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You seem to be quite confused about facts, therefore it isn’t at all relevant. The case wasn’t about proving sexual assault, it was a defamation case, for which there was plenty of hard evidence.
And howyou think the world “is”, is not necessarily the way others experience the world. No one was ignoring your logic, but not everyone agrees with it. A “shared space” isn’t the same as a public space. If a kitchen is shared with one’s family, friends, or guests, it means there is not an expectation of privacy there, in that one person has the kitchen all to themselves, but it doesn’t mean the kitchen is a public space where people would or should feel comfortable being filmed, like a hotel lobby, where the general public is allowed to wander in and out.
I wish we could live in a world you describe and there ARE parts in this world where this works BUT times are changing or have changed. And as hosts I have to adapt.
The cameras we use HAVE SOLVED problems. There is no if or maybe. They did.
We identified guests who were about to violate our house rules (which in a ‘normal world’ they would not even try to break!!!). So we were able to interfere before they bring animals into our accommodation or worse cause (more) damage to the interior.
We do not live (and host) in a crime ridden part of town, by all means but and this is the part nobody of us hosts has 100% control over - there might be this ONE guest who messes up and I don’t see why I shouldn’t use any tools I have at my disposal to run my business in the most efficient fashion?
I understand that the cameras alerted you to guests bringing animals in, but it didn’t solve the issue- you solved it by talking to the guests and telling them that wasn’t allowed, or whatever you did. The camera was just a tool that made you aware that the guests were ignoring your rules. Which is what Jacquo said.
Would parents be “solving” the problem of their teenager sneaking out at night just because they saw them doing it on their back door camera? Of course not- the parents then have to deal with their kid’s unacceptable behavior.
Not saying your outdoor cameras aren’t a useful tool, but they don’t solve or resolve guest behavior. The host does that by their words and actions.
Yes indeed they solved the issue. I try to explain how - again apologies for my English as it isn’t my native tongue and perhaps the way I express myself may be confusing.
We have multiple cameras on our property starting with one monitoring the property entrance. I was able to catch guests trying to sneak in their dog, that they haven’t had with them when they initially checked-in (nor mentioned that they are planning to bring a dog).
Before they reached the entrance to their accommodation I was able to address this matter and resolve the issue.
Therefore, it solved the issue of dealing with a guest who would have violated our house rules and saved us from additional cleaning efforts since we market our accommodations as pet-free, safe to stay for people who are suffering from severe allergies. Not to mention that this would have been particularly difficult to clean considering we had a same day check-in after their check-out.
Perhaps I misunderstand the terminology of “solving an issue” but in the end it did save us several headaches.
Yes, I think you are misunderstanding the meaning of “solve”. You acting on what the camera alerted you to solved the issue. Had you done nothing after seeing the footage, nothing would have been solved. The guests would have stayed with their pets, perhaps leaving dog hair, dog smell and pet damage. And you would have footage of them bringing in their dogs, which wouldn’t have prevented them from doing so had you not acted on the information.
There are all kinds of ways that hosts can deal with guest issues. Some hosts may be adept at dealing with rule-breaking guests in a way that diffuses the situation, and the situation is easily resolved, one may not have very good “people skills” or be conflict averse and either let themselves be walked all over by disrespectful guests, or escalate the situation by yelling or otherwise not handling it well. Or the guest may be belligerant and threatening and the host has to call the police. In other words, the host is responsible for solving an issue, not the camera itself.
There are many tools at a host’s disposal to aid in preventing bad guest behavior, a camera is just one of them. Other tools may be writing your listing info in a way to attract the kind of guests you want, and ward off the ones you don’t want. Choosing not to use Instant Book, so you can dialogue with guests before deciding whether to accept their booking. Not allowing 1 night bookings if your place might be attractive to partiers. Being aware of red flags in guest communications and trusting your intuition if something seems “off”.
But no tool is a guarantee that you won’t have a bad guest situation, including cameras. I think you mentioned that you live right next to your rentals, but plenty of hosts who don’t have had their homes trashed and even though they could see a party happening on their cameras, by the time they were able to shut it down, the place was already trashed and the neighbors irate. And having such things recorded on camera doesn’t necessarily mean Airbnb is going to have the host’s back and reimburse them for the damage. In fact, the first thing Airbnb does these days if hosts report a party going on, or having gone on, is suspend the host’s listings, regardless of camera footage.
Yes, it’s an insane response on the part of Airbnb. Kafkaesque. (Of course, if a listing gets multiple complaints from neighbors about having an ongoing party house next door, it would make sense to suspend the host and investigate) Just as insane as them suspending hosts’ listings when some guest seeking revenge because they didn’t get a refund tells Airbnb some bogus story about hidden cameras, privacy violations, or the place being filthy or infested with bedbugs.
Or allowing a 1* review full of lies to stand, when the host has pages full of 5* reviews.
But that’s how Airbnb rolls these days. It’s pretty pointless to regard them as anything more than a listing service whose only concern is profits. Their ridiculous suspensions of long-time, good hosts is just to appear to the public as if they are being responsible, or take guest complaints seriously. But it’s also wildly inconsistent. Some guests who have legitimate complaints have been told there’s nothing Airbnb can do for them, some hosts have successfully gotten bad outlier reviews removed, you never know whether you’ll be lucky enough to get a helpful, knowledgable response from CS, or a clueless one, or simply have an issue ignored for weeks or months on end.
One suggestion - when you are ‘face to face’ with guests, carrying your smartphone is never considered ‘wrong’ (we carry phones everywhere these days) and it is easy to leave it recording video when you do.
Oh yes, I will always switch on the camera or audio recorder on my phone if there is an interaction I may need to rely on in the future! And I did this time (in addition to the hallway camera picking it up too)
As a live in host my listing states no visitors. He had two people and reminded him of the policy. Tried to post on here last night as I was desperate to get advice but I think because I am new member I cannot create a topic?
I am hesitant to stay in an Airbnb where there are cameras in public areas. Outside to view the coming and going of guests is fine, but I am not apposed to the new rule. I just booked in Mexico for 2025, and the host does have cameras, i questioned where they are situated. They are not facing the pool or indoors at all, only outside of the building near the entrance. I am sorry you have had so many troublesome guests. It creeps me out that someone would be watching me during my stay.
I sure don’t see shared spaces as being classified as “public areas” unless the general public is free to use them.
If you rent a self-contained house with a yard, it is private property, not public, even if the host also lives on the property, and uses the yard.
Now if you rent an apartment in an apartment building, I would think of the hallways as “public”- you have no idea who all the people using that hallway are. Likewise a shared laundry room, or shared swimming pool in a place like that would be a public space.
And whereas many guests would find an outdoor camera that films them in a private home’s backyard swimming pool to be creepy and invasive, they would probably appreciate cameras in a swimming pool area that is open to all residents of an apartment building or resort complex. No stranger is going to try to molest their child in the backyard swimming pool, but they certainly could at a public pool.
Nowhere in Airbnb’s camera policies do they call indoor spaces “public”, because they aren’t. They refer to them as common or shared spaces.
I see a lot of hosts who are upset about the indoor camera ban talking about how they should be allowed to have cameras in “public” spaces, like a shared living room, but that’s not a valid argument, and wouldn’t stand up to legal scrutiny- just because they are shared doesn’t mean they are “public”.
I can only speak to my personal experiences. I rent two rooms (separate listings) and a shared bathroom in my home. Have been hosting since 2016 and love the experience of meeting people from all over the world. The vast majority of my guests have been fantastic, but on occasion there have been issues. Because of those issues I decided I would install cameras, first only outside but then inside as well. Obviously I only put the indoor cameras in places where there isn’t an assumption of total privacy, such as the living room (which also monitors the entrance) and the kitchen (which also monitors the liquor cabinet). The cameras have always been disclosed in the listing and they are obvious to anyone looking for them (I don’t “hide” them). On several occasions, the cameras have recorded behavior that was in violation of my house rules (or just inappropriate).
Examples: guests repeatedly helping themselves to my liquor or the guest’s child grabbing my cat and running up the stairs yelling, “I’ve got a cat it it’s my weapon” or a guest leaving the back door wide open in the middle of winter.
Being able to confront a guest with this has helped because it’s not about whether something happened but rather that it happened and what to do about it. Again, the cameras are in places where total privacy cannot be expected; I live here too, along with my teenage son and we use those areas also so no privacy can even be assumed.
If I was present, these kinds of things would not happen. The cameras extend my presence to the common spaces of my home even when I’m not on site, and I think this makes everyone safer, especially when the two rooms are occupied by different parties. I prioritize safety in my home and have had a number of single female travelers tell me how much they appreciate that; removing the cameras potentially puts them (and anyone) at risk.
Hi. I have security cameras in indoor shared spaces only - nothing to do with guests or to see what they are up to - we’ve had them for a very long time. It gives security in case there is a break in at night, when we are all asleep or no one is home - I/our security company can use them for verification that there is a break in, not just a glitch & send out a patrol & alert the police. Especially if you are a person on your own, this gives reassurance. Our system has closed/ open settings you can set at different times as needed.
I have had a break- in, am afraid,while I & my children were initially sleeping- we were ok in the end but it was unpleasant & frightening.We never had a break in before that, lived in a ‘safe’ neighbourhood with little crime (but none is probably totally crime free)- & felt safe as houses. But that one time made me realise that you can’t assume it will never happen to you. The cameras & security system can provide aasurance for EVERYONE in a house. I was alarmed (pardon the pun!) that AIR b & b might insist on no cameras in shared hallway etc. Especially after my experience., I feel safer( & the police agreed,) with cameras inside and out. ( But certainly not in anyone’s private space!)
