No, you can’t hide a security camera into your Airbnb rental photos and call that ‘disclosure’

One person’s recent experience at an Airbnb has the company apologizing and clarifying its rules on surveillance devices.

Airbnb recently dismissed a privacy concern from one if its users when he discovered security cameras inside his Airbnb rental. The cameras were not mentioned in the Airbnb listing, as required by the company’s rules. After the user went public with his ordeal, Airbnb refunded the user, banned the host, and clarified that the listing did indeed break Airbnb policy.

When Jeffrey Bigham rented a home on Airbnb for himself and his family over the winter holiday break, everything seemed to check out. The Carnegie Mellon University professor detailed how he went over the description, checked out the photos, and did his due diligence before renting the home.

However, a day or so after arriving at the Airbnb rental, Bigham noticed security cameras perched in the corners of living areas in the house.

“I was shocked, and immediately unplugged them,” wrote Bigham. “I don’t think we did anything particularly weird in front of that camera, but it’s very likely that my 2-year-old ran in front of this camera naked.”

Bigham looked over the listing of the rental on Airbnb again. The description mentioned security cameras outside the house, but none on in the inside. Airbnb’s concerning surveillance devices clearly state that “If you’re a host and you have any type of surveillance device in or around a listing, even if it’s not turned on or hooked up, we require that you indicate its presence in your House Rules.” This includes wifi cameras, which were what Bigham found in his rental.

When Bigham first contacted Airbnb, he was told that the appearance of a camera in the corner of a room in that single photo he tweeted out was enough of a proper disclosure. According to Bigham, his Airbnb host found out about his questioning of the device, sent someone to check in on them, and left a negative review questioning what the family could have possibly been hiding.

After Bigham experience, he shared a firsthand account of his Airbnb stay on Twitter where it began to spread.

Airbnb is now reversing course on their dismissal. In a statement provided to Mashable, Airbnb tells us: 

“Our community’s privacy and safety is our priority, and our original handling of this incident did not meet the high standards we set for ourselves. We have apologized to Mr. Bigham and fully refunded him for his stay. We require hosts to clearly disclose any security cameras in writing on their listings and we have strict standards governing surveillance devices in listings. This host has been removed from our community.”

Airbnb’s surveillance device rules specifically came about to the cases of its users hidden cameras within their rentals. The company’s rules state that a full disclosure of these devices must be made within a listings description. 

The company did finally made it right for Bigham. Hopefully, the next time a user finds themself facing such a harrowing experience, Airbnb has their back from the outset.