ALERT SUMMARY
Starting in early 2018, Airbnb added another rental agreement add-on allowing hosts to put cameras in their rentals. If hosts indicate they have cameras anywhere on their property, guests receive a pop-up informing them where the cameras are located and where they are aimed. To book the property, the guests must click “agree,” indicating that they’re aware of the cameras and consent to being filmed.
This allows all Airbnb hosts to put cameras in their properties, however temporary, to video and possibly record everything you and your family are doing and saying. Airbnb’s rules allow cameras outdoors and in living rooms and common areas, but never in bathrooms or anywhere guests plan to sleep, including rooms with foldout beds.
What happens to the video? Can a rental owner upload the video to a social media platform to share? Can the rental owner simply stream so anyone with the right web address can watch you and your family real-time?
Why has Airbnb decided that hosts need to have cameras in their rentals? They say it’s so guests won’t steal or destruct their property or have a party. Is this a problem? Airbnb provided no statistics on police reports filed for incidents involving guest stealing and trashing. Would a credit card deposit be sufficient to mitigate any damage? Hotels and extended stay properties have been doing just that for decades.
Police are siding with Airbnb saying that hosts are homeowners and have every right to have cameras in their homes (anywhere) and that Airbnb is just a payment broker. Hosts are not homeowners in this case, they are business owners using home properties for profit. Airbnb is not just a payment broker but the administrator of curated properties following the same underlying rules, payment process and policies. Airbnb runs the show not just the payments.
The Atlantic reports the experience of one Airbnb renter that sums up the real problem,
“There have been super terrible examples of privacy violations by Airbnb hosts, e.g., people have found cameras hidden in alarm clocks in their bedrooms,” wrote Jeff Bigham, a computer-science professor at Carnegie Mellon whose claim was initially denied after he reported cameras in his rental. “I feel like our experience is in some ways more insidious. If you find a truly hidden camera in your bedroom or bathroom, Airbnb will support you. If you find an undisclosed camera in the private living room, Airbnb will not support you.”
Although it is an issue when bad hosts put hidden camera’s in private areas, this situation would be handled as a breach and possibly processed in a court of law. It’s about putting camera’s anywhere in a rental property and about how little concern Airbnb and it's hosts have for anyone’s individual privacy.
Next Steps - For additional details and Step-By Step Instructions on how to protect and respond to this Alert, follow the link below.
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