‘Shocking’: family on holiday finds hidden camera in smoke alarm at their Airbnb
- The Barker family, a crew of two adults and five children, only found the camera because father, Andrew, works in IT
- Family complains the investigation that Airbnb promised did not meet their expectations
The Barker family was settling into their Airbnb in Cork, Ireland, another stop on their 14-month trek around Europe, when they discovered something disturbing.
On the ceiling in the living room, hidden inside a detector, was a camera.
“We have encountered lots of weird and wonderful things and like to think we take most things in our stride,” Nealie Barker told New Zealand’s Stuff.
“However this was shocking.”
The family, residents of New Zealand, said it confronted the homeowner and complained to Airbnb, setting off a month-long saga with the company that has drawn international attention.
Just last week, after 33 days and stays from 10 other “unsuspecting” guests, Airbnb removed the listing and problematic host, Barker wrote on Facebook.
“The safety and privacy of our community is our priority,” Airbnb said in a statement Saturday. “Airbnb policies strictly prohibit hidden cameras in listings and we take reports of any violations extremely seriously. We have removed the host from our platform. Our original handling of this incident did not meet the high standards we set for ourselves, and we have apologised to the family and fully refunded their stay. There have been over half a billion guest arrivals in Airbnb listings to date and negative incidents are incredibly rare.”