Were we spied on by a clock in our Airbnb apartment?
A HOLIDAYING Scots couple were horrified to discover a ‘spy camera’ pointing at their bed in an Airbnb flat.
Dougie Hamilton, 34, said he found the device in a digital clock at the apartment in Toronto after a day out in the city with his girlfriend Taryn Vernoy.
Mr Hamilton, from Glasgow, said the camera was connected to a wire and he fears it may have taken video footage of them.
‘We didn’t know if the owner had been watching,’ he said. ‘It just felt really creepy and we didn’t want to stay.
‘We’re innocent-minded people but the clock was facing where our bed was and we thought it might be for something more sinister like a sex ring.’
The couple had been busy in Toronto all day and wanted to relax, but Mr Hamilton suspected something was wrong.
He said: ‘In my head, I felt a bit weird even thinking it and I kept telling myself not to be daft – but there was just something.
‘I took the wire out of it and saw there was a lithium battery in the back. At this point, I slid the front facing off the clock and could see there actually was a camera.’
Mr Hamilton said the camera faced the living room and bedroom and ‘could see everything’.
Toronto Police have confirmed they are investigating the incident, while Mr Hamilton said Airbnb’s security team was also looking into it.
He added that Airbnb bosses had promised him a full refund and said they would cancel upcoming reservations at the property.
Mr Hamilton added: ‘They told us the property owner has six other properties and hundreds of reviews, so it looks like we’ve been lucky.
‘We were only in the place for 20 minutes when I noticed the clock. I just happened to be facing this clock and was staring at it for about ten minutes. There was just something in my head that made me feel a bit uneasy.
‘It was connected to a wire like a phone charger which wasn’t quite right.
‘The weirdest thing was, I’d seen a video on Facebook about cameras and how they could be hidden, and they had a clock with one in it, too.
‘When I saw the clock, I thought: “Do I want to be the crazy guy that checks a digital clock for cameras now?”’
A spokesman for Airbnb said: ‘We take privacy issues extremely seriously and have a zero tolerance policy for this behaviour.
‘We have removed the host from the platform while we investigate and are providing the guest with our full support.’
The short-term letting company said its rules require hosts to disclose if they have security cameras or surveillance equipment in or around their properties.
The rapid growth of the Airbnb phenomenon has led to problems in some areas popular with tourists where many properties are on short-term lets.
Last month, a woman banned from running an Airbnb launched a legal challenge which could have major consequences for shortterm landlords.
Nicola Golden, 49, was ordered to stop renting out her Edinburgh home through Airbnb after a neighbour complained about the noise.
Council chiefs quickly served her with an enforcement notice that prevented her from using her flat in Newhaven for short-term holidaymakers .
Mrs Golden has said she will fight the ban and has launched an appeal at the Court of Session with support from the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, a trade body that represents shortterm landlords.
‘The camera could see everything’