By Luke Andrews For Mailonline
Published: 06:42 EST, 23 February 2020 | Updated: 21:10 EST, 23 February 2020
Airbnb is offering discounts on 'creepy' bugs that 'listen out for parties' and send text alerts to hosts' phones when guests get too rowdy.
Under the 'party prevention' section of its website, the home rental service says it wants to offer discounts on listening devices until April to 'protect your space, maintain the privacy of your guests, and preserve your relationship with neighbours'.
It comes after homes rented out through the app have been trashed by guests throwing wild parties.
Airbnb is offering discounts on devices that monitor sounds in hosts' houses, but say that guests must be made of their presence before making a booking
The Minut is offered with more than 30 per cent off at $99 (£76.42) while Noise Aware's Indoor Sensor (right) is offered at 25 per cent off for $149 (£115)
Devices on the list include Noise Aware's Indoor sensor, at a 25 per cent discount to $149 (£115), which listens out for sustained sound level, and the Minut, at a 34 per cent discount at $99 (£76.42), which monitors noise alongside temperature, motion and humidity inside a host home.
The Roomonitor, which will alert your phone and guests' phones to high levels of noise, if offered at better than half price for $39 (£30).
The devices do not record sounds but, instead, monitor noise levels. They are listening for sustained sounds above 70 decibels, which could indicate a party is taking place.
Sounds at 60 to 70 decibels tend to be produced by loud TVs or stereos, while sounds around 50 to 60 decibels are produced by a conversation.
The offer comes after homes rented out through the app have been trashed by guests and turned into the venues for large, raucous parties.
This home in Levenshulme, Manchester, was left in tatters after it was rented out through the app and used as the host site of an 18th birthday party
A property in Levenshulme, Manchester, was also destroyed by guests in April 2019 after it was rented out through the app for an 18th birthday party.
Residents living nearby said the property's windows were shaking as the party spilled onto the street.
A mansion in Chelsea was left with £445,000 of damage in April 2017, after guests used it to host a party of up to 500 people.
The owner Michael Howard, 67, rented out the house to what he thought was a family of four.
He filed claims for damages with the High Court at the end of last year, saying Airbnb had only offered to refund him £102,586.
This property in Chelsea, London, was left with £445,000 of damage after as many as 500 people allegedly came to a party at the address. The owners thought they were renting to a family of four
Privacy groups have branded Airbnb's decision to offer listening devices at discounts as 'creepy'.
Security company CyberCare UK's spokesman Kez Garner said the monitors could give 'false positives', such as if a baby was crying.
'I'm a landlord and I wouldn't want to do it with my long-term tenants,' he told The Times.
'I have to trust that they're going to use the property in the right way. People expect privacy in houses and hotels; you wouldn't expect to be monitored.
'Even if I was having a wild party, I would rather the property owner was not getting alerts. If they are doing that, what else are they able to see and hear?'
The deputy director of Fight for the Future, a digital rights advocacy website, told Vice News: 'We're hurtling towards a world where almost everything we own is monitoring us in some way.'
Airbnb says on its website that hosts have to let guests know about any devices in the property, and should do this through their 'home rules'.
'If a host discloses the device after booking, Airbnb will allow the guest to cancel the reservation and receive a refund,' they said. 'Host cancellation penalties may apply.'
'We prohibit any security cameras and other recording devices that are in or that observe the interior of certain private spaces (Such as bedrooms and bathrooms), regardless of whether they've been disclosed.'
MailOnline has contacted Airbnb for comment.
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