What’s Happening With Hidden Cameras At Airbnbs?

Sexual assault at Airbnb has been a problem in a lot of ways. It’s like any other place, a hotel. There are security measures that are not only required, but I think expected by the consumer. So, for example, some of the sexual assault incidents that we’ve seen have dealt with a host who rents a space where the host is actually going to be present, whether it’s a “shared space,” or if it’s a duplex or a triplex, the host is on-site. There could be a situation, and I hate to even talk about it, where a host assaults their guest because they know they’re going to be there. They know who they are when they’re coming, and they have access to the entire property. 

Another situation that could occur is in a shared space, just like if it was a youth hostel or maybe a hotel. One guest could attack another guest. And I think that there is an expectation when someone is renting out their property to make sure that they vet the people, to make sure the people are safe. People coming over don’t have a criminal record, for example, or are not known criminals. But also that there are some policies and procedures in place that prevent these kinds of events from occurring. 

And the last incident that I’d like to talk about is the negligent security situation, where the property becomes accessed or is accessible by someone unauthorized. And it could have been a past guest, maybe it’s a future guest, we don’t know, but it’s somebody who’s not supposed to be there and then attacks a victim who is staying at the property. So, the way I see it, there’s kind of like three different situations that occur: there’s the host, there’s the shared space, and then there’s the unauthorized person at the Airbnb.