Airbnb host banned from platform after guests stabbed inside Vancouver listing

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A Vancouver Airbnb host has been removed from the short-term rental site after two guests were attacked inside a listing.

According to police, a stabbing was reported near West 3rd Avenue and Arbutus Street early in the morning on May 27. Officers provided few details about what is alleged to have happened, but said they arrived to find that two women had been injured in the attack.

Both were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, a police spokesperson said in an email to CTV News Tuesday.

A man identified by police as 32-year-old Arvin Pasha was arrested at the time and taken to jail, where he will remain until a court appearance next week. Pasha has been charged with aggravated assault.

Police would only say that the accused lived in the building where the stabbing took place, but a spokesperson from Airbnb told CTV News that the man was the host of the listed unit.

Airbnb said the injured women were guests who'd booked Pasha's accommodations through the website.

The company said the host has been removed from its site, adding in a statement that "the violence reported has no place in our community and we take these incidents incredibly seriously."

Airbnb said the guests were given a full refund, and the company also covered their flights and other expenses.

It described incidents of violence as "exceptionally rare," and said representatives will co-operate with or support the Vancouver police investigation as needed.