Founded in 2008, Airbnb is an online platform that facilitates short and long-term homestays and experiences, serving as a broker and earning a commission from each transaction.
During the pandemic, the hospitality industry was heavily impacted, with travelers becoming more hesitant to stay in hotels. This led to a surge in interest in alternative accommodations, and Airbnb experienced a significant increase in demand. As a result, Airbnb continues to ride this wave, and in 2023, they added over 1 million listings worldwide, further expanding their platform to cater to the growing demand. However, with such a rapidly expanding platform, there are always challenges and issues that need to be addressed to ensure that the platform remains safe, reliable, and user-friendly for its hosts and guests.
Some Airbnb hosts have put themselves in their own hot water by acting foolishly.
- The one who rented former slaves’ quarters
- The Airbnb ad that included fat shaming
- The host who was either passive-aggressive or a clean freak
However, the biggest concern for guests staying at an Airbnb is the possibility of the host using a security camera. In fact, a plethora of hosts have hidden cameras on their properties (here’s how to find them.) Airbnb’s policy was that a host could use a security camera but only in common areas of listings, such as hallways and living rooms, as long as they were disclosed on the listing page before booking, clearly visible and were not located in spaces like sleeping areas and bathrooms.
In a major policy shift, Airbnb is prohibiting hosts worldwide from having indoor cameras as of March 11, 2024. To give hosts time to comply with these changes, the updated policy will come into effect on April 30. Airbnb’s Head of Community Policy and Partnerships, Juniper Downs provided this reasoning for the policy change.
Our goal was to create new, clear rules that provide our community with greater clarity about what to expect on Airbnb. These changes were made in consultation with our guests, Hosts and privacy experts, and we’ll continue to seek feedback to help ensure our policies work for our global community.
In addition to banning indoor security cameras, new rules also apply to outdoor cameras. Outdoor cameras like doorbell cameras are permitted, but hosts must inform guests about their presence and location before booking. These cameras cannot monitor indoor spaces and are prohibited in certain outdoor areas where privacy is expected, such as an enclosed outdoor shower or sauna.
Noise decibel monitors are also allowed, but they can only assess decibel levels, do not record or transmit sounds or conversations, and are only allowed in common spaces of listings.
You can read the entire post detailing the changes on the Airbnb website.
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