‘Get them out now’: How owner discovered 500 teens destroying his Brisbane home

The owner of Brisbane house destroyed by 500 teenagers believes the culprit booked the property under a family member’s name, as he recounted the evening which has left his beloved home in ruin.

• Latest: Second teen dealt with

Benjamin Holt was celebrating a Brisbane Lions win in Melbourne on Saturday evening when his neighbour spotted more than 50 teens partying at his property.

An hour later hundreds of teens had filled the East Brisbane home in a destructive rave which has the whole city talking.

“It definitely wasn’t authorised, I definitely didn’t know about it and I definitely didn’t realise it was underage,” Mr Holt told The Courier-Mail from his Melbourne home.

“You have to be over the age of 25 to actually book the property.”

Mr Holt’s home was listed on Airbnb and he believed a booking for a family of five on the night in question was legitimate.

“We believe (the organiser) might have used his grandmother’s account to book it because the photo on the profile was an elderly lady.

“The police told me that the name matched an 80-year-old lady, so that was what happened.”

Benjamin Holt on Wednesday. Picture: Mark Stewart

He said he messaged the guest on the Airbnb app after he was notified of the party, and they quickly reassured Mr Holt that the party would be shut down.

“I messaged them and said, ‘there’s a party going on, you need to leave immediately.’ They were responsive and replied saying, ‘yep, I’m going to get them out now’.”

After half an hour had passed, Mr Holt’s neighbour informed the number of attendees had grown to 200.

“More time went by, and we made multiple calls to the police. (The police) told me there were over 500 people at the party,” he said.

Mr Holt caught the earliest flight the following morning to assess the damage to his property.

“The police sent me through some photographs that night, and they explained to me how bad the situation was. There was structural damage, there was plumbing damage … the house was in a really bad state,” he said.

“It looked bad from the photos, but I wasn’t really sure of the full destruction until I got there the next day in person.

“The photographs and the footage we’ve got don’t really do it justice. You can’t see the extent. Every single wall and ceiling in the house had to be scrubbed because there’s alcohol and bodily fluids. It was pretty crazy.”

Mr Holt said he had not yet spoken to the family of the teen that was arrested and that it would be handled by law enforcement.

“I’ve had the school principal reach out to me, and he said he’s spoken to the parents multiple times. The police are now going through their process,” he said.

Speaking on whether the teens behind the party should be expelled, he said while it was up to the school, there needed to be consequences for the organisers of the party.

“It’s not something that anyone should have to experience. People still haven’t learnt from this. It’s not acceptable,” he said.

He snapped back at online commenters who suggested he should be renting out the house instead of using it as an Airbnb.

“I live in the house part-time. I’m there multiple times a year. I can’t rent it out to anyone else because I live in the house. I’m a Brisbane Lions supporter and go there often for games. That’s the whole purpose of Airbnb, you rent out your house when you’re not there,” he said.

“The people have no idea the cost involved in owning an investment property in this day and age. If this was on the normal rental market, it wouldn’t be there. It’s financially not viable. The council even charge higher rates.

“Look at the Corey Worthington party, that was an owner-occupied house, so just because it’s an Airbnb doesn’t mean there are more parties.”

An out-of-control house party organised by elite private school students left doors smashed, plumbing wrecked and expensive appliances in the pool at an Airbnb property in East Brisbane. Photo: Sunrise

A door in the home smashed up. Photo: Sunrise

Despite the property being listed for several years, Mr Holt said no other guest had caused anything remotely close to the level of damage inflicted on the property on Saturday night.

“We’ve had a couple of bucks parties where the neighbours have been onto it really quickly, and we’ve sent a message to say ‘hey, it’s not a party venue’. We’ve refined the process over time to make it a little tighter with the booking information,” he said.

“Once someone books, another message goes out to them confirming the precautions. There’s a pool, and it’s a residential house. If they’re not happy with any of (the rules) please cancel now, and I’ll provide them a full refund.”

Despite the extensive damage and a repair bill in the thousands, he confirmed he would continue to list his home on Airbnb.

With help from neighbours and emergency maintenance services, Mr Holt believed the home would be ready in time for the next guests to arrive.

“The next day (after the party) we had a five-night booking, and we’ve cancelled that. It will be habitable by the next booking,” he said.

“Thanks to the extensive work and extensive amount of people working to rectify all these issues as quick as we can. Without them, it wouldn’t have been possible.”

Brisbane Boys’ College Headmaster Andre Casson confirmed an internal investigation was underway.

“BBC is co-operating with the police as they investigate this matter, and we will be pursuing an internal investigation in accordance with our own procedures and policies,” he said.

“Due to the incomplete nature of both of these investigations, we are unable to comment on the repercussions for the boys involved.”

A teenage boy was taken into custody on Tuesday evening following the execution of a search warrant in relation to the party at his Kelvin Grove home.

A second boy, from Fig Tree Pocket, was dealt with by police on Wednesday.

Investigations remain ongoing. Anyone with information about the gathering is encouraged to contact police.

Originally published as ‘Get them out now’: How owner discovered 500 teens destroying his Brisbane home