Post by High Priestess on Nov 3, 2015 4:18:29 GMT
Michael shared Nov 2 2015
Security cameras?
Hello! I wanted to get everyone's opinions on having security cameras in your main rooms when you rent your whole house out. Some guests have told us we need to have them and some seem really freaked out by them. Any thoughts?
Guan
Camera outside home is ok. Inside? No privacy? Not good idea. Good Luck. Doesn't matter main room or not main room.
Jessa
what would be the purpose? Controlling guests? No. High risk area with a lot of robberies, OK, but discuss it with every guest before accepting.
Ed & Hugh
We have cameras in common areas (we live at the house). We point them out to guests at check-in. We also mention them in the listing, and in the house manual. So far, it has not been a problem at all. Airbnb (and some local laws) require disclosure of cameras. As long as they are aware of where they are I don't see a problem, and it keeps behavior civil on all sides. If you read through these forums, you'll see many instances of issues that could have been avoided or resolved if cameras were present. I haven't seen any real cases where cameras have caused a problem.
Babette
I wholeheartedly agree with cameras in the home for safety.
Nic and Rach
Like Ed and Hugh as long as it is described and guests are aware of it before enquiry and prior to acceptance +1 on security camera's outside and the common areas but not their private rooms... You don't want to record your guests hot and steamy evening LOL ok I'm kidding... but I wouldn't need a camera for my listing.. it's pretty safe in our area.
Guan
Hi Nic & Rach. very funny.....but is true..
Lilia
It's a good idea!! Thank you
Subratha
Hello lilia how are you doing today??
Subratha
You can have proper check up and verification of visa and passport.. And camera outside the home entrance and drawing room is ok.. But do ask the guests if they are ok with it..
helga
I would not feel well in a room with cameras - are you recording the feed Ed & Hugh? My sister's colleague just got a new company laptop and they told him to sign that IT department can remote access the laptop in case of problems. New policy. He signed and said fine, I'll stick a sticker over the camera and you can be sure that the laptop will never leave the company. No work at home then. Here even kids put stickers over their laptop camera. I show my guests how they can start the laptop and work with the big screen, laptop screen closed, no recording possible.
Ed & Hugh
There is a camera in the which covers the front door, and also the door to our private bedroom. We can tell who comes and goes, and if we're not there to check a guest in, we get notification on our phone when a guest arrives. We can also tell if a guest has entered our bedroom (which they're not supposed to do). There is another one that covers the office area (also a place they are not supposed to be in). We also have outdoor cameras covering the approach. We live in a safe neighborhood, but unfortunately, some people have been following the UPS trucks around picking up packages left for people in our area. The cameras are recorded in the cloud and they can be turned over to law enforcement if necessary (fortunately we have not had any problems). Our local police force encourages everyone to have cameras, and they are starting a registry so that they can quickly request footage from camera owners in the vicinity in case a crime is reported (of course, unless there is a warrant, it's voluntary whether you want to turn over recordings to the police). So far, it has not been an issue. I think guests feel more comfortable leaving their belongings when they go out for the day, knowing that the house is monitored. If it ever is a problem for a guest, we can easily move cameras to our bedroom, or some other area that will still protect our belongings while providing more privacy for them. We have a laptop in the guest room, but it's very old and does not have a camera.
helga
If you monitor your own private space, I don't see a problem and it may be useful. Do you put the feed in the cloud via the camera provider's service? I would not, they usually have ridiculous protections. You can find all kind of interiors of strangers on the internet. Worst are the baby cams with free access for pedophiles. I'd probably rent a private server and do it via a secured access even if that is complicated and the server costs a bit of rent per month. (We thought about putting a camera once doing surveillance of our flowerpots to see which cat digs in them - probably all of them, so no use)
Ed & Hugh
Yes, it's in the cloud. Supposedly everything is locked down with good encryption, and it's all by Google (Nest) and they should know a thing or two about security...on the other hand, they know about privacy invasion too! In any case, if someone on Google's security team really wants to watch an old, bald man walk around the house naked, who am I to ruin their day?
helga
Ah, so you need the cameras to know when the way is free for walking around naked ;-) Those are guest privacy protection cameras.
Babette
I thought I was the only one who put a sticker over my laptop and cellphone camera. LOL.
helga
No, you are not, you even can buy a permanent magnetic sticker, easy to remove and switch back on ;-)
Ken
I would not recommend in the house. Outside is okay.
Rose
I like the idea of having them outside the door. But I would feel uncomfortable with them inside the house.
Deborah
I recommend NOT using cameras inside the house - outside is fine, helps deter property crimes, burglars. But inside I think would make guests feel uncomfortable, and could be a liability issue for those using them. I know of a homeowner who had roommates, and one of the roommates was stealing things from a common area. THe homeowner put in a security camera to try to find out who the thief was, after checking with the local police department and being told this was legal to do. One of the roommates sued the homeowner over the camera being inside the house. People can sue you for anything (and particularly in some nations and regions, this is more of a problem -- for instance in the USA it's more an issue than some other countries, being a litigious nation) and so it's best to limit your exposure that way.
Deborah
PS I don't recall exactly but I think it was the thief roommate who sued that homeowner. The legal system tends to work that way. It benefits the criminals. liars, scammers and the extortionists, while the ordinary and decent citizens get victimized by the legal system.
Security cameras?
Hello! I wanted to get everyone's opinions on having security cameras in your main rooms when you rent your whole house out. Some guests have told us we need to have them and some seem really freaked out by them. Any thoughts?
Guan
Camera outside home is ok. Inside? No privacy? Not good idea. Good Luck. Doesn't matter main room or not main room.
Jessa
what would be the purpose? Controlling guests? No. High risk area with a lot of robberies, OK, but discuss it with every guest before accepting.
Ed & Hugh
We have cameras in common areas (we live at the house). We point them out to guests at check-in. We also mention them in the listing, and in the house manual. So far, it has not been a problem at all. Airbnb (and some local laws) require disclosure of cameras. As long as they are aware of where they are I don't see a problem, and it keeps behavior civil on all sides. If you read through these forums, you'll see many instances of issues that could have been avoided or resolved if cameras were present. I haven't seen any real cases where cameras have caused a problem.
Babette
I wholeheartedly agree with cameras in the home for safety.
Nic and Rach
Like Ed and Hugh as long as it is described and guests are aware of it before enquiry and prior to acceptance +1 on security camera's outside and the common areas but not their private rooms... You don't want to record your guests hot and steamy evening LOL ok I'm kidding... but I wouldn't need a camera for my listing.. it's pretty safe in our area.
Guan
Hi Nic & Rach. very funny.....but is true..
Lilia
It's a good idea!! Thank you
Subratha
Hello lilia how are you doing today??
Subratha
You can have proper check up and verification of visa and passport.. And camera outside the home entrance and drawing room is ok.. But do ask the guests if they are ok with it..
helga
I would not feel well in a room with cameras - are you recording the feed Ed & Hugh? My sister's colleague just got a new company laptop and they told him to sign that IT department can remote access the laptop in case of problems. New policy. He signed and said fine, I'll stick a sticker over the camera and you can be sure that the laptop will never leave the company. No work at home then. Here even kids put stickers over their laptop camera. I show my guests how they can start the laptop and work with the big screen, laptop screen closed, no recording possible.
Ed & Hugh
There is a camera in the which covers the front door, and also the door to our private bedroom. We can tell who comes and goes, and if we're not there to check a guest in, we get notification on our phone when a guest arrives. We can also tell if a guest has entered our bedroom (which they're not supposed to do). There is another one that covers the office area (also a place they are not supposed to be in). We also have outdoor cameras covering the approach. We live in a safe neighborhood, but unfortunately, some people have been following the UPS trucks around picking up packages left for people in our area. The cameras are recorded in the cloud and they can be turned over to law enforcement if necessary (fortunately we have not had any problems). Our local police force encourages everyone to have cameras, and they are starting a registry so that they can quickly request footage from camera owners in the vicinity in case a crime is reported (of course, unless there is a warrant, it's voluntary whether you want to turn over recordings to the police). So far, it has not been an issue. I think guests feel more comfortable leaving their belongings when they go out for the day, knowing that the house is monitored. If it ever is a problem for a guest, we can easily move cameras to our bedroom, or some other area that will still protect our belongings while providing more privacy for them. We have a laptop in the guest room, but it's very old and does not have a camera.
helga
If you monitor your own private space, I don't see a problem and it may be useful. Do you put the feed in the cloud via the camera provider's service? I would not, they usually have ridiculous protections. You can find all kind of interiors of strangers on the internet. Worst are the baby cams with free access for pedophiles. I'd probably rent a private server and do it via a secured access even if that is complicated and the server costs a bit of rent per month. (We thought about putting a camera once doing surveillance of our flowerpots to see which cat digs in them - probably all of them, so no use)
Ed & Hugh
Yes, it's in the cloud. Supposedly everything is locked down with good encryption, and it's all by Google (Nest) and they should know a thing or two about security...on the other hand, they know about privacy invasion too! In any case, if someone on Google's security team really wants to watch an old, bald man walk around the house naked, who am I to ruin their day?
helga
Ah, so you need the cameras to know when the way is free for walking around naked ;-) Those are guest privacy protection cameras.
Babette
I thought I was the only one who put a sticker over my laptop and cellphone camera. LOL.
helga
No, you are not, you even can buy a permanent magnetic sticker, easy to remove and switch back on ;-)
Ken
I would not recommend in the house. Outside is okay.
Rose
I like the idea of having them outside the door. But I would feel uncomfortable with them inside the house.
Deborah
I recommend NOT using cameras inside the house - outside is fine, helps deter property crimes, burglars. But inside I think would make guests feel uncomfortable, and could be a liability issue for those using them. I know of a homeowner who had roommates, and one of the roommates was stealing things from a common area. THe homeowner put in a security camera to try to find out who the thief was, after checking with the local police department and being told this was legal to do. One of the roommates sued the homeowner over the camera being inside the house. People can sue you for anything (and particularly in some nations and regions, this is more of a problem -- for instance in the USA it's more an issue than some other countries, being a litigious nation) and so it's best to limit your exposure that way.
Deborah
PS I don't recall exactly but I think it was the thief roommate who sued that homeowner. The legal system tends to work that way. It benefits the criminals. liars, scammers and the extortionists, while the ordinary and decent citizens get victimized by the legal system.