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Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

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Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#301

Post by ryandrake »

ghaff wrote: post #182
callalex wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

First thing I do when I check into a hotel is find the Do Not Disturb sign and hang it on the outside doorknob. It stays there until I check out. Even then, it does not stop cleaning staff from trying.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#302

Post by archagon »

kube-system wrote: post #214
notyourwork wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those types of Airbnb's are long gone, now its entirely commercial.

They are not gone, I book them all the time. They're hard to find, but they exist.

How are they even hard to find? They’re one of the three top level filter options.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#304

Post by ghaff »

dsr_ wrote: post #242
tuwtuwtuwtuw wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No they don't.

Many companies act as though they believe that they have a fiduciary duty to not think further than the next quarter's results. Are you happy now?

Companies obviously do care (a lot) about their current quarterly results. But if they literally did not care about what happens in the future, they could cut a ton of costs. They probably have a ton of engineering and marketing that isn't essential to the next quarterly earnings.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#305

Post by Salgat »

lazyasciiart wrote: post #257
Salgat wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no situation where cameras are acceptable in another person's living space, so whether this only affects honest hosts is irrelevant; as long as it reduces usage, it is a good thing. Imagine hotels arguing for allowing cameras in their suites because they are "honest".

I believe the argument is that dishonest hotels will simply say "Yep, we got rid of cameras too!" without actually doing so.

You could never trust a host to respond honestly about that anyways, so it's a moot point. AirBNB up until recently never acted on indoor cameras, and didn't care if a user reported it even if they felt the host hid/misled that information.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#306

Post by hilux »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #76
_yb2s wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Cleaning fees aren't a "scam" - most property owners really do need to pay someone to clean the property at the end of a stay. But, as another commenter said, they can be used as a way to encourage longer stays, as with most places you only pay a single cleaning fee regardless of the length of your stay. But, again, it's just a fact that these rentals are usually just cleaned between guests (as opposed to a hotel whe…

When the cleaning fee frequently exceeds the per-night rate, AND the guest is expected to do a significant amount of cleaning(!) ... that's a scam.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#307

Post by lotsofpulp »

lazyasciiart wrote: post #257
Salgat wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no situation where cameras are acceptable in another person's living space, so whether this only affects honest hosts is irrelevant; as long as it reduces usage, it is a good thing. Imagine hotels arguing for allowing cameras in their suites because they are "honest".

I believe the argument is that dishonest hotels will simply say "Yep, we got rid of cameras too!" without actually doing so.

I have never heard of hotels putting cameras inside rooms.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#308

Post by kube-system »

archagon wrote: post #302
kube-system wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are not gone, I book them all the time. They're hard to find, but they exist.

How are they even hard to find? They’re one of the three top level filter options.

That's not really what I'm talking about. Yes, the "room in someone's home" is a subset of "people's personal homes", but some of my best Airbnb experiences were entire homes that were someone's personal home (or duplex style arrangements), that were being rented out on a temporary basis. There is no filter for this.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#309

Post by lotsofpulp »

klinquist wrote: post #266
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 a host. I charge a $200 cleaning fee and my cleaners charge me $250, so I lose money on cleaning. I ask guests to: * Strip the beds (otherwise, I find that people re-make beds and it's hard to tell if they have been slept in), * Load and start the dishwasher (the dishwasher takes 4 hrs, and the cleaners travel to my remote house, and I want to make sure they can finish in about that time) * Take the trash down to…

>(otherwise, I find that people re-make beds and it's hard to tell if they have been slept in),

That is why any half decent hotel has protocol to always change all the linens anytime someone rents a room.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#310

Post by carlosjobim »

nick12r55t1 wrote: post #75
throwaway290 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> if a guest uses every dish in the kitchen without doing a wash up, they cleaning crew could be there for hours If it is $200 then that should cover 10 man hours of cleaning in a developed country. I had similar issues as a guest on Airbnb, paid a cleaning fee $100+ and then had complaints that I left food in the fridge (like normal a pack of milk or something not growing new lifeforms) and couch pillow on the floor…

Ha, $20/hr for house cleaners is so 2020. They're much more than that in reality.

What do you think hotels pay their cleaners?
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