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How to Find Hidden Cameras in Your Airbnb

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Re: How to Find Hidden Cameras in Your Airbnb

#201

Post by rhacker »

bluejekyll wrote: post #181
noxToken wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>This is one of the reasons I don't stay in airbnbs - the system breaks the social contract. But it doesn't. People are breaking the social contract by not respecting the area. If I invite friends from out of town over for the weekend, is that breaking the social contract? If I'm going away for 2 weeks, and I have friends house sit for the duration, is that breaking the social contract? Tourists and visitors existing…

> It would have been a better use of everyone's time to knock and let us know. Sadly, too many people now are afraid of conflict, even small conflict, they prefer to call the police rather than deal with others directly. They don’t want to deal with it themselves. That anxiety I’m sure goes up with unknown Airbnbers, and so raises the likely good that people will probably call the police instead.

Sadly, too many people have become toxic. My first action is usually to talk to people, asking them to turn things down until I can't hear it. It works increasingly less over time. Instead I get people that turn the volume up. I am slowly moving towards calling the police first lately.

Re: How to Find Hidden Cameras in Your Airbnb

#202

Post by alistairSH »

exergy wrote: post #99
dsfyu404ed wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Along those same lines "I find it reasonable to call the cops on every violation of the letter of the law" results in a really shitty society.

Depends on your definition. Here in Switzerland, the expectations go as far as aksing you NOT to use toilets after a reasonable hour in the evening because the sound through the water pipes can disturb people. Now, it's not as draconian as it sounds, and from time to time you are welcome to use the toilet, obviously. Similarly, in some villages, you are NOT welcome to tear down an old building and build a modern mons…

People in Switzerland don't have to pee in the middle of the night?

Re: How to Find Hidden Cameras in Your Airbnb

#203

Post by impendia »

rhacker wrote: post #194
impendia wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I find the "social contract" to be too biased in favor of homeowners. They control municipal governments and hence zoning laws. If these homeowners decide that they don't want to see visitors in their neighborhoods, they can decide they don't have to. So, in effect, this "contract" was unilaterally imposed by one party to it. I noticed this particularly in Princeton, NJ. A cute, small, and overly expensiv…

So let's say I buy a quiet home in a peaceful neighborhood. I've risked my life savings on this home so I can get work done, meditate, relax and not hear barking dogs, children scream, etc.. So you're saying I don't have the right to want those things? That new people coming into that kind of environment should be allowed to, even though there is nearly literally anywhere else in the f-ing world they can go. I'm not…

I certainly believe you have the right to want those things. And moreover, there are noise ordinances and related laws, and I do believe those should be enforced.

But, I also believe that new people coming into that kind of environment should be allowed to. People step on each other's toes, and it can be annoying. But I still don't believe that people have the right to keep other people out.

Re: How to Find Hidden Cameras in Your Airbnb

#204

Post by pier25 »

JacKTrocinskI wrote: post #6

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…

AirBnBs could have some form of noise monitoring and have the system overcharge you when you make too much noise.

Re: How to Find Hidden Cameras in Your Airbnb

#205

Post by theflyinghorse »

rhacker wrote: post #201
bluejekyll wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It would have been a better use of everyone's time to knock and let us know. Sadly, too many people now are afraid of conflict, even small conflict, they prefer to call the police rather than deal with others directly. They don’t want to deal with it themselves. That anxiety I’m sure goes up with unknown Airbnbers, and so raises the likely good that people will probably call the police instead.

Sadly, too many people have become toxic. My first action is usually to talk to people, asking them to turn things down until I can't hear it. It works increasingly less over time. Instead I get people that turn the volume up. I am slowly moving towards calling the police first lately.

I would be very hesitant to call the police in the US given their reputation.

Re: How to Find Hidden Cameras in Your Airbnb

#206

Post by mrfusion »

JacKTrocinskI wrote: post #6

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…

As another option. What if we banned the disruptive behavior?

Maybe neighbors can leave reviews on guests? Maybe a unit can be forced to be delisted with enough complaints?

Who knows but automatically banning things isn’t always the answer.

Re: How to Find Hidden Cameras in Your Airbnb

#207

Post by gordaco »

JacKTrocinskI wrote: post #6

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…

As someone living in a "touristy" area, and who has close friends, workmates and relatives who have been evicted because of the ridiculous increase of the rent prices in the last 3 or 4 years, I also seriously hope Airbnb's business model gets relentlessly banned everywhere.

I haven't personally experimented sharing a building with an Airbnb rented flat, but I know a few people who have. Saying that they are not happy is an understatement.

I've also heard about tenants (normal tenants, i.e. rented by the month) who rented one of the flat's rooms in Airbnb, which in the end caused complains from the neighbours to the flat owner. IIRC this is illegal in my country, but it's not like that is much of a deterrent, apparently.

Seriously, fuck Airbnb. They are the number one cause of the decrease in purchasing power and quality of life in my area in the latest year, and believe me, that's saying something.

Re: How to Find Hidden Cameras in Your Airbnb

#208

Post by dylan604 »

terryf wrote: post #53
JacKTrocinskI wrote: post #6

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…

> However you have to pay a bit more.

I've been looking into AirBnB for certain situations, and because people tell me they are cheaper than hotels. However, I have found that in a lot of cases, hotels end up being cheaper. The big gotcha is the prices shown are the fee for the room (or house or whatever), but then at the end they tack on exorbitant "cleaning" fees that I have found to be greater than the rental fee. They have taken to using big graphics promoting living wages as a way to justify the extensive cleaning fees. In the end, it is much less hassle for me to just book the hotel. They have dedicated staff that allows me to arrive and check-in whenever, rather than having a small window of time before the "host" goes to bed or what not.

Re: How to Find Hidden Cameras in Your Airbnb

#209

Post by adwww »

terryf wrote: post #53
JacKTrocinskI wrote: post #6

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've personally used AirBnb when I've stayed somewhere on my own and just wanted a spare room to crash in, with the added bonus of some company, and also to rent an entire detached house in the French countryside with my family for 2 weeks.

Both of these AirBnb offered something way better than a hotel.

I do agree that that middle ground - a whole apartment in a mixed residential building - is problematic, and I'd feel awkward staying in that setting.

Re: How to Find Hidden Cameras in Your Airbnb

#210

Post by TeMPOraL »

BurningFrog wrote: post #196
ineedasername wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.google.com/search?q=social+contract Basically it's the understanding that we're all in this together and we shouldn't mess things in some way for other people purely for our own benefit. Think of it as avoiding negative-sum situations. More formally: an implicit agreement among the members of a society to cooperate for social benefits, for example by sacrificing some individual freedom for state protectio…

It's also something no one ever signed, and is a concept loved only by those benefiting from the current order.

> It's also something no one ever signed

Which is why we don't have to reinvent civilization every generation, forever not leaving the caves.

> and is a concept loved only by those benefiting from the current order.

Which, under reflection, should be most people, as the alternatives available through abandoning civilized society are strictly worse.

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