Airbnb, the largest hotel chain without owning an actual hotel, has made the news once again.
Before I get into the thick of things, how many of you have actually used their services?
Personally, it is my go-to accommodation if I don’t have any friends in the destination I’m travelling to.
You also get the opportunity to live like a local—unlike hotels where they are usually situated in tourist hotspots—and not to mention you get to choose from a smorgasbord of unique apartments at an affordable rate.
But there is always a downside to a community business model—you never truly know if your host is as friendly as his profile claims to be or the apartment can look totally different from the pictures or the host can fail to mention that he has a dog that is the size of a mini horse.
Okay, maybe living with a huge dog isn’t so bad as compared to having cameras in the apartment unbeknownst to you.
Yes, there has been a string of events where people found hidden recording devices in their Airbnb apartments including places like the bedroom and bathroom.
Meghan Hilden, who was in Switzerland yesteryear freaked out when her friend discovered a handphone under the sink in the bathroom at their Airbnb apartment.
“We saw that the phone was filming and we were whispering and trying to be very quiet. We weren’t sure if it was being live streamed,” Hilden said.
“I was like this could be like the day that I get killed or worse, I don’t know,” she added.
It might seem like she is being dramatic, but it is very plausible.
The story gets even more spine-chilling. She also found an iPad that was recording.
She reported the incident to AirBnB and they refunded her for the stay and reimbursed her other travel expenses.
There was another case where the guest (role reversal ?) allegedly planted cameras at the apartment he was staying at.
Ron Rothman, the guest who allegedly planted devices that were disguised to look like handphone chargers,was arrested and charged with unlawful surveillance and he also admitted that the iPhone and recording device was his.
The host mentioned that when Rothman arrived she noticed an iPhone inside a backpack with its camera positioned toward the toilet and she also found a recording device plugged into the electrical outlet.
She also informed the police that the phone was running Cambush, an app that record video using motion-detection.
Creepy much?
Airbnb told CBS News that it “takes privacy extremely seriously and there is absolutely no place in our community for this kind of behaviours.”
The company also mentioned that the host is required to disclose to guests before their stay if they have any cameras on their property, and this goes without saying—cameras are never allowed in bathrooms or bedrooms.
So the next time you stay at an Airbnb apartment, make sure the apartment is camera-free.
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This article was first published on goodyfeed.com
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Featured image: CBS New / MEGHAN HILDEN
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