An Airbnb host said a guest inexplicably swapped out a wall picture for a completely different painting. TikTok is gripped, watching as the saga unfolds.
AllBelongCo via TikTok
- An Airbnb host said a painting in her apartment went missing and was replaced with another one.
- Her story went viral on TikTok, as viewers offered up theories as to what might be behind it.
- She is now trying to uncover more information about the mystery, sharing her findings on TikTok.
An Airbnb host said her guest swapped her wall picture out for a completely different one, and is taking TikTok with her on her journey to find out why.
"OK the weirdest thing just happened," said Amy Corbett, the co-founder of short-term property rental company All Belong Co, which rents out some of its properties through Airbnb, in a TikTok video posted on April 17.
Corbett shared a screenshot of the Airbnb listing for an apartment in Lynchburg, Virginia, which showed a picture of a world map hanging above the couch. She then said that when she recently went into the apartment, she noticed that the picture was gone, and was replaced with a completely different painting of an airplane propeller.
"I have never seen this picture before in my life," Corbett said as she filmed the artwork on the wall, adding, "I gotta say, I was a little creeped out."
The video went viral, receiving over 7 million views, and commenters seemed immediately intrigued by the mysterious story, offering theories and ideas about what might have happened. Two common theories were that it was part of an elaborate prank involving multiple Airbnbs getting paintings from the previous apartment the guest stayed in, or that the guest somehow damaged the original picture.
In a follow-up video on April 20, Corbett attempted to debunk some of these theories. She said she had been in contact with one of the guest's previous Airbnb hosts to ask if he had been swapping paintings at their apartments, but they told her he hadn't done anything like that.
Corbett has posted a number of follow-up videos about the situation, some of which received hundreds of thousands or millions of views. One included footage she said was from her security camera that appeared to show a person taking a painting into a building and then coming out with a large object underneath a blanket, which he placed in a car. Corbett said she believed he was hiding her painting under the blanket, and commenters under her videos then began to theorize that the guest was a painter or interior designer, trying to make improvements to the apartment with his swap.
But Corbett said she thinks it is unlikely that the guest is an artist, because the canvas painting he put in the apartment is mass-sold online.
She also said she had made a complaint through Airbnb about the artwork, and that the guest paid back some of the money towards it, but not all of what was asked.
A spokesperson from Airbnb told Insider in an email statement that they have suspended the guest in question for violating its policies. "Art is covered in our AirCover policy and this Host is being supported through that process," they added.
Insider was unable to verify the guest's identity in order to contact him for comment.
Viewers continue to be puzzled by the situation, given the information Corbett provided, but some are still offering new theories, including that he was filming a video for TikTok or another social media platform where this would all be part of some kind of skit.
Others began to debate the new artwork itself, as some people said they thought it made the apartment look better than it did before, while others said that the aesthetics shouldn't be taken into account and the guest was in the wrong for taking the picture regardless.
Disputes between Airbnb hosts and guests often go viral on TikTok, as users air out their concerns and grievances about interactions on Airbnb with millions of viewers, who often take sides or weigh in with their thoughts on the matter. Some people have also speculated the outlandish stories could be fabricated by the creators for views, or to promote their properties.
In a written statement to Insider, Corbett said she thinks the saga has captured the attention of TikTok because "everyone loves a good mystery," and because people enjoyed joining together with her to offer theories and partake in speculation. "We all want to know WHY," she wrote.
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