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I use a smart lock in my Airbnb. It’s not a Ring, there’s no video surveillance or anything. But what makes it convenient is that I can control it through an app so I can create codes or unlock or lock a door remotely if I need to. And one of the things it can do on the app is tell me when people use it and how they have locked or unlocked the door (unlock by access code, lock with the lock button from the outside of the door, lock with the thumb turn from the inside).
I don’t usually pay attention to this except right at the end of a stay, when I’m checking to see if it looks like someone has checked out.
(This didn’t work the one time the guests left and didn’t lock the door so it looked to me like they were still in there, and I spent about a half hour in the car wondering at what point I start harassing them to leave, only to realise that they had left long ago and the apartment was empty with an unlocked door! Grr.)
That’s just background information to explain my dilemma. This evening I thought of checking to see what the battery status is on the smart lock and when it needed replacing. When I opened the app, it opened to the lock history, and I noticed that there was no lock usage at all today. This is eye-catching because it’s unusual – usually people are in and out all the time – so my eyes glanced down and I saw the last use was yesterday evening when someone locked the door from the outside of the apartment. It hasn’t been opened again since.
Now I’m weirdly worried about the couple staying there. They have rave reviews so I’m not concerned that they’re doing something dodgy to the apartment or anything, but I can’t stop wondering if something happened to them while they were out! I’m hoping that they aren’t in the hospital or drowned or something, and that they just decided to go stay the night in the city or something and didn’t mind paying double rent for a night or two.
Anyway, this got me thinking: although I don’t usually pay attention to lock use to surveil people’s movements during their stay, I could. And that got me wondering if I need to disclose this to guests? Does anyone else who has a smart lock disclose in their listing what kinds of information it provides to the lock owner?
Of course, the electronic locks in hotels do the same thing, and I’ve never seen this disclosed when I check into a hotel, but I wasn’t sure about Airbnb standards.
That’s an interesting question. I’ve never thought about it, but I’d think probably-no. We have keypad locks but they aren’t smart locks, we set them manually, so can’t get info from them.
However, we do have smart TVs, which I believe are pretty common, and could monitor what everyone is watching if I wanted to know (but don’t ). I do go into the TV profile of whichever unit has just checked out to erase anything they’ve recorded or set to record so that it’s cleared for the next guest though so I do “see” that stuff. I only remember noticing what it was one time. Someone had stayed for just 4 days but set up 7 or 8 different “record all episodes” for different series (never figured out why). I don’t disclose it and I’ve never come across it being disclosed.
And nearly all hosts provide internet so could obviously track what guests are doing on the web from the router, but I’ve never seen that disclosed either. I imagine most people don’t really want to know that
There’s a line between disclosure and making people paranoid about things they hadn’t considered, but I don’t know where it lies.
Imagine some person thinking that they are so important in the way they live their life that an Airbnb owner would be interested in tracking their entrances and exits. Imagine somebody thinking what they watch on TV was so important for national security. Imagine someone thinking that what they asked Alexa to do would be considered top-secret security clearance level information to me, it is stunning how narcissistic the average person is. Thinking that they are somehow important in the bigger scheme of things at that level is mind blowing.
I disclose that I have a smart lock and don’t worry about it beyond that. But I also have 2 different camera systems and disclose that as well as having a sign at the entrance to the Airbnb. I use the app to monitor people going in and out and if they’ve locked the door. If you can add a Ring doorbell I think having video to confirm people left with their luggage would be helpful. As for your couple, maybe just message and ask how the stay is going and do they need anything. Maybe even say you were checking to see if the batteries needed to be replaced and noticed they hadn’t been back and is everything is alright.
If they are upset because you want to know if you need to take new batteries for the next turnover and you care about your guests then the problem is them, not you.
Last night as I was feeling increasingly worried about them, I reached out asking if all was well and if they wanted any restaurant recommendations. They responded cheerfully that they were enjoying the area and didn’t need any recommendations. And according to my lock app, nobody has unlocked the apartment since Sunday afternoon – it’s now Tuesday morning!
I can only assume there must be something wrong with the lock app. I can think of a few conspiracy theories (someone murdered them, locked up behind themselves, took their phone and responded to my message; or they emptied the house of all valuables and locked up behind themselves) but I’m sure the answer is some much simpler tech glitch. (I hope!)
I use smartlocks and don’t disclose them. Other than my husband and I commenting to each other that some guests keep odd hours, it’s never been an issue.
you would need to disclose any kind of cameras or listening devices, and they should never be inside.
i have a smart thermostat and some security cameras on the front and back of the house, as well as one in the driveway. it is disclosed in the description and i like to think its a good thing, because if god forbid a car were to get broken into, or something were to happen, there would hopefully be some footage to make sense of things.
I don’t have self check in listed on ABB be cause, even though I could let guests check in themselves, I prefer to be there when they check in and make contact. I figure we miss out on the people who limit their search to a self check in experience, but we gain a pleasant personal interaction. I think it likely helps smooth the experience, helps my reviews, and possibly (hopefully) encourages good neighbour-like behaviour.
But just to be clear, I do tell them we have a smart lock! I describe it as one of the positive features of the apartment, which it is, because: 1) they don’t have to search for a lockbox; 2) I allow them to choose the code so it’s something they can remember; and 3) it means that there’s no risk of spare keys floating around with any past guest, contractor, cleaner, etc.
What I don’t do is say in my listing, “Using my smart lock app, I can look to see exactly when you enter and exit the apartment and I’ll sit there worrying about why you didn’t come home at night and if I should call the police, just like you somehow inadvertently inherited a worrywart mother for your Sydney holiday.”
I do worry about guests occasionally. Especially because I host solo guests and am a 20 minute walk to town (I’ve only ever had 3 guests arrive by car). So if a single female guest goes out to town at night, and doesn’t come home, which once happened, yeah, I was concerned.
She had told me that she was meeting up with friends for dinner so I figured she had just spent the night at their place. But I texted her, “You okay?” She replied right away, saying yes, and that she was on her way back.
When she got here, I told her I wasn’t in the habit of checking up on guests, but that I raised three daughters and had a “mom brain” when it came to single females walking alone at night, that I hoped she didn’t mind. She said she actually appreciated it and that she should have let me know when she realized they’d had quite a bit to drink, and decided to crash there in town with her friends.
Bad things do happen to people and I’d rather be considered too much of a worrier than find out one of my guests had been assaulted and left in a ditch.
Now I ask my guests to give me an emergency contact number, just in case they got badly hurt, just disappeared for several days, or had a medical emergency, so I could let a family member or friend know. I wouldn’t do that if I had an entire place listing, but I host solo travelers, most of whom have no other friends or family here who would be worried about them if they never answered their phone or messages for days.
). I do go into the TV profile of whichever unit has just checked out to erase anything they’ve recorded or set to record so that it’s cleared for the next guest though so I do “see” that stuff. I only remember noticing what it was one time. Someone had stayed for just 4 days but set up 7 or 8 different “record all episodes” for different series (never figured out why). I don’t disclose it and I’ve never come across it being disclosed.
