Hotels, specifically
How to check a hotel room for hidden cameras
A hotel room is not an Airbnb. Different risk, different rules — but the same ninety seconds still settles it, plus one check a rental never gives you.
Why the risk is different here
A rental is decorated once by one host, then handed to guest after guest with nothing in between. A hotel room is cleaned and inspected by staff between every single stay. That turnover is real protection — it's a lot harder for a device to sit undisturbed for months. The American Hotel & Lodging Association's position is that surveillance cameras in U.S. hotels "should be limited to public or common areas and be used for security purposes only" — not inside guest rooms. There's no published incidence rate for hotels the way there is for rentals, and we're not going to invent one; the honest version is: lower baseline risk than a rental, not zero, because staff turnover, contractors, and a previous guest's leftover device are all still possible.
The check is the same 90 seconds
Sightlines, the flashlight lens pass, and the power tell all work exactly the same in a hotel room. The objects to look at first are the same ones, too: the smoke detector, the alarm clock or clock radio on the nightstand, the smart TV or any streaming stick plugged into it, an in-room voice assistant if the hotel has one, and the bathroom — vents, the mirror (see the real two-way mirror test, not the fingernail myth). The full breakdown by object, with the one tell that matters for each, is in the object-by-object guide.
The one check a rental doesn't give you: housekeeping
You get a room inspected once a day, every day — a rental doesn't. Use it. On check-in, glance at the nightstand, the desk, and the shelf near the TV, and remember what's there — a photo on your phone takes five seconds. After housekeeping the next day, look again. Anything new, anything moved to face the bed differently, anything that wasn't part of the room the first day, is worth a second look. Builder-installed fixtures don't move between visits; a person who wants a better angle does.
If you find something, the order is different from a rental
Don't touch it, and don't call the front desk first — call local police. Reporting to hotel staff before anyone official sees the device risks alerting whoever placed it, the same reason you wouldn't confront a rental host directly. Cover the sightline with a towel while you wait, photograph it in place once it's safe to, and ask for a room change or refund after law enforcement is involved, not before. The full six-step protocol — what to preserve and why the order matters — is in what to do if you find something; the only swap for a hotel is who you call first.
The law itself doesn't change by venue — the same state voyeurism and unlawful-surveillance statutes that cover a rental cover a hotel room. See the actual statute for your state. (General information, not legal advice.)
Want the full room-by-room walkthrough, offline, before you check in? 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.