Man who rents Airbnb room for £40 a night sees ‘webcam’ in sofa – and flees to hotel after finding ‘hundreds of flies’ in property
A man who rented a room on Airbnb for a business trip in the Welsh seaside town of Aberystwyth says he was shocked to find a ‘creepy webcam’ between two sofa cushions in the living room after checking in.
Ian Timbrell, 41, from Cardiff, posted to Am I wrong for unplugging the plug? It seems like a huge invasion of privacy to me!’
Timbrell, who traveled to the Welsh city in his role as an LGBT inclusivity trainer, paid around £40 for the room in the private home, with one other person staying in the property at the time.
His original post has now been viewed more than 875,000 times.
LGBT inclusivity trainer Ian Timbrell traveled to the Welsh town of Aberystwyth for work this week but was shocked to find a camera wedged between two sofa cushions in the Airbnb he had rented
He told his followers that he didn’t notice the device when he first arrived at the house, saying, “I really feel crazy for not noticing it sooner.”
He followed up the photo with a video of himself in the rental home, saying he also discovered flies in the kitchen and decided to leave for a nearby hotel around 8 p.m.
He told viewers: “So after finding the creepy webcam in my Airbnb, it’s now full of flies.”
In the video he spins around and says: ‘Look at them all on the floor, there are absolutely hundreds of them in this house. It’s disgusting.’
He decides to leave quickly and adds, “So at eight o’clock in the evening I have to spend the night somewhere else in a city I don’t know at all.”
The camera was discreetly on the couch, but Timbrell says it took a while for him to notice – Airbnb allows homeowners to record common areas if they alert their guests to the fact they’re being filmed
MailOnline has contacted Airbnb for comment.
In response to his original post, people wondered how legal it was to have cameras in Airbnb properties.
Airbnb states on its website that it prohibits recording devices that are “intentionally hidden” and clearly states that homeowners are not allowed to do so security cameras or recording devices “in or that observe private areas such as bedrooms, bathrooms, or sleeping areas.”
However, cameras are allowed in communal areas, provided the owner is transparent about their presence and tells those renting the rooms or the entire property that recording is taking place – often before booking through the original listing on Airbnb .
Insult to injury: Timbrell told his followers on
The 41-year-old’s video has now been viewed more than 875,000 times
The teacher told MailOnline that he managed to last about two hours in the building before deciding to find another place to stay.
He said he notified the property owner of the problems and that a family member would be around to take care of it, but he says they didn’t show up.
After moving into a hotel, Timbrell posted another video, saying that he managed to find a room with breakfast at the last minute and that he wouldn’t be caught the same way again. He said: ‘Lesson learned, hotel stays from now on’ .’