[AFAR] Airbnb Just Banned Security Cameras Inside Rentals
The new indoor-camera ban takes effect April 30, but it’s unclear how much will change under the updated privacy policy.
For Meg St-Esprit, seeing cameras inside Airbnb vacation homes she has stayed at with her husband and their four kids “creeped me out.” The Pittsburgh-based writer says a newly implemented camera ban is smart, adding that Airbnb hosts are already “micromanaging guests’ stays,” by enforcing their “lengthy list of expectations” around how the space should be cleaned and handled (St-Esprit says she doesn’t need to be told to empty used Keurig pods from the machine), and cameras felt like an extension of that.
BU School of Hospitality Administration’s Makarand Mody, an associate professor of hospitality marketing, points out that Booking.com and Vrbo, similar short-term rental platforms, have had policies prohibiting security cameras inside properties for a while now. “Airbnb, in effect, is a little bit late to the game when it comes to banning indoor cameras,” says Mody, who has conducted extensive research on Airbnb and the larger segment of short-term rentals.