Texas vacation rental host accused of spying on guests with hidden camera in power adapter
Renting someone else’s home can be a great way to have an affordable vacation. But some tenants have found they are paying a high price when it comes to their privacy.
Although popular vacation rental platforms have strict policies against hosts using hidden cameras, that hasn’t stopped some hosts from planting them.
A 2016 case involved a Las Vegas Airbnb host who placed hidden cameras around the rental and secretly filmed guests in private areas, including the bedroom and bathroom. Christopher Rogers has been found guilty of using spy cameras disguised as smoke detectors to secretly record naked guests.
Spy cameras that can be purchased online can be disguised as just about anything, including power adapters and digital clocks. Some devices can even transmit live video, allowing anyone watching you to follow your moments in real time.
Aissa Valdy, 25, was vacationing with friends at a Miami Beach apartment listed on Airbnb, when she says she spotted a hidden camera.
“I turned around and saw a black cube that looked like a digital clock. And I was like, there’s no way. I open it. There’s a camera inside. I unplug, and it’s like wow, I was in shock,” Valdy said.
But perhaps no story is more shocking than what allegedly happened in a secluded rental in the scenic hills near San Antonio. The rustic Airbnb property is located on a private road.
Now some guests who have stayed there are calling it a ‘cabin of horrors’ after police say that over the past year the Airbnb host allegedly used a hidden camera and recorded various guests – some of between them while they were naked and others while they were having sex.
“The beginning was so nice. It’s quiet, it’s calm. And then it slowly takes a turn and becomes a horror story,” said an alleged guest, who asked not to be identified.
He says he and his girlfriend rented the cabin through Airbnb last summer and immediately became suspicious when the host visited the property.
“He told us where we should see the sunrise and said, ‘Be comfortable. You can watch him naked or in pajamas. There is nobody. At that moment, I thought, “Maybe we’ll get recorded,” the guest said.
Sure enough, he says just hours into their stay, he discovered a hidden camera disguised as a power adapter.
Footage recovered from the tiny camera shows him changing in the room. He is now suing the owner of the cabin, A. Jay Allee.
Allee was also charged with invasive visual recording after police said a laptop revealed more than 2,000 images taken inside the rental home.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge and denied any wrongdoing.
Inside Edition’s chief investigative correspondent, Lisa Guerrero, tried to speak to Allee when he stopped at the door that leads to her cabin. He got out of his truck and brushed Guerrero’s microphone off.
He said all the charges were false, before leaving.
In a statement, Airbnb said, “Our policies strictly prohibit hidden cameras and we take strong action in the exceptionally rare circumstances where it has been reported, including partnering with law enforcement to help hold criminals accountable. We also prohibit any type of recording devices in bedrooms, bathrooms or sleeping areas.
They also said that the hosts in the three cases mentioned in this report have been banned from their platforms.
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