Herald Tribune Claims Airbnb & VRBO Short Term Rental Hotels Ruining Quality of Life in Sarasota Neighborhoods Like Arlington Park.

UPDATE MARCH 11, 2024, Airbnb bans use of all indoor security cameras, Hosts can still have outdoor cameras as long as they disclose them in the listing. Airbnb said it's prohibiting the use of indoor security cameras in all of its listings worldwide, regardless of their purpose or location. Any violations of the revised policy will be investigated and the listing or account holder could potentially be removed from the platform, according to the home-share company.

Columnist Carrie Seidman Sarasota Herald-Tribune writes Friday Sept 8, 2023; Want to save Sarasota's neighborhoods? Do something about vacation rentals such as VRBO & Airbnb where dozens of single-family homes in neighborhoods like Arlington Park have been purchased for exclusive use as vacation rentals where there are now an estimated 700 VRBO & Airbnb vacation rentals ruining the quality of life. 

VRBO problems on Lido Key Fl in Sarasota County, see video. Also left unaddressed was how the city of Sarasota plans to enforce its ordinance requiring a minimum seven-night stay at such Vrbo & Airbnb rental properties, which is regularly being violated with shorter stays just like a hotel. New York City is shutting down Vrbo & Airbnb hotels.

UPDATE Sept 5th, 2023, WIRED, The End of Airbnb & VRBO in New York City! Thousands of Airbnbs and other short-term rentals like Vrbo are expected to disappear from rental platforms as New York City begins enforcing tight restrictions. Local Law 18, came into force Tuesday, Sept 5th 2023 is so strict it doesn’t just limit how Airbnb & VRBO operates in New York City—it almost bans it entirely for many guests and hosts. From now on, all short-term rental hosts in New York must register with the city, and only those who live in the place they’re renting—and are present when someone is staying—can qualify. And people can only have two guests. New York City's 'De Facto Ban' on Airbnb - The WS Journal. - WSJ Podcasts Airbnb & VRBO listings in New York City are disappearing as the city cracks down on short-term rentals as a way to address its housing shortage. As of today, it will now enforce some of the toughest laws in the nation around short-term rentals. 6 hours ago Sept 5th, 2023.

HERALD TRIBUNE: Airbnb & VRBO banned in NYC but alive and growing and deteriorating neighborhoods in the City of Sarasota. Sarasota's growing number of short-term rentals has long-term impact on affordable housing. The city of Sarasota and its surrounding unincorporated communities alone have a whopping 6,654 active short-term rentals listed through AirBnb and VRBO – an increase of more than 1,000 units since 2021. Sarasota Code Compliance will be addressing Airbnb & Vrbo complaints related to unsupervised vacation rentals where the owner lives out of State or even out of the Country. Short-term rentals are precisely one of those damaging examples – changing the characters of residential communities while worsening the affordable housing crunch. City of Sarasota’s vacation rental registration ordinance applies only to the Coastal Islands Overlay District. “Other neighborhoods in our city are being impacted and their quality of life is being impacted by hotel houses Airbnb & Vrbo,” Sarasota City Councilman Ahearn-Koch said. “What does it look like if we were to make this citywide? We know that constituents’ property values are important.

Regardless if your staying at a Airbnb or Vrbo apartment in downtown Toronto near King St West and Bathurst St or a condo on Cedars Court in Longboat Key Fl (near Sarasota) most likely you are being filmed by hidden cameras in the bathroom and in the bedroom. INSIDE EDITION INVESTIGATION: Although popular vacation rental platforms have strict policies against hosts using hidden cameras, that hasn’t stopped some perverted hosts from planting them. 1 in 4 people say they’ve found hidden cameras inside their Airbnb & Vrbo vacation homes. 

NEWSFLASH for Vrbo and Airbnb rentals septic tanks are everywhere in Florida and prone to backup with heavy use. Rental guests from up north overcrowding a Vrbo or Airbbn rental home in Sarasota County with 10 to 12 guests for the week with constant showers and toilet flushing can cause septic tanks to back up in the showers and sinks and/or overflow from the external septic tank out into the yard. The basic components of a septic system include the tank and a drain field (sometimes called a leach field). In Florida, nearly one in every three households depends on a septic system.

Photo above from ABC action News Tampa Fl. WARNING: Vrbo rip-off host in South Sarasota Fl rented beach front home with hazards and kept the money. Heather Blackmon did not want to rent a Vrbo fixer upper! Florida beachfront vacation ruined by hazards hidden in VRBO rental listing. Two chairs and caution tape block off a one-story drop from the deck of a South Sarasota home. The host refunded one night, a little more than $700, of the planned and paid for three-night $2,300 stay. Heather Blackmon said she tried contacting VRBO multiple times, but they did not help with the rest of the refund. After hearing the family's story, ABC Action News asked VRBO to review the claim and the property listing.

Short Term Rental websites like Airbnb and Vrbo are ruining local neighborhoods, crime is up, noise complaints soar, hidden cameras in bedrooms and bathrooms, are you on the internet? Vbro's hidden camera policy, so they claim is; "surveillance devices, which use any form of capture device such as a camera or an audio recorder, can’t be used inside of a property" LOL. If a host violates the Vrbo surveillance policy, and a guest leaves a property because of this violation, the host may be required to refund the entirety of the stay. Vrbo violations could also result in removal of the Host from our platform, oh yeah how about the dude in Texas.

Lawsuit: Camera found inside Texas Vrbo rental property bedroom, homeowners sued. TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – On Tuesday, a lawsuit was filed in Travis County against two homeowners and Vrbo, a vacation rental platform, after a camera was found inside of a rented vacation property in Comfort, Texas in August. After staying at the property, police informed the plaintiffs the homeowners illegally placed video cameras on the property, including in the bedroom. “The bedroom camera was placed to capture illicit videos of the [plaintiffs] in various stages of undress or other intimate and private moments,” the lawsuit said. According to court records, the homeowners did not disclose there were video cameras on the property. 

Last November, Kendall County TX authorities filed charges against one homeowner for improper photography. Authorities confirmed on July 11 that the investigation is ongoing. Both the homeowners of the rental property and Vrbo are being sued for negligence, fraud and misrepresentation and private nuisance, according to Texas court records. Imagine paying an average of $270 per night for this invasion of privacy and exploitation, WTF? Hidden camera found in your Sarasota short term rental, file a civil suit against Airbnb & Vrbo under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

BAN VRBO & AIRBNB RENTALS IN FLORIDA: At a city commission meeting last fall in Pinellas County’s Indian Rocks Beach FL, local resident Jerry Newton’s frustration was evident. The problem? Short-term vacation rentals in his community. “Yet another month has passed, Newton said. “In the meantime, there are more hotel rooms and more unfamiliar faces every day next door to our homes. It’s beginning to look like our city leaders are not willing to do anything about this cancer. And the answer that ‘our hands are tied’ isn’t going to cut it.” John Pfanstiehl, who has lived in Indian Rocks Beach FL for more than 30 years, agrees, saying that the homes that host vacation rentals in his neighborhood are frequented by transients who he maintains “destroy” the community. “Residential has no meaning if you allow transient lodgings,” he told the Phoenix in an interview last week. “They really are destroying what was once a peaceful safe community.” Another Pinellas County FL beach community, Redington Beach FL, saw residents vote overwhelmingly last March to totally ban vacation rentals in its residential neighborhoods, and is now waiting a court ruling to determine if that referendum is valid.

Platforms like Airbnb or Vrbo are an affordable and comfortable way to see the world. Unfortunately, it turns out that some hosts want to see or listen to you as well. Reports of Airbnb or Vrbo hosts recording guests started cropping up in the media years ago. And stories from guests who discovered a live-stream from their bedroom are widespread. In Florida, always check out that faux fireplace with the plastic logs for a hidden camera or the TV sound bar. With the right tools to find hidden cameras or listening devices, you don't have to let these nightmare scenarios stop you from using Airbnb or Vrbo. Fing is the expert in device Intelligence because our accuracy of device detection and recognition is second to none. Over 100 million users recommended Fing as a tool of choice for detecting Airbnb hidden cameras by CNN, Huffington Post, Mashable and Fast Company.

Hidden cameras in your Vrbo & Airbnb short term rental with WiFi capability can range from TV sound bars, to computer speakers cameras, to phone charger station cameras, to fan cameras, to smoke detector cameras, to electrical outlet cameras, to Roku remote cameras, to CO2 detector cameras, to clock cameras, to cell phone docking station cameras, to air purifier station cameras, to lamp cameras, to clock radio cameras, and in short to everywhere the Vrbo & Airbnb host wants to put one.

City of Sarasota Airbnb & Vrbo problems; city residents can expect more "hotel houses" in their neighborhoods. The city of Sarasota currently prohibits short-term rentals (one day), requiring a minimum rental period of seven days in residential areas: "I live in Sarasota zip code area 34231 There is a Airbnb next door...it has been HELL the last month !!! Loud music and noise all weekend. I'm sick of it". Sarasota city officials work directly with Airbnb when a complaint arises, usually from a neighbor, to try to get that particular rental listing into compliance. All violations of Sarasota City Code Section 34.5, vacation rentals, (Airbnb & Vrbo etc) shall be enforced in accordance with Chapter 162 of the Florida Statutes and the City of Sarasota Code of Ordinances. In order to ensure compliance with the established Vacation Rental Regulations, Sarasota Code Compliance will be addressing complaints related to unsupervised vacation rentals where the owner lives out of State or even out of the Country, including but not limited to, over-occupancy, open and late-night parties, excessive noise, parking on public sidewalks and excessive trash and garbage accumulation. Airbnb & Vbro Rentals, Making A Complaint: If you would like to register a complaint with City of Sarasota Code Compliance, please visit our Citizen Connect Portal, email us at VacationRentals@sarasotafl.gov, or call us at 941-263-6623 for assistance. City of Sarasota Fl, Chapter 34.5 requires a certificate of registration for every vacation rental in the CIOD. An owner is required to apply separately to the City for an initial certificate via the city's website for each vacation rental operated, which must be received prior to renting as per Oct 13, 2022. Vrbo stands for 'Vacation Rentals By Owner'.

Find hidden Vrbo cameras in your short term rental with Fing: Fing is the expert in device Intelligence because our accuracy of device detection and recognition is second to none. Over 100 million users recommended Fing as a tool of choice for detecting Airbnb hidden cameras by CNN, Huffington Post, Mashable and Fast Company. Following is a list of quick tips Airbnb or Vrbo guests can use to find hidden cameras or listening devices. Here's how to find a hidden camera next time you check into an Airbnb, a Vrbo rental or anywhere else. If you follow these five steps, you can be sure no one is spying on you.
1) Scan the Wi-Fi network for hidden cameras using Fing App. Download Fing App for free from the App Store or Google Play.
2) Check for common IP camera names that may be hidden on the network
3) Use the ‘Find hidden cameras’ feature from Fing.
4) Check for items that look odd or appear to be out of place. Take a look around the room for objects that may be positioned oddly.
5) Look for camera lenses. Darken the room and use your smartphone flashlight to scan the room for hidden camera lenses.

Airbnb & Vrbo Wankers From Toronto to Silver Springs MD to Sarasota and Longboat Key Fl Have Hidden Cameras Recording You in the Bathroom and Bedroom. Airbnb & Vrbo Have a Hidden-Camera Problem, BIG TIME. The home-rental start-ups says they are cracking down on hosts who record guests. Is it doing enough, not likely. “I didn’t know if I was being watched live in south Florida,” Mr. Vest told me in January. “What I’ve found since is that [the cameras] in the bedroom record to a memory card, but they can also stream live. The host could’ve been watching. Anybody could have been watching.” The company refunded Vest’s money, paid for a hotel room for the night, and eventually removed the host from the site. But Vest alleges that Airbnb made several missteps in the run-up to, and subsequent investigation of, his stay with Ralph. He has retained counsel and informed Airbnb that he is considering filing a civil suit against it under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. In an IPX1031 survey of 2,000 Americans who have stayed in an Airbnb, conducted in 2019, 58 percent of guests said they worried about hidden cameras, and 11 percent of respondents said they have actually discovered a hidden camera in an Airbnb.

AIRBNB 0WNER SUED- HOUSE OF HORRORS SILVER SPRINGS MD. July 2023: Couple suing Airbnb owner Christopher Goisse in Silver Spring, Maryland after hidden camera in bathroom filmed them having sex. Christopher J. Goisse PMHNP, is a licensed psychiatric nurse practitioner in Maryland, he owns the property in the 1100 Block of Dale Drive Silver Springs MD and rented it to the couple. At the same address is Silver Spring Hospitality LLC. categorized under Bed and Breakfast Accommodations. Texas couple Kayelee Gates and fiancé Christian Capraro are suing Christopher Goisse after he allegedly filmed them with hidden cameras while they had sex in the bathroom of his Silver Springs MD home they had rented from him on Airbnb. Kayelee Gates and her fiancé, Christian Capraro, had made a 23-hour drive to Silver Spring, Maryland, to spend two nights in a house in August 2022 when, to their terror, they found the hidden cameras. During their first night, the couple had been “intimate while in the shared bathroom” before they “laid down on the bed, put a movie on, and began to relax,” according to court documents obtained by Fox 5 DC. While lying in bed, Capraro, who installs smoke detectors for a living, became suspicious after they noticed that the room had two smoke detectors — one above the bed in the middle of the ceiling and another in the corner. Capraro found a hidden camera in the detector above the bed, according to the lawsuit. Fox 5 did try to get in touch with the property owner, Christopher Goisse, but he did not answer the phone. When confronted one year ago, he denied any wrongdoing. Instead, he said he believed there was a "possibility" the guest may have planted the devices and then took them to police. However, the lawsuit states he "refused to allow MCPD to search the bedroom where his twin brother Larry Goisse was staying, which had a locked door." UPDATE: Officers got a search warrant and found computers, three fake smoke detectors with hidden cameras, one with an SD card, two alarm clocks with hidden cameras, a USB wall block adapter with a hidden camera and an SD card, three phones, 14 glass pipes and a bag of meth. A search of one of the SD cards turned up videos of Larry Goisse smoking from one of the meth glass pipes and a series of videos of him having sex with a man. “The unknown male makes no indication during the events that he has knowledge of being recorded,” the report says. Larry Goisse Jr., 38, of Mount Washington, who owned two psychiatric practices in Wilkins and East Liberty, self-reported to Federal prison in March 2023 after admitting that he wrote prescriptions while his license was suspended, he got 24 months.

March, 2023, Hill Country Texas man who secretly recorded naked Vrbo guests sentenced to one year in jail. A. Jay Allee, 55, pleaded guilty to six felony counts of invasive visual recording. “I do not want to see you in my courtroom again, Mr. Allee,” Judge Kirsten Cohoon said shortly before Allee was lead out of court by a bailiff. A. Jay Allee agreed to serve one year in a state jail facility in exchange for the Kendall County District Attorney’s Office dismissing nine other counts against him. Kendall County Sheriff’s Office investigators became aware of Allee in the summer of 2021, after a couple from the Midwest staying in the cabin on his sprawling Vrbo Comfort property discovered the recording device. A warrant for Allee’s arrest indicated that the couple first became suspicious of Allee after he suggested that they watch the sunrise from the cabin’s porch while in their pajamas or nude. While the woman was later showering, the man noticed an AC power adapter for a fake router facing the bed. Investigators eventually uncovered 2,126 thumbnail images of nude Vrbo customers from Allee’s seized devices.

July 18, 2023...THE JERUSALEM POST WRITES: Florida nightmare, Troubling discovery: Two young American women found a hidden camera in a Miami Airbnb bedroom. They shared the incident and police response over TikTok. Katelyn Boss recounted the shocking experience of finding a hidden "camera" concealed in the bedroom of an Airbnb apartment she and her friend Rachel Horman had rented in Miami, Florida. She uploaded a video on TikTok to share her story, expressing her fear and disbelief. "When I saw it in person, it looked like a camera. I tried to stay calm so we weren't losing our minds... but I was scared," Katelyn said. "The camera was facing directly at the mirror. And we've been changing in front of this mirror and like doing all that stuff," she recounted. The Federal Video Voyeurism Act says you can't "capture an image of a private area of an individual without their consent, and knowingly does so under circumstances in which the individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy." It's important to note that "private area" refers to nudity or lesser states of dress.

HOW TO SPOT AIRBNB & VRBO HIDDEN CAMERAS; The easiest thing you can do to detect a hidden camera is look for a light. Many cameras have a light on them that is easy to see in a dark room. So, as soon as you get to a room, turn off all the lights, close the curtains, and look in each room for a light. “Cameras need power to work, so a good starting point is to look at what's plugged into the outlets. And pay extra attention in sensitive areas like bathrooms and bedrooms.” Always look in the fireplace and in and around hallways to bedrooms and bathrooms, that smoke detector is not always just a smoke detector. MANATEE COUNTY FL: Derek Starnes said he and his wife found a camera hidden in the smoke detector of a room they rented through Airbnb on Longboat Key, Florida. Derek Starnes and his wife tell WFTS-TV that they found a camera inside the bedroom's smoke detector, pointed directly at the bed. Starnes, who said he works in technology, saw a pinhole in the smoke detector and found a camera recording video onto an SD card. Homeowner Wayne Natt, who did not mention any recording devices in his Airbnb listing for a townhouse in Longboat Key Florida, has been arrested and charged with one count of video voyeurism. It's unclear if other couples may have been recorded, but Wayne Natt had more than 40 reviews on Airbnb, a website for vacation rentals and short term home-stays. The victims of a video voyeur took the chance to speak. Ali Flanagan of Sarasota aimed her anger, disgust and distress at Wayne Natt during his July 26 sentencing in a Manatee County courtroom. Another survivor of Natt’s victimization pleaded with the judge for a harsh sentence. Natt sat emotionless next to his attorney, avoiding eye contact with others. And although there was some uncertainty, 12th Circuit Judge Brian Iten accepted Natt’s plea deal, withheld adjudication in three video voyeurism cases and sentenced the man to three years probation. He also ordered Natt, 56, to serve 11 months and 29 days in the Manatee County jail during the first year of his probation. Longboat Key police Lt. Bob Bourque told the New York Post that authorities seized "a lot of computer storage data drives, hard drives, computers, laptops [and] SD cards." The cameras were also wifi capable, so the video may have been streamed or sent elsewhere. Hell, you've got Airbnb hidden camera wankers from Toronto Canada to Miami Fl and everywhere in between!

TORONTO CANADA; Airbnb hidden cameras are pervasive, they're everywhere! A British couple have revealed their horror at finding a 'spy camera' in an Airbnb flat while on holiday in the center of Toronto, Canada. Dougie Hamilton, 34, of Glasgow, Scotland said what tipped him off was that the clock was 'connected to a wire like a phone charger' and fears it may have taken video of the couple. The host of the property had 'six other properties [available for rent on Airbnb] and hundreds of "GOOD" reviews,' Mr Hamilton said he was told by Airbnb, according to the Daily Record. 'We have removed the host from the platform while we investigate and are providing the guest with our full support,' Lindsey Scully, a spokesperson for Airbnb said told DailyMail.com. 'We take privacy issues extremely seriously and have a zero tolerance policy for this behavior.' Toronto Police confirmed they are investigating the incident but have not released the names of any suspects. An Airbnb spokesman said the host has been removed from the platform while the company investigates. It’s believed the unit in question is downtown Toronto near King St. West and Bathurst St. Airbnb supposdly doesn’t allow for hidden cameras or any other types of concealed recording devices. It does allow hosts to install security cameras in or around the property – as long as they’re not in private areas like bedrooms or bathrooms, and as long as they are properly disclosed. Airbnb allows security cameras or audio recorders in "public spaces" and "common spaces." That means no bathrooms, bedrooms, or other sleeping areas. For instance, a camera or other monitoring device is not allowed if the living room has a sofa bed. Concealed and undisclosed cameras are not permitted, either. It’s happened to me. You check into a vacation rental, get settled in and spot surveillance cameras. Even when the cameras are technically allowed, it’s very alarming. Prepared to be shocked. Cameras can hide in vents, lamps, power outlets and even unassuming objects like humidifiers and TV remote controls. You must see these cameras to believe they exist. Tap or click for 10 hidden cameras so sneaky you’d never know they were there.

What Can You Do If Random Airbnb & Vrbo People are Ruining Your Neighborhood? When your neighbors aren’t really your neighbors, things can get sticky. Here’s how you can fight back. When Rome fell to the barbarians, it didn’t happen overnight. The same thing can be said for neighborhoods that get ruined by short-term rentals like Airbnb & Vrbo. When you bought your home or signed the lease on your apartment you probably thought you were buying a refuge, a place where you could relax, recharge, and live your best life. You become part of a community and, because you’re all stuck together, everyone usually tries to remain respectful.Then came the barbarians in the form of Airbnb, Vrbo, and other short-term rental platforms that allow folks to rent out their homes—or portions of them—for short periods of time. Even the most conscientious host (some live out of state) can find it difficult to control what happens once they hand over the keys to a bunch of randos in town for a bacchanalia. 

Airbnb & Vrbo must pay tax: Sarasota County technically only allows rentals of fewer than 30 days in multi-family residential areas on the barrier islands, such as a condo on Siesta Key, for example, county spokesman Jason Bartolone said. Anywhere else in unincorporated areas and rentals must be longer than a month, he said. The City of Sarasota allows rentals of all or part of single-family homes, the way many Airbnb & Vrbo style rentals are offered, for no less than a week at a time, no daily rentals, said Tim Litchet, director of the city’s Neighborhood and Development Services. The Tourist Development Tax (also referred to as tourist tax, bed tax or resort tax) is a 6% charge on the revenue from rentals of six months or less. (The tax increased to 6% on 10/1/2022.) This tax is in addition to the state sales tax (7% in Sarasota County). All violations of Sarasota City Code Section 34.5, vacation rentals, (Airbnb - Vrbo etc) shall be enforced in accordance with Chapter 162 of the Florida Statutes and the City of Sarasota Code of Ordinances. In order to ensure compliance with the established Vacation Rental Regulations, Code Compliance will be addressing complaints related to unsupervised vacation rentals, including but not limited to, over-occupancy, open and late-night parties, excessive noise, parking on public sidewalks and excessive trash and garbage accumulation.

City of Sarasota Violation Information - Violations of the Vacation Rental Ordinance for AIRBNB & VRBO include, but are not limited to, the following unlawful conduct:
1). It is unlawful to rent out a vacation rental without a current Certificate of Registration effective June 1,2022.
2). It is unlawful to offer a vacation rental for rent or to advertise a vacation rental for rent without a current Certificate of Registration effective June 1, 2022.
3). It is unlawful to rent a vacation rental for occupancy more than the applicable maximum occupancy.
4). It is unlawful to be an occupant of a vacation rental at any time that the number of occupants of the vacation rental exceeds its maximum occupancy.
5). It is unlawful to fail to provide any of the information required to be provided to occupants of the vacation rental.
6). It is unlawful to provide any false or misleading information in connection with any application for an initial or renewed certificate of registration, or for amendment of a certificate of registration as required by this Chapter. For Airbnb & Vrbo Rentals Making A Complaint: If you would like to register a complaint with City of Sarasota Code Compliance, please visit our Citizen Connect Portal, email us at VacationRentals@sarasotafl.gov, or call us at 941-263-6623 for assistance.

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