Airbnb guests find decomposing corpse in garden of Paris house

A birthday party at a house rented through accommodation website Airbnb was cut short when the guests discovered a decomposing corpse in the garden of the property.

The group of friends made the discovery on Saturday afternoon. The body was lying face-down in a hole at the edge of the garden, partially covered by trees.

They had rented the house in Palaiseau, ten miles south of Paris, for a weekend getaway to celebrate a 25th birthday. The seven-bedroom home was described in its Airbnb listing as a renovated 19th-century building with a swimming pool and a "lovely forest with a jogging trail" at the rear. It was at the edge of this woodland that they discovered the corpse, said to be in an advanced state of decomposition. The listing has now been removed from the website.

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Police say the body is that of a woman aged between 30 and 50, clothed but with bare feet, and that the corpse could have been in the garden for several weeks. A source told Le Parisien that investigators suspect foul play.

Airbnb has come under fire previously for its marketplace model, which allows holidaymakers and property owners to bypass the traditional booking model. Critics say it allows renters to essentially operate as a business while skirting the insurance requirements and health and safety rules imposed on licensed hotels, leaving both owners and guests vulnerable.

Last year, the family of a man killed when a rope swing broke at an Airbnb rental property in Texas tried to raise awareness about the lack of inspections to ensure listed properties meet safety regulations or fire codes.

An Airbnb spokesman told the Huffington Post that hosts were expected to follow local rules and regulations and that the company issues a long list of advisory safety precautions. "Nothing is more important to us than safety," he said.