There are hidden cameras because of course there are. People are horrible.
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I think how you get to being good towards others is morally inconsequential. Someone who doesn’t want to commit genocide is functionally no better a person than someone who does want to commit genocide but doesn’t anyway. However, I find that life is better when my impulses are in harmony with my choices, so whenever I find them out of harmony, I work to change my impulses because I’m happier if I’m good because I want to be good. That’s just me. YMMV.
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I Host on AirBnB and we use it as a family often. I have never had a poor experience on either end.
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Some people just don’t want to play cheery host, or are offering the space because they will be out of town at the time; but a fair few of the “hands off” “hosts” are likely to be related to the ‘basically just running a hotel’ contingent that AirBnB doesn’t like to talk about.
They have basically the same management challenges as hotel operators; but their rooms are likely to be scattered so they can’t obtain economies of scale on the staff that supervise and tidy up ordinary hotels. Not a surprise that they would have an interest in labor saving supervision options.
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IOW, you never even knew the cameras were there. 
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Or I just don’t care if my furry ass is filmed.
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It’s not a sharing economy. It’s just renting.
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You are meant to change the towels and sheets?
If you get to do an IPO at 500x earnings, then its not renting, its the sharing economy.
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It’s not ‘sharing.’
I understand your point, but now I want to try that at parties.
“Say, did you ever want to commit genocide?”
“No.”
throws drink in face “YOU MONSTER!”
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I’m shocked! Shocked I tell you!
I’m sure nothing like this has ever happened in a hotel, ever…
Stop blaming Airbnb, Uber and all the rest as being unique for having the exact same problems hotels and taxis have had for a lifetime but you’ve all accepted. It’s just click bait fear mongering… be better than that.
Then, by all means, stay only in traditional hotels and motels. I wish you happy, safe, and secure travel.
With the added bonus of being slightly less likely to see your bare ass on the internet. Could someone point me to a hidden cam detection device?
You are probably right - but I vaguely recall a news anchor got a 20mn settlement cos she was perved by a hidden cam in a hotel. I wonder if I would have to sue the AirBnB hostor would I be able to sue AirBnB?
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from http://ktar.com/story/397301/how-to-detect-hidden-cameras-with-a-cell-phone/?
"Before you spend any money, we found that the DIY version of reflective detection worked just about as well:
• Grab a paper towel roll and a flashlight and hold the roll up to one eye and close the other.
• In a darkened room, turn on the flashlight and place it at eye level next to the tube and slowly scan the room for the telltale white reflection.
We found every camera in our test room with this method, so give it a try at home yourself."
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It might also be that you can afford to stay in hotels, which are significantly more expensive than an AirBnB
The question is, how much less likely is it that hotel rooms have hidden cameras than Airbnb apartments?
Are they? I really haven’t looked at the prices. And I don’t go on holidays a lot, except for visiting relatives. So when I travel, it is a hotel which the company chooses for me. Or a proper bed and breakfast. Or a properly licensed holiday flat on that rare occasion.
I get the feeling that AirBNB is morphing into a more commercial rental broker than its pretence of enabling couch surfing, and that has me all wary.
It really depends on the Airbnb and how many people you’re traveling with. I’ve stayed in a few places that are the classic, stereotypical AirBnB: a spare room in someone’s attic or their old kids’ bedroom they’re renting out by the night, with pastries and coffee set out the next morning in the kitchen, and they’ve all been significantly cheaper than any hotel/motel room.
On a recent trip to LA, I found a place for my large traveling group through Airbnb that was perfect: a huge loft downtown with beds for ten people and room for a few more if needed. It wasn’t cheap – around $400/night – but split between ten people, it was still hugely cheaper than getting hotel rooms in that area.
