Rentals, platform by platform
Airbnb vs. Vrbo vs. Booking.com: which ones actually ban indoor cameras?
All three ban a camera in your bedroom and bathroom — that part's settled. Past that, the three companies draw the line in three different places, and "the host disclosed it" means something different depending on which one you booked through.
Airbnb — zero indoor cameras, anywhere, full stop
Since April 30, 2024, Airbnb bans all indoor security cameras in every listing worldwide — hallways, living rooms, guest suites, common areas, all of it — whether disclosed or not, powered on or off. Outdoor cameras and doorbells are still allowed if the listing discloses their presence and rough location, they don't point into interior spaces, and they're kept away from an outdoor shower, hot tub, or sauna. Breaking this can get a listing removed.
Vrbo — also zero indoor, and the definition is broader
Vrbo's rule looks the same from a distance — no surveillance devices inside the home — but its definition of "surveillance device" is wider than Airbnb's: anything that captures photo, audio, video, geolocation, or internet-activity data is covered, not just cameras. The one narrow exception is a smart device that can't be activated remotely, and only if the guest is told about it and given a way to turn it off. Outdoor devices follow the same shape as Airbnb's: disclosed, not aimed at private areas, and not angled so they catch an interior room through a window — a doorbell camera that happens to frame your living room through the front window is a violation even though the camera itself is mounted outside.
Booking.com — the one that's actually different
This is the platform where "other platforms are weaker" is true. Booking.com permits disclosed CCTV in interior common spaces — entryways, hallways, parking areas — as long as it's visible, disclosed in the listing's Safety & Security section, and excluded from anywhere guests expect privacy: bedrooms, bathrooms, changing rooms, saunas. So a Booking.com listing can legitimately have an interior hallway camera that an identical Airbnb or Vrbo listing is not allowed to have at all. That makes the listing description worth an actual read on this platform, not just a skim — on the other two, you already know the bedroom and bathroom are clean by policy.
What this means for the booking in front of you
Know which platform you're on before you decide how much the listing description matters:
- Airbnb or Vrbo: indoor cameras are a policy violation everywhere inside, so one found in a bedroom or living room is a platform violation on top of likely being a crime — not just a disclosure gap. Report it to the platform and see what to do if you find something.
- Booking.com: a disclosed hallway or entryway camera is within policy — read the Safety & Security section before you book, and treat anything in a bedroom or bathroom the same as a violation on the other two platforms.
None of this changes the actual check — the 90-second room sweep and the object-by-object guide work the same way regardless of which platform you booked through. Platform policy tells you what's supposed to be there. It doesn't verify what actually is.
Policies change — these are current as of this writing but platforms update them periodically, so a listing's own in-app Safety & Security disclosures are the authoritative source for that specific booking, not this page.
The book covers the room-by-room walkthrough once, so it works no matter which platform you booked through. The complete system — every check on this site plus the ten-minute walkthrough, audio devices, your legal rights, and what to do if you find something. 47 printable pages, instant download, keep it on any device.