Spy Cam or Smoke Alarm?: An Airbnb Ordeal

With all the travel talk that goes on this blog, I believe I have yet to discuss some of the down sides to a great vacation. Recently, there’s been an influx of reports about people using the Airbnb service, and getting a little more than they asked for. For those who may have been living under a rock for the past few years, Airbnb operates an online marketplace and hospitality service which is accessible via its websites and mobile apps. Members can use the service to arrange or offer lodging, primarily homestays, or tourism experiences. They’re great for both long and short vacations, even internationally. Prices vary, and can essentially handle anyone’s budget. Recently, the company has been in some hot water after people have reported finding spy cameras throughout their rentals. Now, Airbnb’s rules about cameras are strict: Undisclosed electronic surveillance is prohibited. It’s also completely unallowed in “private” spaces, such as bedrooms and bathrooms, even if a host does disclose it. If this only happened on one occasion, then maybe it wouldn’t have made trending news, but recently, this has been happening in more and more Airbnb locations.

    Most recently, a family from New Zealand, vacationing in Ireland discovered a hidden camera in their rental disguised as, you guessed it: a smoke alarm.

The only reason why Andrew Barker discovered the spy cam was the result of a routine network scan when they check into lodgings and sign on to the Wi-Fi networks.  When they tried to report the incident by calling Airbnb, they were all but helpful. CNN interviewed her in which she says, “They had no advice for us over the phone. The girl just said that if you cancel within 14 days, you won’t get your money back.”  They called the host (who hung up on them the first time), but eventually called back to let the, know that the camera in the living room was the only one in the house. Obviously not relieved by this, she also mentioned that the host declined to say whether he was recording video or audio. It took over a month before the listing (and the host) were removed from the site.

    Closer to home, Max Vest, a renter originally from Gainesville, rented an Airbnb at the Camden Brickell building this past January to discover two hidden cameras disguised as phone chargers inside his private room. "It was shocking. I did not know what to think at first, I did not know if I was being watched live or if it was just being recorded, or what was going on there," Vest told NBC 6. He took videos of the room on his cellphone and eventually found a new place to stay. Airbnb responded to the incident saying, “Our community’s privacy and safety is our priority. We are working to fully support Mr. Vest, including a refund for the reservation," Airbnb said in a statement. "We require hosts to clearly disclose any security cameras in writing on their listings and we have strict standards governing surveillance devices in listings. This host has been removed from our community."

How can you make sure you aren’t being spied on? Following his family’s ordeal in Ireland, Andrew wrote this blog post about increasing your chances of finding a hidden camera.

There are no specific fields for disclosing cameras on the app’s listings, but try and comb through the whole thing and check the photos as well. NakedSecurity points out, “If a listing makes no mention of a camera, nor includes any photo of one, then it hasn’t been disclosed, and you can get a host in hot water if you find one on the premises.”

Andrew Barker made a statement regarding his luck finding the camera in his rental, “We got lucky (if you can say that), the host had the hidden camera on the same network as the wifi that he allowed us access to and the stream was not protected (required authentication to access). If a camera is hidden well and is not on the network (i.e. records to an internal memory card) or is on a network that you don’t have access to it may be very difficult to identify.”

Next time you’re due for a vacay, remember this post. It just might save you!