personal items hidden by guests

[Nancy555]

I had an unusual event with recent guests. When I went into the home to clean after they checked out, I noticed several pieces of art missing from the walls.

As I was walking through the home, trying to find where the things were, I received a message from the guests. The things they took off the walls were a hand-painted pottery angel (funny, cartoon-like), two small crosses made from railroad spikes that I'd hung over the entrance doors and another piece of art with an encouraging message, that just happened to be in the rough shape of a cross. They told me where the items were stored & apologized that they didn't rehang them. They said they didn't want to look at "idols" during their stay. 

None of the items are overtly religious. I really had never thought of them as anything except art. 

Has anyone else had this kind of experience? Do other hosts edit their art  so ask not to offend guests?

[M199]

@Nancy555 

We keep our cottage neutral.  Art can be an emotional trigger.  I keep everything very neutral, except for 1 print (sailboat) that a return guest gave us.  It was very well thought out and also themed to the cottage and close by bay that guests have access to.

[Gwen386]

@M199 I agree. My rental is very neutral too. I wanted to stop by to say, what a wonderful thing for a guest to do. 

[Helen744]

@Nancy555 People are funny . I have had people hide clocks and remove African masks from my walls , and this is just my own family , so just go with your own style and its pretty unusual thing to do, but I would not worry about it at all. H

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

@Nancy555 Clearly, the guests were vampires!

Jokes aside, though, if people are uncomfortable with your art for whatever reason, they'll have a more pleasant stay if they don't have to look at it. As long as they took care not to damage the items and stored them in a safe place, I'd much prefer that they did that than left a negative review.

I don't believe that art in an Airbnb has to be hotel-neutral; I think it's part of the unique cultural experience of staying in a real home. That said, everything you put on display in the rented space sends a message about your hospitality, so you might want to ask yourself if the crosses and angels really fit what you intend to communicate. 

[Huma0]

@Anonymous 

I agree. I don't think an Airbnb needs to be bland and neutral. Most of my guests book with me for the opposite reason. I guess it just depends on your market. 

I would say that art or other items with a religious theme can be a bit risky though. However, if it's a very rare occurrence for a guest to take exception to these (and it sounds like it is because the items aren't overtly religious), I wouldn't worry about it too much. 

I have a small artwork of a female saint on the mantlepiece. I'm not religious at all. It's a portrait of a Ukrainian saint and I bought it in Kiev, so that's the meaning it carries for me. I have never had anyone take offence to it.

[Anonymous]

@Huma0  if the rental is an Entire Home like Nancy's, you'll never really know how many guests truly take exception to the decor. Most people would never go so far as to complain, and the recent guests probably had no intention of saying anything but accidentally forgot to return the pieces to their locations.

I had an awkward moment like that when I took a sublet for a few months. There was an ugly painting of a horse that I absolutely hated, so I turned it upside down to make it more....abstract. When I got a surprise visit from the primary tenant, I could no longer hide how I really felt about his artwork.

If there had been crosses on the wall instead of horses, turning them upside down would have had different connotations....