Donna and Raymond Nunn cut short their anniversary trip to Madrid after discovering hidden cameras in their Airbnb rental, pointed directly at their bed. The couple, who were celebrating their 39th wedding anniversary, left the apartment after Airbnb advised them to do so immediately.
Discovery of the cameras
The couple arrived at the apartment in Lavapies on August 3 and initially noticed a motion sensor in the living room facing the front door, but with no flashing lights, they decided not to worry. The following day, while Donna, 62, was out sightseeing, Raymond, 87, spotted a camera in the bedroom with a green light flashing, positioned directly towards the bed.
Donna said: "We live in Spain but we were going to Madrid as a bucket-list trip that we've wanted to do for ages and to celebrate our 39th wedding anniversary this month. We booked in March and had a typical conversation with the host who planned to meet us there. When we first arrived, the host was nowhere to be found but instructed us via webchat as to how to get into the property. When we finally made it inside the apartment, we noticed the camera in the living room as it was facing us as we walked in, but there were no lights on it so we presumed it was off. However we didn't notice the camera in the bedroom until the next day after we had already slept in the bed."
Immediate response and departure
The couple contacted Airbnb on August 4 and were told to leave immediately, but it was 8pm, so they stayed overnight and left the next morning for another apartment two hours south of Madrid. Donna described feeling "extremely frightened" and said the camera, about four inches in length, was "tucked in the corner, but pointed directly towards the bed."
Raymond, who served in the Royal Artillery for 25 years, removed the camera from the wall and turned it around. The couple left on August 5, just two days after arriving. Donna said: "We were both shaking when we realised, and reached out to Airbnb. They told us to leave immediately which made us even more worried. It was about 8 o'clock at night by that point so it was too late for us to move and we couldn't find another place close by. Raymond took the camera off the wall and turned it around but it was horrifying. We managed to book another place a couple of hours away, which was nice but meant that we couldn't finish the sightseeing. It's a shame because we will never go back to Madrid now because of this."
Airbnb's response and policy
Airbnb has since taken the listing down and issued a full refund to the couple for both the original booking and the rebooking. An Airbnb spokesperson said: "We have issued a full refund to the guest and have suspended the listing while we conduct a further investigation into this matter. In 2024, we banned all indoor security cameras in listings regardless of where they are placed, or whether they are deactivated during guest stays. In the rare event of a violation of our policy on security cameras we take appropriate action, which can include removing listings and users from Airbnb. Stays reserved through Airbnb are overwhelmingly defined by positive experiences, and we take any reports of issues made to us seriously."
The incident highlights Airbnb's 2024 worldwide ban on indoor security cameras, which allows only doorbell cameras and noise monitors in common areas, provided they are disclosed on the listing page.
