This tiny box snitches on rowdy Airbnb guests | Hacker News Reader

This tiny box snitches on rowdy Airbnb guests

thenextweb.com

27 pointsNicoJuicy20 comments

This is basically an advertisement for this product. Probably a press release copy-pasted.

True. TFA literally says, “will soon be available for pre-order.” Come back when you have a product, please.

Now if there were one to snitch on loud neighbors of Airbnbs. We had people making a great deal of noise into the small hours outside the last place we stayed.

This still seems a bit of a bulky unit for what it does; a more boxy shape would fit the boards & batteries better than this. I wonder if the round design is needed for the acoustics or if it's just an aesthetic choice made to match smoke detectors.

Would this be considered as wiretapping? Sure you are not listening to the conversation, but you can still deduce some of my behavior from this trigger, so is it really any different than listening to the conversation itself?

Pretty sure it's not the same (legally) as wiretapping. Wiretapping is specifically described as recording the audio itself without the consent of a party as required by law. If no recording is taking place, I don't think there is any way for it to be considered wiretapping. This is more or less just having a sound meter send an alert when the volume (sound pressure) remains above a threshold for a specified amount of time. As for deducing your behavior - I don't think a court would have an issue with this because I'm pretty sure the AirBnb terms would indicate that such activity is not allowed so taking reasonable measures to ensure that behavior is not taking place would likely be acceptable. Renters/guests do enjoy certain legal privileges that make that space more or less privately owned during their occupancy, but this doesn't necessarily override contractual agreements.

Overall, this seems like a reasonable way of ensuring guests don't violate the agreement, provided that there is no recording of audio taking place whatsoever.

> The indoor model is tiny, measuring 3.4-inches by 3.8-inches, and plugs into any open wall socket.

It's good to know that my future hosts will have no trouble re-installing it after I unplug it, should I discover it.

Had beers with the head of sales for a short term rental company based in Texas. These are in more properties than you'd think.

Would a dog whistle trip this alarm? Then you know it's there, and no pesky humans are disturbed by your test.

Do renters sign something stating they won't produce over {n} decibels of sound?

Do landlord usually care? It usually complaints from the neighbours that I hear about.

I think landlords don't want their neighbors complaining and this is to help prevent that

Especially if you're not the landlord and the actual landlord doesn't know you're subletting the apartment in violation of your lease contract.

or, the house is somewhat isolated or your neighbors are frequently away and you don't have any other way of knowing.

From first paragraph, emphasis added:

> There are plenty of examples of guests using properties as the location for drug and sex-fueled ragers, leaving thousands of dollars of damage in their wake.

My wife and I use AirBNB a lot (for holidays, not drug-fueled orgies unfortunately) and have lots of positive reviews against our names. I know if I ran an AirBNB I'd only accept bookings from guests with a history of positive reviews.

For sure! That should prevent almost all issues.

And here is why I can't seem to get AirBnB to work for me. Along with most people refusing pets. I travel with my dog a lot. She's AKC Good Citizen certified. Though that doesn't often mean much, it at least indicates I put up the money and time to try to signal that I do care about how my dog behaves.

The problem is I don't have any reviews. My work refuses to let me use AirBnB, so I can't use my work trips to build up good reviews. I've heard that hosts tend to be a bit more cool with work-related rentals if you disclose your employer so they can shame you if you wreck the place.

I'm left with very slim pickings when I do personal travel and every time my booking requests get rejected. AirBnB just seems to be this really insular community where if you don't fit a very precise profile or travel during your destination's off-season (meaning they're desperate for a booking) you're just up the creek.

It's just easier to book an actual B&B or "Suite" style hotel with a clear pet policy and fee schedule than to fight with vacation rentals.

I'm not sure but I think you might have some luck if you created a reputation by being a host first.

Yes. They have at least two reasons to care...

1. Noise leads to complaints from neighbors. These can turn into legal issues, if the police are called, or HOA notified.

2. Damage to property. Noisy tenants are more likely to break furniture or leave the house in a mess.

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