They were both somewhere in the age range of 55, judging by the Ring footage
Thank you.
In our state, theft over $750 is a felony. I have worked in the world of litigation and law in my state for 30 years. So part of my comment about 911 was me wanting to convey the urgency of needing the painting back, but what they took was of such a value that it really did constitute a felony.
The postcard that they claim to have misunderstood has the lady print on it that I attached a picture of earlier in the thread. That original lady artwork is framed and hanging in the condo right beside the bed. If they were that confused, they would have stolen that exact painting. But the lady original piece of artwork that is framed is 5 x 7 inches, and the painting they took is 2 feet by 2 feet.
The painting they took is my cleaning lady‘s favorite painting and has only been in the condo about two months. It’s also the second largest painting in there. So she noticed her favorite painting was gone immediately and called me horrified. My Airbnb is only 350 ft.² It’s a studio condo and pretty easy to tell when something is missing, unless it’s a random fork 
Genuinely, I am just thrilled to have it back.
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Wow, I assumed they were in their early 20s. Folks in their 50s should know better! I still wouldn’t mention it in their review but I would click on “would not host again.”
Got it…wanted to put the fear in them. It’s all good. Around here, if a crime like that isn’t “in progress”, well, “no soup for you”, or I should say,”no police for you”. I get the urgency for you personally, having been a victim of theft.
You’d be able to submit a police report & even submit a claim with AirBnB if they hadn’t returned it. Do you know, that even though they said they took it, AirBnB wouldn’t have even charged them for it without their permission!? It’s the craziest.
And AirBnB definitely wouldn’t have given you the value you placed on it (via the “Host No Guarantee”, oh, I mean “Host Guarantee”). Please consider putting prices on your original paintings & photographing them individually & in the listing since you can’t produce any receipts, in case one goes missing in the future.
I’m very glad they fessed up and returned it! This is why I went for “foolish thieves”. Not every tack in the tin is sharp .
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I believe in honest reviews. The host doesn’t have to guess the intent of the guest. It’s not a criminal trial so “innocent until proven guilty” is irrelevant. The host simply needs to tell us what the guest did at their rental. If it’s just a fork or the whole basket of snacks missing, no. If it’s part of the decor or furnishings, yes.
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I have some real art in my listings. One painting has been assessed, insured and worth a lot of money too. If it was missing, I would also consider calling the police. Art theft is a legitimate theft, one of the worst kinds of theft. But the police would have to be called so that we could collect the insurance if we didn’t get it back or if it was damaged. You don’t mess around with that kind of thing. Your insurance agent is not going to understand why it wasn’t immediately reported to the police because of some kind of convoluted Airbnb crap.
I’m really confused as to why you think it’s funny. If you walked into your listing after a guest left and your TV was gone? Would you or your cleaner not think of the police? OPs painting is surely worth more money than your TV and certainly not as easily replaced.
Haha. It’s a fabulous idea to list the value of the art in your Airbnb so as to attract the smarter thieves, lol. Not everything in life should not be worked out in an Airbnb listing 
If art was stolen from listing, Airbnb is probably the last place I would call. Are you confused about art or are you confused about Airbnb?
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It’s always been my understanding that calling 911 is for emergencies. That’s what I assumed aelilya meant when she found it amusing. I do too. You call 911 when someone needs urgent medical assistance, if there’s a fire, if the thief has just run out the door. I would never phone to report a theft that had taken place hours earlier. I would phone the police non-emergency number.
Perhaps I misunderstood and the painting was packed up and taken only a few minutes earlier and the vehicle could be intercepted quickly, but if they were already hours down the road, I can’t imagine the police setting up a road block for an $800 painting, even if it is a felony. If they had stolen a painting from the Louvre, sure.
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Yes, of course. I clearly said they could submit a police report. You misunderstand. Where we live 911 is for emergencies & crimes in progress. They would not dispatch an officer. They’re send you to the non-emergency line to file a report over the phone & maybe a detective would call you later. 311 is to report a crime no longer in progress. I didn’t suggest not filing a police report. As a matter of fact it would help the hosts case if they decided to file a claim with AirBnB to attempt to recoup the loss.
Take a look at the title of the thread, named
by the host : “A Funny Story….”
Neither. The condescending language isn’t necessary. I wish you’d stop doing that. And I was NOT suggesting they advertise the prices in the listing. Good grief.
Thank you, @muddy. I felt that was clear but I guess not. Took another shot at it above. 
Or you could make the paintings really hard to remove with museum mounts that require a weird screwdriver to open (I built museum exhibits in a previous life). 
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Yes, I am from Austin and that is true everywhere but most people find out that process by first calling 911. Especially if you’re cleaning someone else’s place. Most people don’t know that system and would call 911 first. But, also 911 is a common synonym for the popo and not necessarily a comment on how crimes are filtered through the system or how reports are filed.
What was condescending? I might have been irreverent towards Airbnb but I stand by my statement that Airbnb is not who I would call for a theft. You basically said the same thing.
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Not if you’re black. Too many instances where cops treat sick people as criminals, simply because they can’t respond quickly. Like in the current Morgan Freeman film The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain where he accidentally set off the button on his medic alert necklace, and cops killed him because he wouldn’t open the door because roid raged cop was yelling at him through the door.
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Yes, I’ve read about far too many of those incidents. I can only imagine how it would feel not to be able to call for help because those who are supposed to help you might shoot you instead.
It’s so scary and complicated at times. My uncle was shot & killed in the 60’s - unarmed, no shoes, only in his slacks (had gone to help break up a fight). He was pulled over & unarmed. That’s all we know. My dad still isn’t over it (it was his BIL). My sister’s boyfriend was shot and killed in LA having a psych episode about 10 hrs ago - was only in his underclothes and unarmed. A dear friend was violently taken from us by her own brother (about 2 years ago) & he was having a psych episode but she didn’t call for help although it escalated over hours. I don’t know exactly why not but one wonders. I also have dear, like family, friends in law enforcement whom I love and trust w/o reservation. And then there are my sons…what to say to them? How to guide them on conducting themselves to stay safe. Sigh. Too heavy for this thread/forum but it struck a chord. I’m sorry.
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I don’t think of myself as unintelligent, but I would have taken the message the same way your guest did. I would have thought it very incredible, though, and peculiar. Too good to be true, and would have been nervous and uncertain to take it off the wall and leave with it. Just a little simple editing of the message is all that needs to happen.
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I absolutely adore your painting that you use on the postcard. It is stunning. I don’t suppose you sell prints of it do you?
I agree about the wording on the postcard though!
Thank you.
I actually don’t sell my art anymore. But if you’d like me to email you my high-quality scan, I will. You can just get it printed at Fedex Kinkos in any size you’d like.
I’m rather new here, but if you’ll direct message me your email address, I’ll send it to you. Cheers!
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I think the way you phrased it could easily be interpreted as being free to take a painting off the walls, as a print is not a painting. I’d definitely rephrase to say “print of one of my paintings on the other side of this card” because it isn’t at all clear.
No one is ever going to tell you to take painting from the walls of an Airbnb. Don’t do it.
I wouldn’t take a painting, but I’d definitely have a moment wondering if that was the intent. I’m am an artist too, and paintings and prints are vastly different things, painting means the original painting. A print is a copy.
I’ve found it’s best to be super clear with language so that guests have no opportunity to misinterpret.
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I know.
But these guests didn’t even take the painting that was the print that was being referred to, they took an entirely different painting. And it was not because,
It was because they were thieves and scammers. That can’t be blamed on the phrasing regarding a print of a painting.
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