We've all heard some pretty wild Airbnb stories over the years, from people being bullied to not paying for the rental to claims of seeing ghosts on the property.
But an Airbnb guest swapping out their host's interior design choices is a new one for us.
That was one Airbnb host's recent experience, however. According to her TikTok channel, @allbelong.co, the host intended to have a Zoom call inside her rental, only when she realized her background display, the rental's living room, looked different.
The room was made up of predominantly warm tones, but the painting on the living room wall above the couch was black and white, featuring a zoomed out landscape of the world.
What was in its place was a similarly warm-toned painting of an airplane, zooming in on the propeller.
The host confessed:
"I gotta say, I was a little creeped out."
You can watch the video here:
Fellow TikTokers had their theories about what happened, with some wondering if the original painting or wall was broken.
@allbelong.co/TikTok
@allbelong.co/TikTok
@allbelong.co/TikTok
@allbelong.co/TikTok
Others wondered if the guest was pulling a prank on the Airbnbs they stayed at.
@allbelong.co/TikTok
@allbelong.co/TikTok
@allbelong.co/TikTok
@allbelong.co/TikTok
@allbelong.co/TikTok
But some thought there was nothing to worry about, saying the new painting looked better than the first.
@allbelong.co/TikTok
@allbelong.co/TikTok
@allbelong.co/TikTok
@allbelong.co/TikTok
With theories still pouring in, the host shared an update, complete with camera footage.
The host explained that any guest had to walk down a path along the side of their house and around to a back entrance in order to reach the rental space.
What she saw on the camera footage was, shortly before checking out, a man had taken what turned out to be the airplane painting from his car and into the house. When he appeared on the camera footage again, he was wearing different clothes while carrying the host's painting covered up with a blanket.
The host sent the footage to Airbnb and expects a response soon.
You can watch the video here:
Still waiting for a response, the host decided to respond to some of the theories that had appeared in her comments.
Some romanticized the moment and thought the guest was an artist, replacing mass-produced pieces with his original works, but the host pointed out that it was a canvas printing that was available all over the web.
To those who thought that he was covering up a damaged wall, the host checked and said the wall was "pristine." She also pointed out the original painting was sturdy and would take a lot of effort to break it. It also wasn't hidden anywhere in the house.
And while she was amused by the theory that the man was playing a prank on area Airbnb rentals by swapping their artwork around, the host had reached out to the host of his previous rental, and while he had damaged that property, he had not tampered with the artwork or other interior design pieces.
You can watch that video here:
More than likely, at least one more video will appear in the coming days once the host has received a response from Airbnb headquarters. How they will respond to the swapped-out paintings is anyone's guess.
We're more curious, honestly, about what this Airbnb frequenter has up his sleeve.
@LeeMerrittesq/X
@bob_moss/X
@jelanijones/Bluesky
@Aurkayne/X
@sadcommunistdog; @froglok/Bluesky