photo by: Airbnb and KU Athletics

Craig Young is pictured with the Airbnb logo.

A Douglas County judge on Thursday awarded an Airbnb host over $4,200 in connection with a former University of Kansas football player’s stay.

Last winter former KU player Craig Young stayed at the Airbnb townhome called Sofi’s Sunflower at 2406 Alabama St. in Lawrence. Young, who now plays for the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL, arrived at the home on Jan. 16. His agent, Matthew Glose, of Buffalo, New York, booked the property for Young for 75 days so that Young could be in Lawrence and use KU football facilities to train for the NFL Draft Combine, according to court records.

The small claims lawsuit was brought by Airbnb hosts Timothy Hamilton and Sofiana Olivera against Young, Glose and Airbnb. Glose and Young did not attend the short trial on Thursday. Airbnb was represented by Katherine Pfeiffer, who appeared by video conference.

Glose had informed Olivera prior to the rental that Young would be the guest and that he would be staying at the townhome alone. Two weeks into the rental, police were called to the property after a neighbor heard walls and doors being punched or kicked and heard a woman screaming.

The neighbor, who shares a wall with the rental, testified that she heard the woman screaming “Stop it, stop it please.” The woman said she advised her two children, ages 17 and 21, to take shelter in another part of the house in case the man became more violent, and she called 911. The neighbor also testified that for the duration of Young’s stay at the property the odor of marijuana permeated the walls and made her house smell.

No one was arrested in connection with the incident, and the Lawrence police call log indicates that police responded to that address on Jan. 16 around 11:15 p.m. for a loud music complaint. In court documents, Glose also referred to the incident as a noise complaint.

After the incident, Olivera informed Glose that Young was no longer welcome at the property because he had violated the terms of the rental agreement, specifically that Young was not staying at the property alone and that neighbors had seen a woman with a baby staying there.

Glose made other arrangements for Young, and he moved out of the property on Feb. 2. That’s when Olivera went to the townhome to clean and prepare for the next guest. When she arrived, what she found shocked her. She said all of the windows were open, even though it was February, and the heater was on high. She said she believed it was to get rid of the smell.

“The smell was impressive. I was literally in a state of shock,” Olivera testified on Thursday.

She said she moved through the house and started taking photographs in every room where she found dirty handprints staining the walls, ashes rubbed into the furniture, carpets with dark stains, burns on rugs and damaged items throughout the home. She immediately began sending the photos to Glose.

Olivera said she hired an emergency painting crew, who had to use a special anti-smoke paint on the property, and a carpet-cleaning company, who had to use an ozone cleaning machine for two days to reduce the marijuana smell before the carpets could be cleaned. The initial cleaning and painting services cost around $2,000.

Olivera said that the final costs of cleaning the house and replacing damaged items — and taking into account the lost revenue from not being able to rent the property while repairs were underway — were around $8,000.

Glose later paid $1,024 in connection with the damages after Airbnb’s resolution team determined that amount was sufficient to cover the “approved damages.” After Airbnb denied the remaining amount under its rental policy agreement, Hamilton, the host, filed suit.

Hamilton argued that the terms of the Airbnb agreement stated that the property was protected by Airbnb for damages caused by the guest renter and any invitees of that renter.

Pfeiffer argued on Airbnb’s behalf on Thursday that the contract between Glose and Hamilton violated Airbnb’s contract terms. She said that Glose, Young’s agent, was the Airbnb user and should have been the one staying at the residence. She said when Hamilton and Olivera agreed to let Young stay at the accommodation without Glose, they were no longer protected by Airbnb’s rental agreement for damages.

Pfeiffer said that since Young was not a registered Airbnb user, there was no way for the company to perform any due diligence on Young’s background to determine if he was a viable candidate for the service. She noted that Airbnb is not a rental company but a platform for hosts to connect with guests and Young was not a registered guest.

Pfeiffer said that the money they did collect from Glose and paid to the host for the damages was done “in good faith” and that since the terms of the Airbnb agreement were violated they weren’t liable for any of the damages.

“Despite this not meeting the definition of an eligible claim, we did provide partial payment,” Pfeiffer said.

Judge Blake Glover, however, rejected that argument. He said that Glose was the registered user and Young qualified as his invitee, which Airbnb’s policy said was covered.

“I am not persuaded that the responsible guest must be someone who stays there as that is not specified in the agreement,” Glover said.

Glover said that if Airbnb had intended that to be the case, it should be included in the terms. He then awarded Hamilton $4,256, to be paid by Airbnb. He said that number did not include Olivera’s estimate of income lost for not being able to rent the apartment, nor did it include costs of repairs to the property that could not be clearly attributed to Young’s stay.