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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

#311

Post by randomsearch »

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…

I agree, except for when you’re staying in someone’s spare room. That seems like a genuinely good idea, and I’ve met some great people and had formative experiences through that.

But booking out entire apartments is the problem. My friend lives in London and the block is being overtaken by Airbnb, and it’s making him miserable. Too much noise, too little sleep.

Re: How to Find Hidden Cameras in Your Airbnb

#312

Post by TeMPOraL »

xtiansimon wrote: post #303
TeMPOraL wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. And what's extra sad here is that once a company like Uber or AirBnB gains large-scale success, there are only two things that happen. Some places accept it and eat the social externalities. Others try to ban the practice, but legislation is expensive, enforcement is expensive, and it also hurts the society by making illegal what was previously just fine on a small scale. I think societies need to learn to r…

>> “I think societies need to learn to recognize this pattern ASAP, because the best outcome is nipping such companies in the bud, before they grow and leave only two bad options on the table..” Who are you specificities referring to when you say ‘societies’? Government? Consumers?

Both!

Re: How to Find Hidden Cameras in Your Airbnb

#313

Post by skgoa »

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.

But this stems from lots of people having bad experiences with obnoxious people who will not stop before the police is called.

Re: How to Find Hidden Cameras in Your Airbnb

#314

Post by skgoa »

rhacker wrote: post #193
voidwtf wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

"I think they just don't care" Yep, if you ever lived in a vacation destination you know.

Some people even seem to see their 2 weeks vacation abroad as their annual excuse to act out power fantasies.

Re: How to Find Hidden Cameras in Your Airbnb

#315

Post by kurthr »

52-6F-62 wrote: post #76
kurthr wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These work if the camera manufacturer really doesn't care and puts the lens on the outside. However, if they do care and put a circular polarizer with an anti-reflective film on top... like your OLED phone has, then that will cut the reflection >100x. You probably won't see them and they'll only lose 50% of the light.

Would polarized sunglasses work in that case then? I regularly get a shimmer from any LCD or OLED phone when on the town

No, unfortunately circular polarizers kill any specular reflection that goes in. To do them you need a wide spectrum 45 deg phase delay film on top of the polarizer. You can buy the circular polarizer film, but note that it has a front/back (it's not symmetric).

Another confusing attack is to put a camera behind a much larger half-slivered mirror... that does the job too because everything reflects... add a circular polarizer to that :^\

Re: How to Find Hidden Cameras in Your Airbnb

#316

Post by Symbiote »

alistairSH wrote: post #274
Symbiote wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it says "we have a lounge where you can meet people, and info on trips" it's a backpacker hostel. If it says "we have a great atmosphere, and go clubbing every night" it's a party hostel. If it says "we have family and dorm rooms, kitchens and car parking" it's probably for families or school trips. There are also hostels used by people who are essentially homeless, though I've never seen one advertised. I knew so…

"apart-hotel" isn't really something that exists in the US. And I had no idea it was a searchable term in some online booking tools. Somebody mentioned extended-stay hotels elsewhere as the closest analog in the US, but they tend to be focused on business travelers, and not always located in tourist areas. For example, there are a ton of extended-stay hotels near my office, but that's 30 miles outside Washington DC i…

I stayed in one in Ottawa, but I wouldn't be surprised if they are only common in areas popular with families on holiday, and large cities.

Edinburgh has some.

https://www.adagio-city.com/gb/home/ has many across Europe (also listed on hotels.com).

Re: How to Find Hidden Cameras in Your Airbnb

#317

Post by edanm »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #108
risyachka wrote: post #104

Airbnb is not evil. Tourists that don't care or follow the rules are. Without Airbnb, they will bring the same problems just to other people in other places. Many hotels do charge unjustified amounts of money, so I am personally happy there is an option to pay reasonable money for good service. Also, it's not like hotels don't have their share of problems. Many hotels in many countries offer you pure garbage when you…

Now for the counterargument: Airbnb is evil, because it facilitates and profits from rule and lawbreaking, up to and including turning whole apartment buildings into pirate hotels, while spinning the tale that it's all about individuals occasionally renting out their primary place of residence for a couple of days. It's evil because while occasional random temporary sublets aren't a problem, they become a problem whe…

I don't necessarily agree or disagree with your argument.

But I think the use of the world "evil" here is really bad - it's both wrong, in my mind, and is also hurting your case, because people who can be convinced of it might be put off by insisting that "no, it's evil".

I mean, evil implies a lot of things - it implies this is done intentionally. It implies that anyone working at Airbnb is by association evil. It implies that there is no working with Airbnb.

Whereas if we thought about it more neutrally, we'd have both much clearer remedies, and a much more appealing argument. Instead of "Airbnb is evil, because is facilitates...", we could say "Airbnb causes problems, because it facilitates...". Therefore the solution could be to regulate it in some way. It sounds a lot more silly to say "X is evil, so the solution is to regulate it".

EDIT: I know that you were using the word evil because of the gp, and I disagree with their use of it just as much. I also disagree with gp's point, that it's an "either/or" on who is really evil in this situation.

Re: How to Find Hidden Cameras in Your Airbnb

#318

Post by sschueller »

ukyrgf wrote: post #242
sschueller wrote: post #9

I guess requiring a license to run a hotel or a cab company do have a reason after all. /s

With Uber, I need to have an account, the driver needs to have an account, we need to find each other in the app and both agree to the service, etc. With taxis, they have a license to just pick up any pedestrian and end the transaction with cash.

Right, Uber excludes those who have the least. [1]

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17450526

Re: How to Find Hidden Cameras in Your Airbnb

#319

Post by buboard »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #108
risyachka wrote: post #104

Airbnb is not evil. Tourists that don't care or follow the rules are. Without Airbnb, they will bring the same problems just to other people in other places. Many hotels do charge unjustified amounts of money, so I am personally happy there is an option to pay reasonable money for good service. Also, it's not like hotels don't have their share of problems. Many hotels in many countries offer you pure garbage when you…

Now for the counterargument: Airbnb is evil, because it facilitates and profits from rule and lawbreaking, up to and including turning whole apartment buildings into pirate hotels, while spinning the tale that it's all about individuals occasionally renting out their primary place of residence for a couple of days. It's evil because while occasional random temporary sublets aren't a problem, they become a problem whe…

a counter-counter argument (or ,, just argument?)

> because it facilitates and profits from rule and lawbreaking,

Every business profits from grey areas, and even from regulations which give them advantages. Hotels are also big offenders to this (regulate against their competitors/barrier to entry even before airbnb).

> they become a problem when they stop being random

When there is demand, people find supply. People want ways to live temporarily, and airbnb accelerates this trend. People believing their neighborhoods should never change by tourism/immigration/gentrification are not necessarily less evil

> by encouraging people to break social contract

the social contract may need an update? It's not like anyone ever signs those anyway. People move a lot nowadays, and maybe the idea of an idyllic quiet downtown neighborhood cannot exist without paying premium anymore. There are trends like digital nomading and remote work which are in a steady rise for a decade, and it will only keep rising. Airbnb is perfectly positioned to serve this alternative social contract

Re: How to Find Hidden Cameras in Your Airbnb

#320

Post by danesparza »

learc83 wrote: post #213
nsajko wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> we require hosts to disclose all security cameras and other recording devices in their listings, and we prohibit any security cameras and other recording devices that are in or that observe the interior of certain private spaces (such as bedrooms and bathrooms), regardless of whether they’ve been disclosed.

Banning them only in bedrooms and bathrooms is insane. Common spaces aren't public spaces if you rent out the whole place. If you can't rent out your place without recording your renters, you dont need to be renting.

I completely agree with you.

My point in including the link to the help article is to point out that AirBnB is on the side of disclosure -- so you as a consumer can make that choice for yourself.

Somehow, I don't think many hotels would be that transparent.

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