Wellesley Residents Upset Over Wild Party At Rented Airbnb Home
WELLESLEY (CBS) -- A raucous party at a home rented out on Airbnb has left Wellesley residents upset and asking the Board of Selectmen to do something.
The Saturday night party, which included a bouncer and a DJ, drew police to the Shaw Road area twice before it was eventually shut down at 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
"We picked Wellesley as a wonderful community to raise our kids in," said neighbor Michelle Bohcher, who added residents "spent the better part of the next morning cleaning up red Solo cups up and down our street."
Those hosting the party were charging $5 to get in.
"There was vomit on my next-door neighbor's driveway," Bohcher said.
The Town of Wellesley said they notified the college the party-goers attend, and put the homeowner "on notice" that they would be subject to keeper of a disorderly house charges if any more large, loud parties were thrown at the home.
The Health Department and building inspectors were also asked to check out the home after the party.
Residents gave the Wellesley Board of Selectmen an earful about the party earlier this week.
"It's atrocious," Bohcher said. "Help guide us. We're coming to you because it was ... it's having a dance club in your neighborhood, and I'm sure none of you would like that."
She said she feels the homeowner "does not get what a neighborhood is."
The board told the residents they would see what they could do to prevent issues like this in the future.
"At this time the Town does not have any regulations on its books with respect to short-term rental of property," the board said in a release. "The Board of Selectmen will further study this issue to determine whether or not a bylaw change ought to be brought to Town Meeting for consideration."
Another resident asked the board to form a committee to address the issue of residents renting out their homes.
Airbnb released a statement on the incident.
This host and listing have been suspended while we investigate this incident and the guest who booked this reservation has been permanently banned from our platform. Hosting is a serious responsibility and those who fail to meet our community standards will be removed from the Airbnb community. We apologize to the residents of Wellesley for this disturbance.
The overwhelming majority of Airbnb hosts and guests are good neighbors and respectful travelers, but when issues happen, we work to make things right. We want to do everything we can to help our hosts be good neighbors in the places they call home.
Airbnb said that to combat similar incidents, customers can visit airbnb.com/neighbors to share concerns they have about listings in their community.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports