Imagine if a hacker “greeted” your Airbnb guests. It could be costly and scary.
I can’t read the article because I have AdBlock Plus and Washington Post is blocking me for blocking their ads. So I’m just going to block myself. Wow that escalated quickly.
Just turn it off while you read the article.
« Hackers essentially look for email addresses and passwords that have been dumped online after being stolen from one website or service and then check to see whether the same credentials work on another site”
This is super important! See my subject about my Airbnb account being hacked… if I had used the same email and password for Airbnb and Paypal and iCloud and outlook for example my Russian hackers from St. Petersburg would be much richer and have entire control of my life!
Yikes. This is a Black Mirror episode in the making.
I’m so glad that I live in an environment that has no need for any cameras. Yes, I know that UK is one of the most street surveilled countries in the world but for my little home and listing, it’s still just -ring the doorbell and I will open it- territory.
I know many hosts on here extol the value of security cameras.
Personally, I hate them. They acquiesce all the behaviour that is intolerable and therefore normalise it. I know, it’s idealistic to think that people will behave better if you trust them. But if the default is that NOBODY trusts you EVER and so there are CAMERAS everywhere just to make SURE, it’s a bit crap.
It reminds me of Soviet Russia. Yeah, I’m old.
1 Like
Totally agree, cameras can get you in trouble! Even if you try to do everything right!
To be a good host you have to know whats going on at the property. To be a good property manager you have to be in touch with whats happening there. If something happens, your guests look to you because you’re the host and you’re in charge. Being responsible for their comfort and safety isn’t a task I take lightly. This is a much more positive way of looking at what cameras can do for a host. Its a tool that can be used for good or bad.
I use my cameras to manage parking. When guests park, they almost always block eachother in because parking is tight. So I proactively ask them to move it sometimes before they even get out of the car. That way, I don’t get another guest inconvenienced or complaining and angry because it takes 15 minutes to get the other guest out of bed to move it. I might annoy one guest by pro-actively asking them to move it but its better than 2 annoyed guests.
I use the cameras to make guests feel safer by giving them logins to watch their own vehicles in the driveway. Every once in a while, I get a guest who’s worried about crime or something. I make it so they can watch their baby and feel safe.
I use cameras to make sure the garbage wheelie bins are taken out on time and picked up. Once its picked up, I need to bring the wheel bins in to avoid block the road/driveway.
I use the cameras to watch weather conditions and know if I need to do something about ice or snow.
It isn’t just about ‘watching you’.
1 Like
I live in an environment where private cameras are illegal, if they record the slightest portion of a “public area”.
JF
Forgot to add the most important part, I also capture the souls of my guests in my camera system for further study.
2 Likes