Australian actress Emma Lung has perfected drama on the small screen, but in real life the Hollywood-based actor has been embroiled in a saga her friends say has left the popular star "devastated" after being "cleaned out" by thieves who ransacked her Redfern, Sydney, designer warehouse.

But that was just the beginning of the saga for the Wonderland actress, who has been embroiled in a protracted six-month dispute with global online hosting site Airbnb over the incident.

"They took everything. Family heirlooms, even her identity, it was all stolen. It has been a complete nightmare for her but the frustrating thing was she has had a really difficult time trying to resolve it with Airbnb... she has spent months trying to get some sort of resolution."



Lung has declined to comment, but it appears the matter has finally been settled with Airbnb, which explained the delay was due to the lack of a police report or proof of ownership of specific items claimed to have been stolen, including Rolex watches worth tens of thousands of dollars.



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Caroline McCredie Emma Lung also had a difficult time trying to resolve the dispute with Airbnb.

Lung and her husband, director Henry Zalapa, had advertised their designer Redfern digs on the site while they relocated their young family to Hollywood, which now includes their son, Marlowe, who is almost two.

The couple has spent years juggling their respective careers with their family commitments, and like so many other Australians, saw an opportunity to generate some income from their million-dollar-plus home while they were not using it and living abroad.

Following the theft, police were unable to detect any fingerprints or even a single human hair that might have been able to identify the culprits, who had hired the property through the hugely popular website.

"She suspects they were organised criminals and they have probably done this sort of thing before, fake IDs and all that. She will never put her place on Airbnb again," Lung's friend said.

More than 60 million guests stayed with Airbnb in 2016 and there were only 1010 cases of property damage over $1000 globally. That's less than 0.002 per cent of all guest stays on the platform.

Airbnb promotes its Host Guarantee to encourage people to list their properties on the site. The guarantee provides protection for up to $1 million in damages around the world. However, the payments are subject to strict conditions, limitations, and exclusions, which have become a bone of contention for many hosts who have expressed their disappointment in countless online forums.

Certain types of property, such as jewellery, collectibles, and artwork, have more limited protections.

Hosts are advised to "secure or remove such valuables" when renting their place, and may want to "consider independent insurance to cover such items".

However as Lung discovered, many hosts remain blissfully unaware of what the risks are when allowing a complete stranger to live in your home.