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Airbnb To Offer Property Protection After SF Homeowner Ransacked

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP) -- A company that connects travelers with people renting out their homes will soon offer property protection after a host in San Francisco had her home vandalized.

Airbnb.com CEO Brian Chesky announced on Monday that the company will cover up to $50,000 worth of property damage caused by people who rent through the website starting on Aug. 15.

The announcement came after a woman who rented out her home in San Francisco reported returning in June to find it ransacked and her personal property missing.

Chesky apologized to the woman, who has not been identified, and said the San Francisco-based company should have responded to her case faster and "more sensitively."

A San Francisco police spokesman said a person of interest in the case, 19-year-old Faith Clifton of Belmont, was being held on unrelated charges and it was unknown if she rented the apartment in question.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney's office said Clifton was arrested last month on an outstanding warrant and has pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property, counterfeiting equipment and a forged driver's license.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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