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Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

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Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#181

Post by jupp0r »

endisneigh wrote: post #17

In my experience Airbnb isn’t even cheaper, just has more “interesting” housing available. Back to the topic - removing listings isn’t a sufficient enough punishment imho. And how would you even prove it from the guests side? Take a picture I suppose? But how do you stop bad actors? Not sure what the correct solution is. Someone who wants to spy can purchase a spy camera which is very abundant these days.

It's not about the price. Hotel suites with multiple bedrooms are extremely hard to find or cater more to the super luxury segment.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#182

Post by ghaff »

callalex wrote: post #167
SoftTalker wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've found that hotels have cut back on the services also. I tend to stay at middle-tier hotels, i.e. Hampton Inn or something similar and they often don't service the room if you are there for multiple nights. I get not replacing towels if they are hanging up but even making up the beds and removing the trash isn't always done. I'd guess that post-pandemic they just don't have enough staff to get all the rooms done…

I think there has also been a generational change in culture/expectations. Personally even if I’m staying at a nice place I don’t like having someone come into my room and rearrange stuff. I am a neat enough person that I don’t need someone’s help keeping a room usable after using it for only a day. I’d rather save that money.

I'm totally with you. If someone doesn't come into my room for 3 or 4 days, possibly interrupting me when I'm working, I am perfectly good with that.

I had a co-worker who really hated people coming into her room. I think we were in Japan and she had a Do Not Disturb sign up and she got really pissed when a maid came in and made up her room anyway.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#183

Post by autoexec »

lukan wrote: post #70
mholt wrote: post #22

I'm worried this ban will only affect honest hosts. Anyway, what Airbnb should really ban is hosts charging a mandatory cleaning fee when also requiring their guests to do the cleaning. We just stayed at one this weekend, and like almost all our previous bookings, the host asked us to: - Take off all bedding and towels and start a load of laundry - Do all the dishes and start the dishwasher (but required to hand-wash…

"I'm worried this ban will only affect honest hosts." EMF meters(like in the airplane to spot mobiles) are quite cheap and if you find an active one, you can probably sue the host, but at least reporting should have some effect, even though no instaban. "If a guest reports the presence of an indoor camera after that, Airbnb says it will investigate and that it could remove the host’s listing or account as a result."…

> EMF meters(like in the airplane to spot mobiles) are quite cheap and if you find an active one, you can probably sue the host

In a house with a bunch of smart meters/appliances, bluetooth devices, a router, indoor electrical wiring, nearby power lines, cell signals, AM/FM radio, etc wouldn't the house be constantly flooded with EMF radiation pretty much everywhere?

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#184

Post by s1artibartfast »

whompyjaw wrote: post #168
s1artibartfast wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Airbnb has a PE of 22 and is a money printing machine. Airbnb makes 10x the profit of Hyatt, which has a PE of 75. Use case of hotels might be bigger, but it is a highly contended market. Airbnb has a huge chunk of a smaller market. Also, the margins are much better on hosting a website than building hotels and paying thousands of service employees.

What is PE?

Price to earnings. Market cap divided by profit. It is loosly associated with how long until you can make back your investment with current revenue.

If you have a business that makes $1/year after costs and taxes and are selling it for $20, your P/E is 20.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#185

Post by Symbiote »

standardUser wrote: post #63
bombcar wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've often felt a bunch of the "love" for AirBNB comes from people who didn't realize that you could do short-term rentals of entire properties before it hit the market (and where you'd go for those).

>> and where you'd go for those Where would that be?

You'd look it up in a guide book, or contact the tourist information office for the place you're visiting. Later, some of this was online, and even later there were websites for the bookings.

Earlier, you might have to write letters. I remember my mum describing doing this when she travelled to the Eastern Bloc — she had to write letters to the tourist office, then follow up by letter to make the booking. It might have been necessary to write in German or Russian.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#186

Post by fjni »

whompyjaw wrote: post #168
s1artibartfast wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Airbnb has a PE of 22 and is a money printing machine. Airbnb makes 10x the profit of Hyatt, which has a PE of 75. Use case of hotels might be bigger, but it is a highly contended market. Airbnb has a huge chunk of a smaller market. Also, the margins are much better on hosting a website than building hotels and paying thousands of service employees.

What is PE?

i suppose price/earnings ratio

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#187

Post by doix »

noduerme wrote: post #72
scarface_74 wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And that’s reason #13563 I would never do an AirBnb and we just stayed in hotels during our year of “nomadding”.

Good for you. We never used it in 10 years of nomadding. However, we did abuse it constantly by contacting hosts and then cancelling the request and paying them cash rent at a negotiated price for a month or two. Idk how well that would work anymore.

It depends on the host. If the host is a "real person" (for a lack of a better word) then it works. If they have a bunch of properties and outsourced it to an agency or something, it won't work.

Unfortunately the latter is becoming increasingly popular and harder and harder to avoid. I usually try to book places where it's a large house and they rent out the top floor or something.

That way if there are any problems, the owner is right there to help and it's easier to negotiate the cash deals.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#188

Post by jupp0r »

endisneigh wrote: post #17

In my experience Airbnb isn’t even cheaper, just has more “interesting” housing available. Back to the topic - removing listings isn’t a sufficient enough punishment imho. And how would you even prove it from the guests side? Take a picture I suppose? But how do you stop bad actors? Not sure what the correct solution is. Someone who wants to spy can purchase a spy camera which is very abundant these days.

Unless somebody is making serious efforts and running hidden data wires, spy cams are pretty easy to find by the average nerd equipped with a cheapish spectrum analyzer by their RF signature.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#189

Post by NegativeK »

ddasdassds wrote: post #180

I'd put this under "enshitification". I've had plenty of complaints in the past about terrible airbnb hosts, but this seems to me to be clearly motivated to bring more money into AirBNB at the expense of the hosts and neighbors. Just like Paypal made conscious decisions to ignore customer fraud and hold sellers liable for everything, now AirBNB is trying to squeeze more out of the hosts by supporting and enabling bad…

Hosts, like hotels, can simply document before and after if they're concerned about damages.

Disallowing potential spying on guests and requiring disclosure just sounds sane. Nobody should be monitored without their knowledge.

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