161–170 of 323 posts
What is your recourse if you do happen to find a hidden camera? I mean, is it illegal for someone to hide a camera in their own house and not tell you?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is one of the reasons I don't stay in airbnbs - the system breaks the social contract. The reason hotels are more expensive is because they have to follow a bunch of rules that makes everyone's life a bit better by having insurance for risks and zoning and so on. However you have to pay a bit more. So, if you ever find yourself complaining "I wish people did something in a not the absolute cheapest and effortles…
I would argue that ‘people’ break the social contract. These people know where they are, what time it is, and mostly what’s expected of their surroundings. I think they just don’t care. I’m guessing it’s similar to anonymity on the Internet, where people behave differently because they don’t expect to have to face those they harm.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not at all for banning it. But stories like these, from a consumer standpoint, make me want to increasingly avoid Airbnb. Hosts need to be at minimum banned from the platform for having cameras in housing they're offering to guests. And "disclosing" them is not enough.
I'm anti surveillance, but if it's disclosed in the ad that there are cameras and where they were then it seems like something a person can decide whether or not that bothers them. No cameras seems a little excessive.
Or just go to a hotel! I have a condo in a building where most of the units are listed on Airbnb or Booking.com, quality of life for residents like me has been drastically reduced by noisy tourists that come for a weekend trip and have no regard for keeping it quiet or keeping the shared spaces clean. I hope more cities begin to ban Airbnb. Tourists belong in hotels not in buildings where families try to live their d…
This is one of the reasons I don't stay in airbnbs - the system breaks the social contract. The reason hotels are more expensive is because they have to follow a bunch of rules that makes everyone's life a bit better by having insurance for risks and zoning and so on. However you have to pay a bit more. So, if you ever find yourself complaining "I wish people did something in a not the absolute cheapest and effortles…
I was renting a room in a flat in Soho. The other floors slowly got converted to amateur hotels for airbnb/booking. Many a night, I'd see families stuck downstairs with luggage. They would then phone a capricious property manager who would tell them to walk about two miles to the key safe. Many a time, they didn't have a phone that worked in London, and I would lend them my phone. One angry customer checked in to the 5* boutique hotel next door after waiting for an hour. The hotel was about the same price. I wonder if he got his money back. I doubt it.
I don't book airbnbs. Hospitality is not for greedy unregulated amateurs. Of course, there might be some great hosts, but I like consistency.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
At least in the US civil and criminal law are two totally different things.
Right, as in most places, so why would you involve the police in a civil matter?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is one of the reasons I don't stay in airbnbs - the system breaks the social contract. The reason hotels are more expensive is because they have to follow a bunch of rules that makes everyone's life a bit better by having insurance for risks and zoning and so on. However you have to pay a bit more. So, if you ever find yourself complaining "I wish people did something in a not the absolute cheapest and effortles…
I would argue that ‘people’ break the social contract. These people know where they are, what time it is, and mostly what’s expected of their surroundings. I think they just don’t care. I’m guessing it’s similar to anonymity on the Internet, where people behave differently because they don’t expect to have to face those they harm.
Note that you can get a full refund if the host breaks these rules.
What is your recourse if you do happen to find a hidden camera? I mean, is it illegal for someone to hide a camera in their own house and not tell you?
I ran into a situation where there was an undisclosed camera inside a room I rented (with the bathroom in its field of view, no less!). It put me in a tough spot because in an unfamiliar city, I don't want to cancel my room and have to look for another, but I also don't want to be spied on either. I covered the camera and disclosed it to AirBNB after the fact. I'm not sure what happened to the hosts, if anything.
Most AirBnB guests are not doing what you describe. Call the police, and let AirBnB ban the loud ones.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
A very reasonable point; however, AirBnB & its ilk end up being the only viable option in some cases. There's a huge bicycling event in Texas every spring, and it overnights in a town that is, most of the time, very very quiet. The meager hotel inventory is sufficient 364 days of the year, but absurdly low for the weekend of the MS150. & so, homeshare sites make a killing that weekend.
The exception should not make the rule. Your example is one of the few edge cases where AirBnB works. The OP is talking about an everyday situation where AirBnB has instead had a detrimental effect on residents as well as would-be residents.