For years, Brina Braun has used her camera and extensive client closet to help women feel confident, sexy and empowered.
But now, the devastated Edmonton boudoir photographer feels taken advantage of after her carefully curated lingerie collection was gutted by thieves who rented her Airbnb using false identification.
“I just sat here and I cried,” Braun said.
“It’s so violating — the work I do for women is to help them take their power back and I’ve never felt so powerless in that moment.”
The Edmonton Police Service is investigating and says the thieves are allegedly now trying to sell the stolen goods to massage parlour workers all around the city.
Braun has spent years amassing a collection of lingerie in all sizes for her Bare By Brina photography clients to wear during photoshoots. She stores the outfits in a bedroom-turned-closet inside her home that she also rents on Airbnb.
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“Most of this stuff is new with tags. And it’s all high-end lingerie from Honey Birdette, Thistle and Spire, like all these places,” she said.
Lingerie from such brands can sell for hundreds of dollars a piece.
Braun travels for work a lot, so she rents out her home for short-term stays. She said she’s been doing that for five years with no issues until now.
From Oct. 30 to Nov. 3, a woman rented the property with a profile that appeared to be verified by Airbnb. Afterwards, Braun, who was on an out-of-town photoshoot in B.C., got a devastating call from her cleaner.
“She was like, ‘I am so sorry — something really bad happened here.’”
The photographer was sent photos of her home torn apart, with items missing from many rooms: mirrors, pots and pans, cutlery, dishes, wine glasses, tools and more.
Her locked closet room had been broken into, and many of the items raided.
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What should have been a typical $200 cleaning service came out to $1,600, which did not include damage that needed to be repaired.
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Braun flew home and inspected the damage and discovered that more than $35,000 of goods had been stolen, including much of her lingerie in small, medium and large sizes.
In the meantime, with her home ransacked, Braun said it was a fight to cancel her next Airbnb booking — alleging the company wanted to charge her a last-minute cancellation fee to do so.
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“I had to argue with them on that,” Braun said. “I can’t just rebuy everything today … I have to cancel the next guests. I had to get it escalated to a case manager there because they said, ‘No, this is our policy. You’re cancelling on guests. You pay the $70.’ And I was like, ‘No. I don’t have dishes! Still, to this day, I don’t have dishes!”
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Braun explained her own insurance would not cover the loss, but she wasn’t initially worried.
“When you open up on Airbnb, your home insurance doesn’t count because you’re voluntarily letting strangers into your home. So that’s where Airbnb coverage covers you, because they have their own insurance. So I felt safe that way,” she said.
She called police and reported the crime to Airbnb, who she said initially seemed helpful.
“They said not to worry, you are covered for everything,” Braun said of her interactions with Airbnb.
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“I submitted the report and that’s when things changed.”
The company stopped replying to her after that, she alleges. Then, after allegedly not hearing back from police, the photographer posted about what happened on her social media, including sharing the Airbnb client’s photo.
People who saw the post began digging.
“Social media did the detective work. Found her, called her mom … and the girl messaged me and said, ‘Someone is using my ID — that’s not me.’”
Edmonton police determined the guest who reserved the booking was found to have used fraudulent identification in her Airbnb profile.
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Braun then got word that someone saw her lingerie being sold at massage parlours around Edmonton, which police were able to verify.
Last week, Airbnb finally contacted Braun and said it would not cover the full cost of the loss.
“We can only approve reimbursement for items that are physically damaged beyond repair or intentionally stained by the guest,” the online rental company said in an email to Braun.
Then, the Edmonton woman told Airbnb that Global News was looking into her situation. The tone changed, she said.
“Within four minutes of sending that email, a representative called me,” Braun said, adding the woman who said she was from Airbnb’s safety team apologized and shared a lot of eyes were working on her complaint.
While she’s happy progress is made, she’s angry it took calling the news to make it happen.
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“Why did it have to take mentioning Global News before I got taken seriously? Before someone called me?” she said.
“That part leaves me still feeling very uneasy and not safe using their platform, honestly.”
Braun said her experience is a cautionary tale for others who list their homes on short-term rental platforms.
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“To say that theft isn’t covered is just crazy to me because I thought anyone that does anything in your home, that’s going to be covered. But it is such a warning, because the homeowners take all the risk.”
Airbnb told Global News property damage incidents are rare and said it is looking into the claims made by Braun.
“This is not an experience we want for any Airbnb host and our team is in contact to support them through our Aircover for hosts process, which provides up to $3 million in protection for damage and theft,” the company said in a statement.
“We have removed the guest who booked this stay from the platform, and stand ready to assist the Edmonton Police Service in their investigation.”
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In the meantime, Braun’s home business is on hold. During a typical shoot, women will get their makeup and hair done. Then Braun and the client go through the closet, picking pieces that match the aesthetic they are looking to achieve.
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“I’ve had to reschedule everything because part of the experience is coming in and trying on things.”
It isn’t just the dollar value or violation of her own home that upsets Braun. Boudoir photoshoots are often as much about the cathartic experience as they are the final product on camera, she explained.
“The important part of the work I do is like … women don’t feel beautiful. They don’t feel OK to take up space. They don’t feel good. So I help them with this and through these items — it’s not just lingerie. It addresses everything,” she said.
“I help women feel beautiful, so to come in here and see that it was torn apart — it was a disaster, things were tried on and left dirty — it was just so weird.”
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Police on Wednesday confirmed approximately $35,000 of household items and brand-name lingerie were stolen over Halloween weekend, and since then two suspects have been trying to sell the lingerie out of the back of a silver Mazda CX9 to workers at local massage parlours.
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Police are looking to identify the two females. One of the suspects is described as being tall with red hair or a red wig, and the other is described as having dark hair and a tattoo under her left eye.
Police are looking for any information on the suspects, particularly from workers at massage parlours who may have come into contact with them as they attempted to sell the lingerie.
Edmonton police said investigators recognize that those who work at massage parlours may be reluctant to talk to police and are assuring them they can report crimes anonymously through Crime Stoppers.
“We are trying to identify these suspects to prevent future occurrences,” says Const. Jessica Ulmer, with Southeast Patrol. “Any information from the public that would lead to the suspects’ identity is helpful, even anonymous tips.”
Anyone with information about the suspects is asked to contact the EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.