In what seems to be becoming a more common occurrence, an Airbnb host has been caught filming his guests. However, in this instance the man was classed as a Superhost, who's held up as a "shining example for other hosts" and offers, "extraordinary experiences for their guests."
As the South Morning China Post reports, a woman who goes by the online name Yunfei paid $250 to spend three nights in a flat in Qingdao in Shandong province, China. Her career is in internet and information security, so when she entered the flat to discover motion sensors at the entrance and in the two bedrooms she became understandably suspicious.
Further investigation of the flat, including checking the TV and smoke detectors for hidden cameras, brought her to a router which looked unusual. She compared the router to a photo of the same product online and it was clear some modifications had been carried out. Unscrewing the case revealed a hidden camera mounted and facing the bed, while a memory card was hooked up for recording the footage.
On confirming her suspicions, Yunfei called the police who arrived to collect the equipment. The Superhost was later arrested by police who found he'd been recording guests in the flat since March. As Naked Security reveals, the man has since been given a 20-day jail term for his actions. He's probably also not getting that memory card back.
Airbnb refunded Yunfei's money when they heard about the incident, with a spokesperson for the company saying, "We sincerely apologized to the client and have taken the flat off the apartment listings."
The isn't the first time a hidden camera has been found in an Airbnb location. Earlier this month in Ireland, Airbnb guests discovered a hidden camera live streaming their stay. Understandably, most Airbnb guests are now worried about the use of hidden cameras, but it's difficult to see exactly what the company can do to stop hosts from doing this.
