Barker family and a hidden camera in a Cork property they rented via Airbnb

On Monday.

Nealie Barker, from New Zealand, who was visiting Cork with her husband and five children, wrote on Facebook:

We are avid Airbnb users. We love the platform.

We just found a camera hidden in a smoke alarm case in the private living room of a listing. We were travelling with children.

The host admitted to the concealed camera over the phone, only after presented with our irrefutable proof.

The Airbnb safety team investigated our complaint (we provided photos and snapshot of video feed). Their “thorough” investigation which didn’t include any follow-up with us exonerated the host, no explanation provided.

The listing (with hidden camera not mentioned) is still on Airbnb.

The host is now claiming our accusation is false on the public platform.

Guest safety is not an Airbnb priority!

After this post on Facebook, the Barker family were offered a refund and Airbnb said it would reinvestigate the matter.

The host has since been permanently removed by Airbnb from its listings.

In a statement to The Irish Times, Airbnb said:

“The safety and privacy of our community – both online and offline – is our priority. Airbnb policies strictly prohibit hidden cameras in listings and we take reports of any violations extremely seriously.

“There have been more than 500 million guest arrivals in Airbnb listings to date and negative incidents are incredibly rare.”

Family found hidden live cam in Airbnb in Cork after trying to connect to wifi (The Irish Times)

Data Protection Commission investigating hidden camera in Airbnb property (The Irish Examiner)