"Offended by Nazi painting". And Airbnb cancel the villa in Bologna

A painting with the Fuhrer's uniform and two sculptures representing as many black policemen cost an Airbnb Airbnb host an almost immediate cancellation of his account. Following the protest of an American customer deemed offended by these works, at a single click the San Francisco company has done away with Filippo Alvisi's profile of his portal (on the platform with various properties and two boats) then bookings already made by other guests and all the timeline acquired in more than 5 years of activity. The protest of the host and the sending of a letter of warning to Airbnb to request the reactivation of the account and compensation is inevitable.

Everything happened in the hills of Zola Predosa in Villa Monte Quercione, luxury residence of 1000 square meters with swimming pool, park, 14 beds and all the comforts of the case. Around 800 euros per night. Alvisi, whose family collects art, has achieved from 2013 on Airbnb an important volume of business by collecting from hundreds of guests (mostly foreign, very rich) only compliments, from where the qualification of "super host". The works of art present in the villa, visible in the presentation photo gallery, have never created any problems. Until last May, when Mrs. Elizabeth K. returned home after spending six days in Villa Emilienne, she wrote to Alvisi to ask for a refund of her stay for having suffered the presence of some works offensives: the painting of the contemporary English artist Marcus Harvey, The Wolfschanze, depicting Adolf Hitler 's boots and clothes with a swastika and two wooden carvings that, as will be seen in the. warning, "are nothing more than typical and very common African souvenirs bought by Alvisi in the black continent"). Alvisi, however, refused the claim for reimbursement "given the pretext and lack of foundation of the same". "During the stay, I felt several times with the lady who never raised the problem, but I ask for a refund after 3 days of the start," he says. If the request is unfounded, Airbnb will also inform the hoster, except after 5 days of cancellation of the account accompanied by an accompanying letter: "your account has been removed by Airbnb according to the circumstances of the painting depicting a Nazi uniform and black statues () this article is in violation of our non-discrimination policy as it promotes racism and hatred. "

" From one day to the next I was no longer there and I could no longer access any past information or dialogue with those who had already reserved: a big problem. Airbnb gave credit to the words of the guest, the first protest in 5 years, without making any further study of the disputed works, "says Alvisi. Censorship It would have been enough to find a little to know who the artist is, in what area he moves, what is the meaning of his works, as his philosophy. What did the Lavinia Savini lawyer from the Bologna studio and Milanese Idealex: "Marcus Harvey belongs to the avant-garde artistic movement of the 80's Young British Artists whose first goal is to desecrate – through the use of tangible metaphors and through the full, "writes Savini, citing works such as the portrait of Myra Hindley, an English-series infanticide or a sculpture depicting British Prime Minister Margaret Tatcher bad near 39; it. to a pig. Irving and provocation are "significant elements that characterize how to make Marcus Harvey's art". The photo in question was exhibited in the exhibition of the Marabini Gallery entitled "The Fauves of the Fuhrer", intended to reconstruct the daily life of the German dictator and Mussolini with "an obvious parody of the characters". Obviously "the work is beyond the apologetic intent of the Nazi movement". In short, it is contemporary art and not Nazi flags hung on the walls. Not to mention the wooden statues, the memories. "Airbnb censored without investigating and accused me of encouraging hatred and racism," says the host who then complains, "I was very upset because the Indian guests who had already bought the flights no longer saw their booking and so many others. "From super host to junk. The criticism of a guest (to stay consumed and not during) was enough to erase the reputation and the # 39, activity of five years.Really a job that we do not appreciate can become a reason not to pay for the show? How should guests be settled with works of art exhibited at home?