Would you book a rental with security cameras in communal areas?

[Marcus237]

I'm curious to know from people who say they wouldn't rent at a property with security cameras in the common areas (kitchens/living rooms), do you normally book an entire house?

And if you do, would you find cameras in these places to be more reasonable if someone had a 6 bedroom mansion with several full bathrooms, a jacuzzi, and multiple living rooms, where they rented out each of 5 bedrooms separately, and they themselves stayed in the 6th?

I feel like cameras in the common areas in this case provides security, safety, and accountability not only for the homeowner, but also for the other guests who are staying on a property with strangers that they don't know.

I'm considering putting my place on airbnb to do just that, but I don't want to alienate customers. That said, the price to rent the entire property would likely be prohibitive to most people, so I think I'd have more success renting individual private luxury rooms with access to beautiful, high end common areas. But in doing so, having multiple groups of strangers staying in a single place, I'd think having security cameras to provide accountability would be of the utmost importance. Otherwise, if people break things in the common areas or even steal another guest's property, you'd have no idea who would be accountable for it, and guests may even attempt to hold the host responsible.

What are your thoughts, hosts and guests?

[Anonymous]

@Marcus237   I don't know where you live and what the dynamics of your market are, but generally speaking -  guests who are seeking luxury accommodation ("mansion," "jacuzzi") do not gravitate toward homes shared with multiple guests. The beauty and quality of your fixtures doesn't add much value when you're renting several rooms in the same house; given the choice, people will pay more for added privacy than for added amenities. When you tinker with the search filters, you'll quickly see that on Airbnb a basic, modest Entire Home is worth substantially more than a Private Room in a "mansion" full of random strangers.

I personally wouldn't choose to stay in an Airbnb that used indoor security cameras (feels creepy), and if I wanted to stay in a building with a rotating cast of strangers I would just choose a hotel, where at least the room gets cleaned every day and the bodily fluids are skimmed out of the jacuzzi. Knowing that up to 5 other parties of guests are in the building, I wouldn't find cameras to be adequate as a security measure; I'd also want very strong locks on the private room doors, and 24-hour staff physically present and available - as one would have in a hotel. 

[Marcus237]

That may be true, and my intention isn't to pigeonhole myself into doing one or the other. I've done a good deal of research, and as I understand it, there is software I can get that will synch all of my listings so that I could list the entire house available for rent while also listing each available room for rent. Then if a room gets rented, it will blackout the entire house rental for that date.

The reverse is also true from what I understand, where if someone rents the entire house, it would sync to black out the individual room rentals on that date. I have no problem leaving the cameras in such a situation to where they can be easily unplugged if someone wanted to rent the entire house. In that case, liability isn't as much of a concern, because they're the only one there, so they're responsible for any damage that occurs.

But due to the size of my property, I just think I might have problems getting enough "whole house" bookings, so I didn't want to limit my potential customers. I have trouble imagining there is a whole lot of demand for 6 bedroom places in my area from anyone who isn't going to wreck the place.

[Sarah977]

@Marcus237  I'm a host, and have never stayed as a guest, but I can tell you that I would find interior cameras, no matter what the situation, to be offensive- I would never book a place like that.  No, they wouldn't make me fel safe or secure, they would make me feel uncomfortable and spied upon. I think that it's actually against Airbnb TOS to have interior cameras- you could get delisted for that.

And I fully concur with what Andrew said- I don't think you have your finger on the pulse of what someone booking a luxury listing would want. They certainly wouldn't want some glorified hostel situation.

[Susan151]

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@Sarah977 wrote:

@Marcus237   I think that it's actually against Airbnb TOS to have interior cameras- you could get delisted for that.

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It is allowed in common rooms if disclosed, but the "creep" factor is really high here.

And I too agree with @Anonymous . Luxury hostel is an oxymoron.

[Marcus237]

It's not a "hostel" when people have their own private rooms and bathrooms. It's just more like a hotel.

And, insofar as the "creep" factor goes...there is a camera in every decent hotel lobby and hallway anywhere that you don't have to worry about getting robbed when you step outside.

We're not talking about putting cameras in the areas people utilize for privacy, but in areas where they can already expect to see other people, thereby eliminating any expectation of privacy.

[Marcus237]

Am I to assume you've never stayed in a hotel in the US? They don't have cameras in the rooms, but they have them at the pool, in the lobby, in the breakfast area, in the hallways, etc. Basically, anywhere that they may run into another person who is not in their own party, there are cameras.

Does that creep you out? Would you decline to stay in such hotels?

I am asking because if that is the case, and you wouldn't stay in a hotel either, then I can safely assume your opinion is an extreme minority in regard to CCTV in public areas.

[Kaylee18]

@Marcus237   hmm, that's actually a good argument. Taking that into consideration I can see your stance when comparing your room accommodations to a hotel. 

Would you still use the cameras when renting the entire home? I think that would prevent a lot of people from booking the entire home if cameras are in the common areas. 

[Marcus237]

@Kaylee18As for using the cameras when renting the entire home, that's part of what I was trying to figure out with this thread. Since it seems like a lot of people who rent an entire home would have distaste for cameras in common areas, I likely wouldn't have a problem removing them when the entire home was rented. However, bearing that in mind, I would probably also require a significant security deposit for renting the entire home as well.

Under no circumstances would I disable my outdoor security cameras. If people don't like that, they don't need to rent from me. If a guest attempted to disconnect my outdoor security cameras, I'd ask them to leave.

I've read too many horror stories about guests stealing from hosts or damaging property, and hosts not being able to successfully file a claim with Airbnb without video evidence. Almost everyone who has an easy time working with those claims seems to have video evidence to support their claims.

[Kaylee18]

@Marcus237   Ya that would be a good idea to disable them if you rent the entire house. And ya, definitely have a security deposit for a house if that size. 

Outdoor cameras are great. I have two! 

[Maryam-Al-Fakheer0]

I totally agree with you @Marcus237 and your style of listings. In my area they are the highest booked listings. Soon I will place camera's too in the common area, as I am tired of guests stealing. 

[Sarah977]

@Marcus237  A hotel lobby or hallway isn't the same as a living room, kitchen or other common spaces in a private home. All hostels don't necessarily just have rooms with multiple beds and strangers sharing a room. Many hostels have private rooms. The common denominator is that they share common living areas. So in that sense, what you are descibing, is in fact a hostel-type situation.

You posted here asking for feedback, but if you don't want to consider anyone's advice as valid, of course thats your prerogative. I just don't understad why you'd invite feedback and then balk at getting it just because it wasn't what you wanted to hear.

[Marcus237]

I wasn't balking at it. I asked you a legitimate question. In the US, 99% of hotel rooms are a room with a bed and TV in it, with an attached bathroom. Maybe a table. Any other amenities offered are generally in public areas, like a public pool, hot tub, workout room, TV lounge, breakfast area, bar, lobby, etc.

Does that mean that 99% of "hotels" in the US are "hostels" by your local definition?

I'm not attempting to be combative. I'm trying to ensure we're not having faults in our understanding of one another.

Kitchens and Living rooms at all are rare in hotels, and hotel rooms that have them generally charge a substantial premium for renting a "suite" rather than a typical hotel room.

[Sarah977]

@Marcus237  Your last paragraph catches the essence and the difference-kitchens and living rooms are rare in hotels. When someone rents an airbnb, meaning it is a home, not a hotel, they would rent it because they want a home-like atmosphere (many rent because it's cheaper, but in your case, it might not be). Having cameras trained on you when you're preparing dinner or relaxing watching a movie isn't exactly home-like.

[Marcus237]

I get that. I just don't think the situation is all that home-like in the proposed case, either. I live in my home, so my original plan was mostly to rent out private rooms in it, not the entire house. And in doing so, there would potentially be up to 6 different couples in and around the rooms where you're cooking dinner and/or relaxing watching TV, if you chose to do so in the common area rather than in the large bedroom that you'd rented.

I just don't see the expectation of privacy when I'm really mostly talking about renting private rooms, rather than renting the entire home.

I do understand that it seems like a lot of commenters here only work with "whole home" rentals. But "whole home" is only 1 of 3 different options hosts have when listing. Are "private rooms" and "shared rooms" really that rare or unsuccessful on here?