AirBNB Guests Finding Hidden Cameras
Posted by: Timothy Tibbetts on 12/11/2017 08:02 AM
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As with any "new" technology, Airbnb has had its fair share of hiccups. These range from annoyed neighbors to the more recent discovery of cameras in some homes.
As someone about to begin dealing with my first rental home, I admit that installing cameras, nonetheless hidden, hadn't crossed my mind. Making sure I know who's renting and taking photos of condition and inventory, has. Everyone sees things differently, and while I am sure there are one or two people who put in cameras for security, it's more than likely for creepy purposes.
By placing hidden cameras in a home that's being rented you need to consider the possible charges of voyeurism, especially if children are in the house.
As a Realtor myself in Florida, there's usually an entire set of rules, fees, insurance, and laws that have to be obeyed when you're renting property and these can vary from state to state. The real shame here is that most Airbnb hosts are excellent. We think Airbnb is brilliant and it's a shame that a few creepy hosts make the rest look bad. Airbnb does have plenty of information here about the protection available to hosts and guests.
Interestingly, Airbnb does address this in the security section of their standards:
Violating others’ privacy or intellectual property rights
You should not access others’ accounts without authorization, have undisclosed or ill-sited cameras in your listing, spy on other people, or otherwise violate others’ privacy, copyrights or trademarks.
What we have here, and it's not surprising, is a handful of people who think they can do what they want. Again, we're Airbnb fans, so we just want you to be aware that while Airbnb has many guidelines for hosts and guests, there's always a few bad apples.
If cameras are a concern, Wired has an excellent guide on how to sweep for bugs that you might want to bookmark.
As someone about to begin dealing with my first rental home, I admit that installing cameras, nonetheless hidden, hadn't crossed my mind. Making sure I know who's renting and taking photos of condition and inventory, has. Everyone sees things differently, and while I am sure there are one or two people who put in cameras for security, it's more than likely for creepy purposes.By placing hidden cameras in a home that's being rented you need to consider the possible charges of voyeurism, especially if children are in the house.
As a Realtor myself in Florida, there's usually an entire set of rules, fees, insurance, and laws that have to be obeyed when you're renting property and these can vary from state to state. The real shame here is that most Airbnb hosts are excellent. We think Airbnb is brilliant and it's a shame that a few creepy hosts make the rest look bad. Airbnb does have plenty of information here about the protection available to hosts and guests.
Interestingly, Airbnb does address this in the security section of their standards:
Violating others’ privacy or intellectual property rights
You should not access others’ accounts without authorization, have undisclosed or ill-sited cameras in your listing, spy on other people, or otherwise violate others’ privacy, copyrights or trademarks.
What we have here, and it's not surprising, is a handful of people who think they can do what they want. Again, we're Airbnb fans, so we just want you to be aware that while Airbnb has many guidelines for hosts and guests, there's always a few bad apples.
If cameras are a concern, Wired has an excellent guide on how to sweep for bugs that you might want to bookmark.
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