Legal Requirements
If a home has Security Cameras (or if you install them), we are required to include them on the details of your listing. Cameras are not allowed to face any indoor areas (including from the outside looking in), nor are they allowed to view any “private” areas. The wording in law is ambiguous, but guests could reasonably expect this to mean that enclosed yards are considered “private”, especially if they have a pool/spa. You’ll also want to be aware of the impact to neighbouring properties and their right to privacy.
Adding to your angst, not reducing it
Although most owners tell us they won’t monitor the Cameras during Guest bookings, in practice, many do.
“I just want them for peace of mind when the home isn’t booked”
"We won’t be monitoring security cameras while guests are in-house"
Before we accept any booking, the group goes through a vetting process (for more detail, see Vetting Guests) and part of the pricing strategy for all Holiday Homes is the premise that the number of guests in a group does not impact the cost to stay at your home (of course limited by the maximum number of guests your home is registered to sleep). For example, if your home sleeps 10+ guests, viewing the Cameras and seeing 4 cars with 10 guests arrive for a booking that was made for 7 people, and contacting us to register your concern, is only going to add to your angst and is not an example of a Guest contravening our T&C’s.
What Guests think
In relation to how appealing your home is to potential Guests, there is no positive impact of having Cameras/Alarms on whether someone will book your home, and more likely, it will reduce the number of people who want to stay in your home. Groups with small children, or from particular ethnic backgrounds are much less likely to stay at your home if there are Cameras.
We know that Guests who are inconvenienced or feel they are being watched, may leave negative reviews and not come back to your home. This can only lead to less bookings, lower reviews and, in the end, less income for your Holiday Rental.
Letting Agent vs Security Company
“Someone came to my home last night – do you know who it was?”
Service people (or Guests) may be coming and going at all hours to/from your home (for more detail, see The Reality of Holiday Letting). We manage your home for the purposes of Holiday Rental, but we are not a Security service, and we will not be able to respond to these types of questions/issues related to an alarm going off, or what you see on your cameras. We may not know who was at your home, and researching this is not something we are set up to do. Investigating this type of enquiry takes a lot of time and is not a service we provide.
Alarms
“I’ll turn off the Alarm before each set of guests arrive”
The concept of having an alarm is great – the reality is a significant inconvenience for guests and for us. An alarm should not be active while guests are in your home. Asking guests to disarm the alarm upon arrival can lead to them inadvertently (or otherwise) messing with the settings. If you forget to turn it off, are away on holidays, the internet connection is down at your home, or if you’re somehow unaware of the booking, guests can turn up to a home and set off the alarm.
We also know from experience, that alarms can malfunction. We get occasional calls/messages from guests in homes at all hours of the night, complaining that “the alarm is going off”. None of these are positive experiences for guests and inevitably lead to reduced income for owners.