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Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

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Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#291

Post by kube-system »

kwhitefoot wrote: post #270
kube-system wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My experience was such that it wasn't that way at all. The camera was indoors but not in areas of the house where someone would be walking around without clothing, and they were clearly disclosed in advance before booking, and they were clearly visible in the home.

Why would I not be able to be naked in all parts of the house?

Some houses have areas where it is fairly reasonable that people wouldn't be running around naked, e.g common areas shared with others, or rooms with a large amount of glass open to the exterior of the home. And in some cases it might even be illegal for you to be naked in those areas if exposed to others.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#292

Post by idiotsecant »

victorbjorklund wrote: post #201
idiotsecant wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, scam is the right word. It could pretty easily be rolled into the advertised nightly rate.

Lets say their cost for cleaning is 100 usd. Without cleaning they the price per night is 150 usd. How much should the price increase per night to cover the cost of cleaning? So either too low for people staying one night or too high for people staying multiple nights. Why is it better?

Somehow hotels that don't clean every night figured this out like a million years ago.

Averaging

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#293

Post by yurishimo »

nox101 wrote: post #259
biomcgary wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Airbnb is a marketplace with a much wider range of "products" than standard hotels. I have found stays that fit my needs far better than any hotel ever could. I am both a host on Airbnb and frequent guest. Airbnb's UI needs to guide prospective guests toward specifying what they are looking for so that prices (and price sorting) actually meets their expectations. If you search for a specific date range with # of gues…

I've used Airbnb 25 times. 12 of those times had issues. Issues like "parking space included" - show up, no parking "wifi included" - show up, wifi is sitting next to window and stealing from neighbor listed on quiet road - after booking address is changed to unit on busy road heater is so loud it sounds like a vacuum cleaner making getting any sleep hard I no longer use AirBnB period. Hotels have extra rooms, recept…

It’s good for consumers this way I think. The hotels were forced to compete and I think overall are better than they were 20 years ago.

For normal people, they are not aware of this different form of rented lodging and if you’re hosting a big family vacation or a retreat, Airbnb is not a bad option.

It’s the bottom of the Airbnb market that is completely screwed up.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#294

Post by EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK »

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.

Airbnb has a normal fridge, a microwave, a washing machine, a dishwasher and 700-100 sq ft area. A similarly priced hotel room will have 250 sq ft area and none of the above amenities.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#295

Post by Symbiote »

netsharc wrote: post #252
xnx wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not a fan of how AirBnB has displayed pricing in the past, but don't lose sight of how bad hotel pricing is: taxes and fees not displayed until the checkout page, "resort" fees added at any time, etc. There are no good guys here.

Maybe that's the US hotel booking experience, I live in Europe and haven't encountered those dumb fees.

There are occasionally local tax rates that differ depending on the type of traveller, e.g. no tax for business travellers, €2/night for tourists. I've mostly seen it in Germany.

It's generally written somewhere, but on aggregation sites like hotels.com and booking.com it seems the hotel can't alter the advertised price directly.

Example: https://www.hotels.com/ho119759/maritim-hotel-koln-cologne-g...

> A city tax is imposed by the city of Cologne. Business travellers with proof of business-related travel are exempt from this tax. For more details, please contact the property using the information on the reservation confirmation received after booking.

> An effective city/local tax rate of 5.00 per cent will be charged

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#296

Post by archagon »

nox101 wrote: post #259
biomcgary wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Airbnb is a marketplace with a much wider range of "products" than standard hotels. I have found stays that fit my needs far better than any hotel ever could. I am both a host on Airbnb and frequent guest. Airbnb's UI needs to guide prospective guests toward specifying what they are looking for so that prices (and price sorting) actually meets their expectations. If you search for a specific date range with # of gues…

I've used Airbnb 25 times. 12 of those times had issues. Issues like "parking space included" - show up, no parking "wifi included" - show up, wifi is sitting next to window and stealing from neighbor listed on quiet road - after booking address is changed to unit on busy road heater is so loud it sounds like a vacuum cleaner making getting any sleep hard I no longer use AirBnB period. Hotels have extra rooms, recept…

For what it’s worth, I’ve used Airbnb around 60 times and found it a much better experience than a hotel 9/10 times. Even putting aside amenities such as kitchen and washer/dryer access, hotels always feel like unnerving liminal spaces to me. Very few hotels I’ve stayed at have felt “homey,” which puts a significant psychological damper on my trip.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#298

Post by bonton89 »

autoexec wrote: post #169

> The change comes after numerous reports of guests finding hidden cameras within their rental, leading some vacation-goers to scan their rooms for cameras. Checking for cameras seems like a smart move no matter what their policy is. You just never know.

How do you reliably find cameras?

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#299

Post by BeFlatXIII »

_yb2s wrote: post #48
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…

At this point the cleaning fees are just a scam to make the listing fee seem artificially lower. People did the same thing on eBay by making the items almost free but the shipping expensive, until they fixed the eBay interface, e.g. by letting you sort by price + shipping and showing shipping fees before you click.

This is also how airlines work these days. Separate airfare from fees and baggage, then trick travelers with low sticker prices.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#300

Post by archagon »

booleandilemma wrote: post #158
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…

A $200 cleaning fee is more expensive than a night at many Manhattan hotels. Actual hotels. With full service. Is airbnb even worth it?

FWIW, the last hotel I stayed at in Manhattan was $300 a day and had no service. And this was a big name hotel too, not some budget option.
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