A family from New Zealand were horrified after discovering a camera hidden in a smoke alarm at the Airbnb house they were staying at.
The Barker family found the device when they stayed at a home in Cork, Ireland, last month.
It was concealed in the living room - and Airbnb has now confirmed the host has been banned.
Mum-of-five Nealie Barker said the family was left “very frightened”, the Irish Mirror reports.
She added: “It was late at night but we decided fairly quickly we didn’t feel comfortable about staying at the house.
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“There is no way to know whether the camera was recording. We asked the host but he refused to answer. We also asked if it was recording audio, again he refused to answer.
“He later called back and admitted there was only one hidden camera and that he had installed it to ‘protect his asset’.”
Nealie said in a Facebook post: “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.”
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She said that her husband Andrew, an IT consultant, discovered the camera on March 3 while scanning the network.
She told New Zealand website Stuff: “He scanned that device’s ports and found the live video feed. We were all watching ourselves on his mobile phone.
“We have encountered lots of weird and wonderful things and like to think we take most things in our stride. However this was shocking.”
The company states that cameras are not allowed to be concealed or allowed in the bathrooms or bedrooms of their hosting properties.
The spokesperson added: “We have a zero-tolerance stance when it comes to violations and we immediately remove anyone who has violated the policy.”
In a further statement to the Irish Mirror last night, a company spokesman 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. We have permanently removed this bad actor from our platform.”
