A family holiday took a bizarre turn when two sisters checked into an Airbnb in San Diego, California, and found a framed photograph of themselves on the wall—a picture taken without their knowledge during a beach trip ten years earlier. TikTok user Aubrey Birrell shared the now-viral clip, which shows her family reeling from the discovery.
Eerie Discovery at Check-In
In the video, Aubrey and her family identify tiny figures in a large canvas, pointing out her father, sister Libby, and brother Brady. “We're looking at this picture, and my dad is like, 'This looks like me,'” Aubrey says. “I'm like, 'Dad, what?' ... No, this is my dad. That's my sister, Libby, from 10 years ago, and that's Brady, my brother, 10 years ago.” Looking flummoxed, she adds: “There you go. They're literally in the Airbnb.”
Libby, who appears in both the video and the photograph, seemed equal parts disturbed and amused. “It's unsettling — random Airbnb,” she said, adding: “We have those swimsuits. We are literally in this picture. We are on our Airbnb wall.”
Viral Reactions and Similar Stories
Social media users reacted with a mix of shock and amusement. One person commented: “Literally sounds like the start of a horror movie.” Another said: “Proof we live in a simulation.” A third added: “What are the odds of you looking that closely at the picture?” Others shared their own bizarre coincidences. One TikTok user recalled: “My uncle got a postcard from Mackinac Island, and my grandfather was randomly in the photo eating an ice cream cone. He had passed away years earlier.” Another wrote: “I once checked into a hotel at the beach, in the middle of a thunderstorm. I grabbed a newspaper to hold over my head. When I got to the room, I looked at the paper, and there was a pic of my mum and [me] on the front page. It was from a festival in the beach town, three years before.”
Not the Only Creepy Airbnb Find
While the San Diego incident appeared to be a genuine coincidence, it is not the first unsettling discovery in an Airbnb. An Australian family moved out of a short-term rental in Perth shortly after checking in after finding a massive camera aimed into the living room. A blinking red dot indicated the camera was on. The family recorded their disbelief and asked social media: “Is that allowed in Airbnbs? Is that standard practice? I don’t think it should be allowed.” They moved out, and Airbnb supported them, providing equivalent accommodation.
A spokesperson for Airbnb confirmed that hosts are prohibited from having any recording devices present in homes listed on its platform. “Airbnb strictly prohibits all indoor security cameras, regardless of whether they are turned on or disclosed. Only exterior cameras (like doorbell cameras) and non-recording noise decibel monitors are permitted, and their location must be clearly disclosed on the listing before booking. Hidden cameras of all kinds are completely prohibited.”
