In an effort to better understand the traveling habits and experiences of vacationers, a new survey has looked to examine what renters are and are not looking for when taking a trip. A common accommodation most could go without was hidden cameras.
The survey, conducted by the financial company IPX, found that when renting vacation properties through Airbnb, VRBO, or any other booking channel, travelers often sought out hosts who had fair policies and beautiful properties.
However, the survey found that one of the biggest concerns that travelers have is whether or not they are being watched.
In total, 58% of respondents reported being worried about hidden cameras in vacation rentals, and 34% reported going as far as to search the rental looking for cameras once they arrived.
As for those who found them, 20% reported spotting a camera outside the property, while 5% said they found a camera inside the rental they were staying at. Of those who found them, 18% said they were in a common area, and 10% reported unplugging them for the duration of their stay.
The survey also highlighted the growing trend of negative experiences with renting vacation properties. Over the last 5 years, 22% of those who have rented a property reported having a bad experience, with 25% of those reporting their rental being dirty upon their arrival.
Still, respondents shared that over 75% of hosts made the situation right after being contacted by the renter.
Even with inflation continuing to push prices sky-high and past bad experiences, Americans are planning on traveling at some point this year, with the survey reporting that 64% plan on renting a vacation property in 2023.
The majority of would-be renters said they planned on using Airbnb (85%) for their travel, but the up-and-coming VRBO (32%) has leaped Booking.com (22%) and TripAdvisor (18%) in what consumers prefer to use when planning their trips.
Part of the reason for Airbnb and VRBO’s success could be that travelers prefer to have private homes on their trips (41%) instead of the traditional hotel room or resort.
However, many have joined the growing complaint of the responsibility attached to renting from the likes of Airbnb or VRBO, as hosts continue to push renters to clean their units or otherwise face cleaning fees. Even with 91% of respondents saying they tidy their rental property before leaving, a third think it’s unfair to be asked to clean or complete chore lists.
Recently, Airbnb’s CEO Brian Chesky decided to experience the complaints his customers have been making instead of just listening to them.
Chesky shared last week that he has spent six months living in Airbnb rental units, so he could better understand what his company is failing to do and what it can do better.
“Last year, I started living in Airbnbs, and I stayed in like a dozen and a half over the course of six months. It became this one-year journey of becoming the ultimate guest, only living in Airbnbs from one house to the other,” Chesky told Fortune in a recent interview. “And when I started staying in homes, I started noticing variability.”
The concerns Chesky noticed included the “giant” cleaning fees, chore lists, and even rental agreements some hosts imposed on their renters. He said he questioned the hosts on why they were doing things, with some of them not knowing he was the CEO of the company, resulting in authentic responses.
“The worst 10% of guest and host experiences were making it worse for everyone,” he continues. “And the whole point of our platform is to take those things off the table.”
Now, Airbnb has launched upwards of 50 new features that address the common concerns renters, and Chesky, experience. Among those include the ability to rent one room instead of an entire property, host profiles for inquiring renters, and more.
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