Hidden cameras: what travelers need to know
This month, Airbnb announced that the company would do so from April 30 ban on the use of surveillance cameras in his rental. The news was welcomed by those concerned about privacy.
“Cameras are both creepy and a threat,” said Albert Fox Cahn, executive director of the Surveillance Technology Monitoring Projectwhich has been campaigning for a ban on cameras in Airbnbs since 2022. “People are terrified that their intimate moments will be photographed without their consent and that owners will be able to monitor their activities within a rental property.”
For many travelers, Airbnb’s new policy has raised some fundamental questions: What were the cameras even doing there? And what are the rights of travelers when it comes to privacy in hotels and rental properties?
Public use of cameras
Cameras are, of course, everywhere in public life, from the self-checkout kiosks at big box stores to airport terminals.
Like other businesses, hotels and vacation rentals use surveillance cameras for two reasons, says Michael McCall, a Hilton Hotels Fellow at Michigan State University’s School of Hospitality Business: to protect their customers and their property.
For example, a traveler may feel safer going to a hotel room or rental apartment with a security camera in the hallway. And a hotel or host can use cameras to monitor property damage or theft, although whether surveillance is effective in preventing crime is a long-standing debate among privacy and security advocates.
“There’s a balance between ‘How do I protect my stuff’ while at the same time not invading the guest’s expected privacy,” Mr. McCall said. “Airbnb said the inside is off limits.”
States differ on whether and to what extent consent is required for surveillance, and there are different rules for audio and video recordings.
“U.S. privacy law is fragmented at best,” Doris DelTosto Brogan, a law professor and Heller McGuinness Endowed Leadership Chair at Villanova University’s Charles Widger School of Law in Villanova, Pennsylvania, wrote in an email. She noted that some federal privacy laws apply to all states, but each state can develop its own privacy laws.
Airbnb previously navigated these schools by requiring that indoor cameras in common areas, such as hallways and kitchens, be disclosed to the tenant.
The short-term rental platform since 2022 VRBO has banned the use of indoor cameras, except those that are made public to guests and can be deactivated by them.
In a statement, the American Hotel and Lodging Associationwhich represents 80 percent of all franchised hotels in the United States, said surveillance cameras in hotels should be limited to common areas – such as lobbies and swimming pools – for security reasons.
‘Reasonable expectation of privacy’
While regulations vary by state, more legal protections also cover video recording without consent in private spaces such as bedrooms and bathrooms.
At the federal level, the Video Voyeurism Prevention Act of 2004 prohibits “knowingly videotaping, photographing, filming, recording in any manner, or broadcasting an image of a private area of an individual, without that individual’s consent, under circumstances where that individual has a reasonable expectation of has privacy.”
Many states and federal laws rely on the expectation of privacy. “So that would often be a bedroom or a bathroom, for example, but not necessarily a common area like a living room,” says Raymond Ku, the John Homer Kapp Professor of Law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio.
But it is the illegal use of hidden cameras that has shocked travelers.
Earlier this month, a Royal Caribbean cruise ship cabin crew was arrested on federal charges of producing and possessing child pornography by installing video cameras in guests’ bathrooms and capturing intimate images of passengers as young as 10.
In February there was a man arrested in Palm Beach County, Florida, on charges of video voyeurism for secretly filming sixteen different people, sometimes at Airbnb locations.
In September, a 14-year-old passenger on an American Airlines plane discovered an iPhone taped to a toilet seat, which her family said flight attendant was installed.
Legal and security experts believe such invasions are exceptions given the millions of people who travel every day, but warrant vigilance.
“People who want to use cameras for nefarious reasons are still participating,” said Kenneth Bombace, the intelligence agency’s CEO. Solutions to global threatswhich describes a new generation of recording devices that are small, subtle and cheap.
How to find hidden cameras
In his company, Mr. Bombace uses high-tech devices to conduct searches — from hotel rooms to corporate boardrooms — for hidden recording devices.
For travelers without a high profile or celebrity status, he recommends a “common sense location search.”
This includes looking for small recording devices or telltale lenses in anything plugged into a power source, such as a clock radio, electrical outlets themselves, and battery-charged electronics like smoke detectors and Bluetooth speakers. Turn off the lights and use a flashlight (a cell phone flashlight is sufficient) to look for flashing lights that could reveal a camera.
If you’re not sure, you can throw a towel over an electronic device or tape up the electrical outlets.
Because many recording devices require an Internet connection to stream footage, check the Wi-Fi network on any connected devices and ask the homeowner or property manager what they are. Apps like Network analyzer And Ubiquiti WiFi guy scans networks and detects connected devices.
Numerous portable gadgets on Amazon, priced at less than $150, it claims to detect hidden cameras.
“None of the technologies are 100 percent effective, but they minimize and reduce the chance that a recording device will go undetected,” Mr. Bombace said.
What story do you have?
If you find a hidden camera in a hotel room or short-term rental, collect evidence by taking photos or videos and contacting the police. Then look for new accommodations.
Airbnb directs guests to report privacy violations to it customer support team. HomeAway does the same and notes website that if you leave a property because of the violation, “the host may be required to refund the entire stay” and be kicked off the platform.
Landlords still have methods to ensure their property rules are not abused. Both Vrbo and Airbnb offer hosts the option to use devices that measure sound decibels outdoors without recording conversations if disclosed to renters. Vrbo mentions its use to ward off potential noise complaints from neighbors. Airbnb, which is banned party housessays the devices can detect “unauthorized parties.”
The platforms still allow remote cameras at rental properties as long as they are disclosed to the guest before arrival. The disclosure is usually included in the listing and the device should not be used for indoor peeking. HomeAway goes even further when it comes to outdoor pool cameras, requiring notice both in the property descriptions and on site.