Hacking Airbnbs to test robots raises legal issues

A San Francisco robotics startup is being taken to court by an Airbnb host who claims the company’s “robotics experiment” caused significant damage to his home.

In a case has been filed on May 26, 2026, Sean Donovan is seeking more than $12,000 in damages from the Bay Area to start The Bot Company. The court case was the first written by SFGatewho also asked Donovan about the unprecedented confusion he faced after the startup’s employees allegedly rented out his childhood home through Airbnb.

The first clue that the visitors weren’t technical workers in need of a temporary waste facility came when Donovan was taking care of the trash during the visitors’ stay. He told SFGate about seeing “bundles of wires” throughout the house and a robot he described as a 6-foot “Roomba with stairs” that resembles the cybernetic Borg from the Star Trek universe.

Donovan explained that as more than 30 people come and go during a two-week rental period in April, his ring camera will record the outside voices of people talking to each other.

Whatever the guests did, they reportedly left behind paint damage, floor damage, damage to the kitchen door, bent columns in the dishwasher, water damage and scratches on the hardwood floors, damage to the coffee table in the living room, scratches on the washing machine, laser-damaged artwork, and a dining room table described as “a legacy of old water.”

Other common signs are cupboards and drawers that are empty and moved, along with decorative items and books that are moved from shelves to drawers. One shoe cabinet, along with the shoes, was also missing from the locker room, which Donovan’s lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, said was “potentially incriminating.”