Tourist reports hidden cameras near shower in her Airbnb in France

A woman who stayed in an Airbnb in France has made a formal complaint to police after finding hidden cameras in the property.

Larissa Angaman, 24, from Dieppe (Seine-Maritime), came to spend a weekend with her partner and two friends in Rouen on December 9. She booked and stayed in an apartment on Airbnb, which had a rating of 4.56 out of 5.

Upon arrival, Ms Angaman went to take a shower to freshen up. Later in the night, at around 03:00, she went to the bathroom. She then noticed a digital clock, which was directly facing the shower.

She told BFMTV: “After investigating it a bit, I realised that there was a sort of circle there, like you get on cameras.”

She then woke her partner, and together they took the clock apart, to reveal a camera inside, with an SD card attached.

She said: “It was really lecherous because it was facing right towards the shower.”

After searching the rest of the apartment, the friends discovered another similar device on a piece of furniture in the bedroom. The camera was positioned so you could see the bed.

Ms Angaman then decided to take the SD cards and look at them on her computer. She found a folder named “December 2022”, which contained a video of her in the bathroom, and videos of her friends going to the toilet.

She said: “I realised that it was completely messed up, it felt like a big slap in the face.”

Ms Angaman reported the issue to the Dieppe police station and made a formal complaint. Police are now investigating. The report has also been sent to the police station in Rouen.

The cameras also have a video showing the man who installed them.

Ms Angaman said: “I don’t know if these cameras were connected by WiFi and if they could look at their view in real-time? What has this pervert done if he watched the videos? I feel dirty.

“I think about it all the time, I’ve even dreamt about it! It’s so stressful.”

When contacted by 76Actu, Airbnb confirmed that it had refunded the woman in full and said it was taking the incident “very seriously”.

It said: “We immediately suspended the host’s account and we will cooperate with the police in their inquiries.”

It added that it has “strict policies against using any kind of recording devices inside the properties rented on our platform, and we take firm measures against anyone who breaks the rules”. It especially bans “the use of hidden surveillance devices or their use in private spaces such as the bathroom, bedrooms or relaxing areas”.

It said that “less than 0.1% of reservations give rise to a security report by hosts or travellers”.

Airbnb is often controversial in France, with some cities introducing more stringent property rules against them in a bid to keep local accommodation more affordable for residents. One property developer in Annecy (Haute-Savoie) even banned Airbnb-style lets in their properties.

However, Airbnb is still popular among some in France. In October, the company launched a €1million eco-friendly plan in France, with funds going to help hosts make sustainable renovations to their rentals.

The plan was dubbed ‘win-win’ by the French government.

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