INDIANAPOLIS — Friday night, Jessica Prosperi made her daughter's dreams come true with tickets to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.
"It was my daughter's first concert ever," said Prosperi, who traveled to Indianapolis from St. Louis. "She was so excited we were going out of town. It's a new city, and she's never been to Indianapolis before."
She said the entire weekend went smoothly — until they got to their Airbnb after the show.
"The housing was sort of a secondary thing for me," Prosperi said.
In February, Prosperi booked a rental in the Penn Street Tower Apartments. She said they couldn't check in until after the concert, and when they got inside, that's when they learned there was a mistake.
"I tried to open the door, and it was unlocked. I walked in, my daughter is behind me, the lights are off except for in the bathroom. I can see there are shoes on the ground, and it looks like it was used, and I was like, 'OK, this seems really weird,'" Prosperi said.
Just seconds later, she said a man walked out of his bedroom.
"He said, 'This is my loft. I own it, and I don't have this on Airbnb.'"
13News spoke with Joshua Simon, the man who lives inside the apartment. He said when Prosperi and her daughter walked inside, he was asleep, and this was the first time anything like this had happened. He also said he has never been contacted by a short-term rental company to rent his place out.
"Obviously for me, it was a small inconvenience that I was woken up, but I do feel bad for them," Simon said.
13News looked up the property on Airbnb. The website says it's called "Downtown Delight" and owned by DTP Property Solutions, but there are no available dates through 2025.
13News reporter Anna Chalker tried to send them a message but was unable to send it through the website, and when she called, the line was disconnected.
Prosperi says she hasn't heard from the company since Friday. While she's back home in St. Louis, she wants people to pay closer attention to short-term rental listings.
"I would say avoid it until Airbnb and other companies can improve their polices that they have in place," Prosperi said.
Prosperi told 13News she was able to get in contact with Airbnb support but won't be able to get her refund until later this week.