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One Ring doorbell is all you need to monitor guest arrivals. Don’t get carried away with cameras, they are useful but intrusive and will turn off guests if you load up on them. I use a Ring doorbell as a stand alone camera monitoring arrivals. I purposely avoided putting in by the door as it would view a backyard seating area and violate their privacy. I use a wifi based discrete thermometer( Govee brand ) to monitor interior temps. Guests have a right to keeps temps at their comfort level. Relax and try not to be a control freak. I’ve had zero guest issues in a busy year of rentals.
I use the Blink system. It is owned by Amazon. I currently have (6) exterior cameras and it sends a signal to my phone whenever there is activity. I can view what is going on or even save a video of the activity. I use the cameras to cover my entry/exit doors as well as the driveway. I did turn off the blue blinking light to help keep the cameras somewhat less intrusive.
We have a Eufy doorbell camera at the front door and that’s all we need or want. (The Ring doorbell is good as well and we just picked one up, as a back-up if our primary ever fails, for $50 on Amazon Prime day.) I’m extremely particular about our property as it’s our second home but honestly, if I had more than one camera, it’s more than I want to know about our guests. One simple camera by the front door for security is reasonable but beyond that, it starts to infringe on the guests privacy and your sanity. It’s hard, but try to resist the urge! Good luck and happy hosting!
I have my cameras set for 30 seconds- although you can set them to record for a shorter period. The video remains on your phone until you either save or delete it. If you do not select to save they will delete in 30 days. Having multiple cameras allows you to capture most of the action.
Thank you! I am totally new to cameras but we are thinking of getting a couple and have just started researching. It is not to monitor guests so I don’t want a doorbell camera, just the kind that are mounted on the house.
Does that mean that it records for 30 seconds when it detects activity? And if the activity goes on for more than 30 seconds, does it continue to record until the activity ceases?
Don’t forget to put notices about the cameras in your listing, and say that they are outside. I have a notice because neighbors on both sides have them, and I will be getting several once I have $$ again.
There are both interior and exterior cameras- I only use the exteriors. My camera re-trigger time is set for 30 seconds but you can go up to 60. You might want to check out the blink forum. The cameras are unobtrusive- in fact most guests do not even know they are there. https://community.blinkforhome.com Good Luck.
I’d strongly recommend against having interior cameras (even if you don’t use them while guests are staying there.) I know interior cams are vs AirBnB policy and I’d be personally very uncomfortable as a guest if I did notice them inside, despite a host saying they’re not monitored. We use one exterior Arlo camera at the front door that’s clearly described in the listing in multiple places and quite obvious.
we have Neos Smartcams in areas that are secured and off limit to guests (loft, where we store our personal items, garage etc), we also have one in the front porch pointing at the porch entrance door (not the main front door) - its now fixed and not easily ‘disturbed’ as a previous guest decided to move it (and had more guests staying than we had agreed to host)
we have found it extremely useful when we have had deliveries left in the porch when we have been away from the property, it records about a minute of activity each time, and can be set to react to sound or movement. they cost around £20-£30 - the cameras notfiy you of the sound or movement and you can choose to view ‘live’ remotely via the internet. we have no cameras in areas used by the guests except for the entrance porch.
we also have exterior cameras focused on the property boundary, we live in a semi remote area and also display a CCTV in operation sign on the front driveway entrance. Those are part pf a Sannce sysytem (with an in built lcd screen for easier playback, should we need to do so) which again we access remotely when away from home -
so our cameras are really their for the security of our property while we are away from home, but do give us a little bit extra when hosting.
we have included on our listing that we do have cameras that record 24 hours per day
hope the specific systems i have mentioned help in your search to narrow down the right cameras for your needs
I believe you misunderstood my email to JJD. I was describing the types of cameras blink offers. I DO NOT use or ever have used any interior cameras in my bnb. If someone looks they can see cameras which are trained on the entry and exit doors, driveway and outside stairs. The outside patio stairs. BTW, my insurance carrier also had me sign documentation which confirms I do not have any cameras inside the home.Thank you for your concern
I don’t think anyone was talking about having interior cameras (creepy). I don’t have any desire to monitor my guests with cameras. I do want a couple of cameras outside, but they will be monitoring the opposite direction of where guests are (it’s a dead-end street), the guests should not be down there anyway. But I do know I have to disclose them regardless.
Funny, I misread the message from @Katrina but another thread is now dealing with this exact issue (a smart device that had a camera attached). Some folks still have them in “private” interior spaces which is a gray area I wouldn’t mess with either.
The gray areas I would also stay away from. One of my co-workers stayed at a cabin in the mountains and they had cameras in the kitchen which did not bother her but you have to wonder if after seeing the camera if they started looking for them in other locations. Not worth the risk.
