Guest snooped through my bedroom and private bathroom, Airbnb removed my review

[Christopher187]

I recently had a guest that, while I was not home, entered my bedroom, snooped around, then went into my private attached bathroom and searched through the medicine cabinet and vanity drawers.  The guest then returned back to my bedroom, snooped a bit more, and even walked up to look closely at my computer screen.  The guest said nothing until I asked them about it later, upon which they explained that they were looking for toilet paper, which I don't keep in my private bedroom or on my computer screen.

I left a review describing what happened, and the guest was able to get it removed within a day.  The Airbnb rep could not say with any specificity what terms the review violated.

I don't know what to say about this.  I hope none of you unknowingly have to host this guest, but you'll never know since the review is gone...

[Linda108]

@Christopher187   Do you have interior camera's (or computer camera) that provided you with this information?  I thought that was against the TOS with Air BNB.  Perhaps that is related to the review removal.  BTW, could your personal bedroom be locked when you are not present?  

[Susan151]

@Linda108 You can certainly have cameras in your own non-shared, private spaces. I suspect it must be disclosed however.

[Christopher187]

Supposing I did have a camera within my personal private bedroom, does Airbnb really expect me to disclose this to a guest who has absolutely no business in my bedroom?  

I'm pretty sure that is not the reason for the removal of the review.

Update: I was able to get an answer from an Airbnb rep for why the review was removed.  The review listed a number of issues from cleanliness, floor damage, stolen towels, driving over the lawn, and the entry into my bedroom.  Here is the last line of the review that the rep claims was in violation: "We made it through, even had an episode with a visit from 3 firemen and 2 EMT's for [the guest], but I would not want to repeat the experience."  This line was describing a situation where the guest had friends over and one of them called 911, which resulted in a very intrusive visit.  After speaking to one of the firemen, he thought the guest was being dramatic and it was not necessary for them to be there.  I spoke to the firemen at length and we pretty much determined the guest was a drama type (I'd be coming to the same conclusion myself after living with him).  I felt it was necessary to warn other hosts about this type of thing but didn't want to get into the nitty gritty, so I wrote what I wrote, and nothing else about the incident.  Airbnb claims this line reveals private information about the guest.  The rep cannot explain why the whole review needed to be taken down.  

[Suzanne302]

@Christopher187 Just FYI, yes, you do have do disclose ALL cameras on your property or you risk being delisted. This is one of the things Airbnb takes very seriously.

That being said, snooping in personal private areas is my absolute pet peeve!! That's why I have cameras in all three areas in my listing marked "PRIVATE." I also keep a key lock on my personal bedroom door.

The other bedroom marked "Private" is across from the guest room and even with the sign, and the disclosure of the cameras (nobody reads!) I still had two "snoopers." Luckily for me, they just poked their head in, looked around, then closed the door. After the second time, I decided to lock that door to keep snoopers from being tempted. It's just one of those button locks, easily opened, but definitely a deterrent.

[Linda108]

@Christopher187   Seems like you had many reasons for a thumbs down review not just the snooping.  Once you do not recommend a guest, a short "not suited to shared home environment" is sufficient.  Keep details to a minimum.

Disclose all cameras as to not do so is not allowed.  Why wouldn't you do that unless you are looking to "catch" bad behavior rather than deter it.

[Christopher187]

Maybe I feel that my bedroom is my private space and I don't want to disclose the things I do or don't have in it on the internet.  Has Airbnb actually made a ruling or something on disclosing a camera that is in a place that the guest isn't supposed to access?  I also can't control what other guests might have in their private bedrooms - what if a guest has their own camera in their room?

[Ange2]

@Christopher187     I also do not understand why a host has to disclose cameras in an enclosed (i.e not overlooking a guest area), off-limits, private area  not offered to a guest that could only be accessed if the guest was trespassing. The Airbnb article is a fuzzy, broad catch-all,  it says "around" a listing,  if push came to shove "around" could be argued  as the enclosed, off-limits host area.  If I had a camera, to be on the safe side, considering the article gives Airbnb huge latitude for interpretation should it become an issue,  I would just say private, enclosed, off-limits host areas are surveilled by cameras.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/887/what-are-airbnbs-rules-about-security-cameras-and-other-reco...

[Cross-Cultural0]

It is completely legal and a good idea to have security cameras installed inside the host’s private room that is not accessible to guests.

[Paul154]

@Christopher187 

That the review was pulled is unfortunate. As @Linda108  says, best to keep it short say it can be published.

After you found her going through your bedroom, why did you not kick her out?

This is a dangerous, scamming guest. 

No money is worth keeping her in your home.

[Christopher187]

It was very near the end of the guest's stay.  Had it been at the beginning, I would have wanted to end the booking.

[Mark116]

I actually think the airbnb rules on surveillance cameras are ambiguous in terms of a camera in a host's private area.  The private area would not be part of the listing, and so it seems it shouldn't come under the guidelines because guests would never be exposed to the camera unless they were breaking the rules..of course that won't stop airbnb from delisting someone for having a camera in their own space that records guests breaking in....but I don't think it's as clear cut as people are making it out to be.  

[Suzanne302]

@Mark116It says "in or around a listing" so I'm pretty sure even those private areas are considered "around" the listing. Ridiculous? Maybe. But of all the things Airbnb seems to not budge on, cameras are one that I've heard multiple hosts get booted off or suspended for. I don't think cameras in private areas should need to be disclosed, but we all know how much sense Airbnb rules make sometimes. 🙂

It's like a thief suing a homeowner for getting injured on their property. Well, if you hadn't been commiting a CRIME, you wouldn't have been injured. If they hadn't broken the RULES, the camera wouldn't have been triggered.... *sigh*

@Christopher187Not sure why you would be so against disclosing cameras? Homeshare hosts do give up a certain amount of privacy and while no one should EVER enter a host's personal, private space, being unwilling to disclose cameras, of all things, doesn't make sense and seems a little paranoid. I don't mean that in any disrespectful way. Just an observation. We absolutely don't want our privacy violated, but, we take a chance that it will happen by opening our home to strangers so we have to accept the risks and the consequences.

[Linda108]

I agree with you about protecting rule breakers, @Suzanne302 .  Still I do not understand why hosts do not lock private areas.  I actually installed all new interior door knobs and each has a simple lock that uses a simple hex key.  It is not meant to be totally secure, but it does mean that the guest would have to be deliberate in finding and using the hex key.  

[Christopher187]

A few thoughts come to mind:

I don't want other guests to think that my home/guests are so sketchy that I think I need to have cameras in my bedroom.

I don't want people to misread something about cameras in the bedroom and think for some reason that there might be cameras in the guest bedrooms.

I don't want a guest, now aware of an interior camera, to scam me (imagine: guest purposely walks into my bedroom and does something embarrassing on camera, then blows up my world about how I 'spied' on them).

I don't want anyone, now aware of a camera, to try to gain access to it.

Shall I go on?