How Does New Camera Policy Impact Camera in a Garage

[Bradley237]

I will go live with a new listing for a home near a pair of stadium & concert venues. 

I had planned to have a camera monitor the interior of the garage which has an entry into the home. 

The primary reason is to prevent occupancy over the limit set by city and HOA. They’re also extremely strict about noise and party violations. 

Does the new policy allow for a camera to monitor the entrance to the home from the garage if the guest is notified of its presence or is that against the rules?

[Jessica3739]

I would assume, if it is an outdoor camera I.e. on the outside of the garage, it’s fine. But if the garage has internal access it probably isn’t as it could be deemed a shared space. I could be totally wrong but that would be my understanding. Best to reach out and doublecheck so you aren’t stung if a guest decides to report it.

[Bradley237]

Thanks for the response. Who is the right party to ask?

[Kelly2254]

Would love to know what you find out.  We are in the same boat.  We have zero desire to have any cameras indoors, but only want to monitor points of entry.  We have a nice empty garage, ping pong table for entertainment, and a staircase up to the door to the interior.  The only way we can monitor a violation of pets or excess guests is a camera that captures a quick motion clip on the staircase.  With an outside camera on the garage door, we will have no ability to see any pets or excess guests who drive in. 

[Bhumika]

Hi @Bradley237 @Kelly2254 , as @Jessica3739 mentioned, Hosts cannot place cameras in garages. Hosts are also not allowed to have security cameras and recording devices that monitor any part of a listing’s interior. 

It would be also worth reaching out to Airbnb Customer Support to get relevant guidance with this one. Sharing an Airbnb article in case it helps regarding the Use and disclosure of security cameras .

Hope this information helps 🌻!

[Jessica3739]

When calling Airbnb support they are still stating hosts are allowed to have cameras in their home in shared areas. I have written documentation confirming this. Reaching out to Airbnb seems to be a thankless exercise. They are being of no help to hosts by not speaking to these issues or providing clear guidance. Instead they are just causing more confusion.

[Elliot4]

Here is a customer service agent confirming today the exact opposite (see photo). There is a ton of confusion in this area and garages need to be explicitly identified in the actual policy page.

[Joni118]

I would also like to know. I have a camera pointed towards my locked cabinets that just so happened to catch my guests last month breaking into them and Airbnb stood up for me and I had them leave.  I don’t want to remove this because it’s also another entry into the house. 

[Tara784]

We have cameras in the garage and reached out to airbnb customer service to make sure they're still OK. We were told verbally, on the phone, that the garage cameras were fine since the garage is not listed as one of the rooms in our listing. According to that person, that's how they determine what is considered "inside." Similarly, screened in patios (with screen doors and roof, which you could go nuts and label "indoors" if you wanted to) are also fine. She stated she would send us something in writing, but what was sent in writing did not specifically address garages or screened in patios. So take that for what its worth. I assume they called because that's a policy they don't want to put in writing, for whatever reason. It seems like a pretty obvious gray area that they should have spelled out one way or the other.