A Disturbing Number of People Have Found Cameras at Their Vacation Rentals

Summer vacation season is nearly upon us. Travel took a dip during the pandemic, but it’s back in full swing: 64% of Americans plan to rent a vacation property in 2023. And 41% prefer staying in rental properties over hotels, and rely on individuals who list their properties online.

As such, it’s not surprising that most vacationers report booking their stays on Airbnb (85%), as well as VRBO (32%), Booking.com (22%), TripAdvisor (18%), and Expedia (16%). And man are prioritizing privacy as they search these services, according to a new survey(Opens in a new window) from IXP1031.

(Credit: IPX1031)

Staying in a private home can be uncomfortable, though. In general, one in 10 vacationers say, they don’t trust their vacation-rental hosts; 36% admit snooping around the property.

Perhaps some level of mistrust is warranted: 22% of renters say they’ve had a bad experience. One of the biggest issues is walking into a property that isn’t clean (25%), although three-fourths of the survey’s respondents say the host made it right after the renter contacted them.

Cleanliness is one thing, but hidden cameras are on a whole other level. The majority (58%) of survey respondents are worried about hosts keeping an eye on them, and nearly a third spend time searching the property for cameras.

And before you conclude that this is slightly paranoid behavior, of those who go hunting for cameras, one in four have found one. Cameras are most likely to be outside (20%) and in common areas (18%). But as creepy as this sounds, just one in 10 respondents reported covering or unplugging the camera during their stay.

(Credit: IPX1031)

Methodology: IPX1031, an investment property company, surveyed 1,000 people from around the US in March 2023. Respondents were 49% male, 49% female, and 2% non-binary or transgender, and the average age was 40.