theft at a petrol station, that one member of their party was given a 28 day deportation notice - which is as harsh as the laws get. But that's 28 days to carry on breaking the law, before they have to leave... it's nuts.

It's like waiting for the hammer to come down, then being told by NZ Politicians "there is no hammer, only sternly worded letters".

[Sarah977]

@Ben551  Wow, NZ sounds like a low life criminal's dream country. I wonder if they researched the laws of various countries before deciding where to take their "holidays".

The photo of the what, 7 year-old, giving the finger to the cameraman is particularly choice. Real quality folks.

Unfortunately, they sound like a lot of the nightmare guests I read about here on the forum.

[Ben551]

@Sarah977  yeah I know right! I wondered that too...

[Helen3]

You do know @Ben551 that Ireland and England are two rather different countries? 

[Susan17]

@Ben551

You seem like a decent guy and I'm sorry,  but this post is - at best - ugly, sensationalist, one-sided and inflammatory.  Sleeping with a crowbar under your pillow "until these jerks have left the country"? Really....?? 

You've said that you're from the UK originally so you'll already be fully aware that travellers - be they British or Irish - are amongst the most marginalised, ostracized, shunned, excluded and discriminated against ethnic groups in society. Yes, without a doubt, these people have behaved terribly, but their wrongdoings have been blown massively out of proportion. They're hardly serial killers or axe-murderers, but one could be forgiven for thinking so, given the levels of hysteria attached to both the mainstream and social media coverage of this "saga"

To be perfectly honest, the "crimes" they've been accused of committing are nothing that Airbnb hosts don't see every night of the week, from every "class" of guest, in every city on the planet. Littering, petty theft, scamming free stuff, leaving a mess behind, boisterous behaviour, parking offences - nothing new to most who've been in this game any length of time, especially those who deal with larger groups. 

The way I see it, the minute-by-minute hounding, ridiculing, dehumanising, persecution and harrassment of the group by an entire nation, is infinitely more shocking and abhorrent than any misdemeanours or transgressions the group may (or may not) have engaged in, and certainly doesn't reflect well on those who have gleefully participated in this real-life witch hunt. 

Deeply, deeply saddening, and painful to behold. 

https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/15/acceptable-racism-gypsies-travellers-prejudice

[Sandra126]

@Susan17, I didn't realise they were of any particular group, just ''travellers'' as in ''tourists''. Have I missed something?

[Susan17]

@Sandra126 

People can be both travellers and tourists. And yes, these people are both, in this instance.