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AirBnb’s May Not Be As Safe As You Thought

Just because an Airbnb has good reviews, doesn’t mean you can’t be a victim, so be aware of the dangers lurking when on vacation.

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Just because an Airbnb has good reviews, doesn’t mean you can’t be a victim, so be aware of the dangers lurking when on vacation.  Imagine, you are on vacation and you make a horrifying discovery in your rented Airbnb, someone has been secretly recording your every move.  What would you do if you found hidden cameras in your rental property?  That is exactly what happened to an Indiana couple who was using the popular vacation rental website while taking a trip to Florida.  Luckily, Derek Starnes worked in the tech field or he may have never noticed the tiny hidden cameras recording him and his wife.

 

Starnes told Tampa ABC Action News, that he noticed a smoke detector had a weird black hole, so he investigated it closer.  When he looked inside the hole, he saw a tiny camera connected to an SD memory card.

The camera was pointed directly at the bed and this sent shivers down his spine. He searched around the rented home and found two other cameras, one pointed toward the living room and one in the bathroom.  

Starnes and his wife rented the townhome in Longboat Key, near Sarasota, FL through the Airbnb website.  He immediately called the police.

 

 

Wayne Natt was arrested and charged with video voyeurism and may be charged with more once all the evidence is collected.  The 56-year-old tried to tell police that he only recorded consenting adults, but that doesn’t really hold any water.  There was footage fo Starnes and his wife, and they definitely did NOT consent to be videotaped.

Lt. Bob Bourque of the Longboat Key Police Department told ABC Action News, “We seized a lot of computer storage devices, hard drives, computers, laptops, SD Cards and anything that would store data.”

He went on to say, “We don’t know if there are local victims, someone who may have been dating him or a companion that doesn’t realize they are being videotaped, and then we have the other side of who he rented to through Airbnb.”

 

The police are asking any Airbnb guests who may have stayed at Mr. Natt’s home at 623 Cedars Court in Longboat Key, FL, to come forward.  You may have been taped illegally as well.

Airbnb took swift action once they learned of this heinous act and immediately banned Mr. Natt from the website permanently.  

Airbnb spokesman, Benjamin Breit made a statement, “We are outraged at the reports of what happened; as soon as we were made aware, we permanently banned this individual from our community and fully supported the affected guests, privacy issues extremely seriously and have a zero-tolerance policy against this behavior.”

 

Starnes is feeling distressed because he knows the camera caught him walking across the bedroom nude.  Can you imagine knowing that you were filmed in your most intimate and vulnerable state?

How To Prevent This Type of Thing From Happening to You

 

CAMERA DETECTOR

If you are worried about being secretly recorded when you are staying at a hotel or Airbnb, simply buy yourself a Camera Detector.  A low-cost camera detector will run you around $30 and uses a laser to look for hidden cameras.

 

TELL THEM YOU PLAN TO SWEEP THE ROOM

This may make you sound paranoid, but who cares, it’s your personal safety we are talking about here.  If someone was planning to film you, announcing it will most certainly scare them off.  

 

USE A FLASHLIGHT

The flashlight can help you find the tiniest of hidden cameras.

Simply turn off all the lights, and slowly scan the room with the illuminated flashlight, looking for glints of light coming from a camera.

 

REVIEWS MEAN ALMOST NOTHING

Sure a review will tell you certain information, but in this situation, it tells you nothing.  If someone found a camera before, the property would already be shut down.  Don’t take ratings and reviews as the gospel.

 

This isn’t an isolated incident, as there have been several Airbnb guests who have been arrested for the exact same thing.  A Montreal Airbnb host had a hidden camera in a bin next to the bed, catching all sorts of vacation revelry.

An Airbnb host in Japan is falling under scrutiny as there were hidden cameras found by a Korean couple who was staying at the apartment.  This case also involved a smoke detector with a hidden camera installed.

 

According to Starnes, the Airbnb was well reviewed and there was no other evidence that something nefarious was going on.

Be careful out there, the world is full of many sick and twisted people.

 

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Destinations

Find Out This Little Known Hack for Easier Air Travel

No need for forms to file a claim. Travel insurance companies can instantly send you money while you wait for your delayed flight.

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     People don’t like paperwork, especially when it comes to travel-related documents. This hack for easier air travel is going to eliminate the hassle of filling out forms and other tedious processes. Flying is going to be much less stressful. 

 

     Just think of this – when you experience a delay in your flight, the travel insurance company is simply going to send you a text message that you’ll be receiving $100 for the inconvenience. No paperwork, no lines, and no hassle. 

 

     This advancement in the way travel insurance work is because of two companies, the Berkshire-Hathaway Travel Protection and the Allianz Global Assistance. These companies are using new technology where they can track your flight. And then if anything comes up, they can automatically file a travel insurance claim for you. 

 

 

     Since very few people know about this new advancement in travel insurance, it is definitely a hack that you should keep a note of. If you go through the traditional route of travel insurance, you’re going to wait for weeks before you will be compensated. 

 

     With automatic claims, it is going to be what the term suggests. You won’t have to fill out forms to file your claim. You don’t even have to file your claim at all. It’s going to be the insurance company who will do those things for you. 

 

Automatic Claims: How They Work

 

     Automatic claims mean that you don’t have to wait for a disruption in your flight to happen so you can file your claim. The travel insurance company will be the one to monitor the flights. If ever there’s a delay, the insurance company will be offering you a fixed amount. You don’t have to do anything from your end. 

 

 

     Apart from flight delays, insurance companies also provide benefits for damaged or lost luggage. The amount will depend on your policy. What is only required from you is for you to verify the damage or the loss. The payment will come almost immediately. You can say that it is indeed an instant claim. 

 

Benefits of Travel Insurance Auto-Claims

 

  • It is automated and therefore easier. As mentioned earlier, you are not required to do anything so you can file your claim. You only have to ensure that the travel insurance company is aware of your flight information before departure. 
  • You will definitely get better service. In cases where there’s a delay in your flight, getting a text message that you will receive $100 will at least make you feel a bit better. 

 

 

  • Money comes in an instant. Imagine never needing to wait for a check to arrive. The travel insurance company will send the money instantly. While waiting for your flight, you can use the money to shop a bit or have a few relaxing drinks. 

 

     You may wonder why this automatic claim from travel insurance companies is not well-known. Since automatic claims are still building their momentum, it is easy for people to be suspicious of it. They think that instant payments are just too good to be true. But when you study this automatic claim closely, it has plenty of benefits. 


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Making The Most Of Travel Productivity

  Overall, the key to stress-free journeys is investing time to plan points out thoroughly ahead of time, increasing your efficiency and general comfort along the way.

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     There are a wide variety of reasons why you could take a trip, be it for leisure, business or something in-between. Nowadays, so-called “bleisure” adventures are popular, incorporating the enjoyable and exciting aspects of a pleasureful escape with the efficiency of a job requirement. Nonetheless, great preparation is an essential factor of whether you’ll have a smooth, seamless trip in which you achieve your functional objectives and fondly bear in mind the experience years down the line. Below are a couple of suggestions to aid you to attain that very equilibrium.

 

 

Utilize A List

     In the hustle and bustle of preparing for your journey, the likelihood of neglecting something is really high, however, you can avoid that just by assembling a checklist well in development. All you’ll have to do is uncheck the things on the checklist and also start fresh when you’re going on a new journey.”

 

Book Proactively

     When you’re reserving your trip, leave a void in between expected goal times. In the best-case circumstance, you’ll have a possibility to relax, consume a healthier meal and refresh on your own. As well as in the worst instance, you’ll be able to attend on schedule even if there’s a hold-up with your trip or any other hitch.

 

 

     Overall, the key to stress-free journeys is investing time to plan points out thoroughly ahead of time, increasing your efficiency and general comfort along the way.

 

Build Healthy Routines

     Traveling typically suggests you’ll be in contact with even more people, public locations and items than the majority of other people. Something as straightforward as antibacterial wipes can go a long way to making certain that you don’t capture any type of ailments. You’ll need to enjoy your diet plan as well as make the added effort to find healthy food, instead of just going for the closest chow you locate at the airport terminal or in the city you have actually arrived at. It might cost you even more as well as take more time, however, it’ll certainly work out in your favor over time.

 

 

Research Funding Choices

     Travel can be very pricey, but smart individuals have a number of means to lower their prices. You can get a hotel loyalty card, which will qualify you to free stays depending upon just how much you’ve used them, not unlike airline company miles. Usually, you can additionally stack the advantages up and make on your own an extremely affordable trip.

 

     According to Ivan Baidin, CEO of Traveling Payments, “Travel-affiliate strategies can also help you make money by referring people to helpful services and products. Usually, you make around $7 from the rate of a bought aircraft tickets and $20 from a hotel booking. It needs patience as well as discovering, yet in time it repays really well.”

 

 

     An additional cost-saving method is to just make use of no-fee ATM cards. Different banks use them, so examine the fine print to see which one is most valuable total.

 


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Destinations

The Tasty Traveling Trends Of 2019

 Let us see what’s most likely to be fashionable in the next year by observing the largest traveling fads of 2019.

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     Traveling trends are consistently producing terrific buzz for travelers. Patterns from very early 2019 up until this time, as observed by travel industries, are noticing changes from long, large, and pure vacation purposes to short and mixed vacation objectives. Let us see what’s most likely to be fashionable in the next year by observing the largest traveling fads of 2019.

Tiny Vacations

     In going with short holidays, the location needs to be conveniently accessed for a short vacation. It’s paramount to select the purposeful, time-saving activities – the remarkable ones. It could be a short family members vacation or solo trip.

Stroll touring is most advised during this sort of holiday. Native foods, gallery expeditions, and scenic strolls are the most pleasing activities you can do. There are numerous “walkable” cities in the world where you can enjoy these meaningful activities such as Kowloon in Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, London, England, and numerous others.

Wellness-oriented Tours

     With the ease of access to health information online, wellness-conscious visitors always associate tourism with health. As reported by the International Wellness Institute, wellness tourism is growing rapidly and has actually produced even more destinations with wellness orientations. One valid example is the existence of hot springs around the globe. These are thought to have healing abilities and were created by the existing hotels – however, with a new clientele in mind.

 

     The wellness locations most tourists chose include nature, specific weather conditions, peaceful destinations, day spas, culture, yoga exercise, and exterior health and fitness activities. These wellness destinations will certainly not just ease you physically but also emotionally. There are numerous places worldwide that supply solutions like these, such as  Hawaii, Italy, Bali, Arizona, as well as many more.

Bleisure Trips

     This holiday incorporates business with leisure. The majority of those who take a trip for their organization offer themselves many opportunities to take pleasure in tourism after organizational duties. Many tourists in bleisure journeys, search for the closest visitor destination to discover considering that they have just limited location and time choices. Moreover, they are not traveling for a getaway; rather searching for possibilities near the place they check-in. The most joyful activities to do throughout these vacations are days at the shopping center, memento searching and walking tours. Yet you can still increase the fun as long as your schedule permits. Beaches, riders, and golf courses are the next best tasks to do.

 

Social Media-inspired Holidays

     In today’s electronic age, selecting holiday destinations is more than likely, social media-inspired. Attractive pictures of lovely locations are published on social media as well as internet sites that permit first-timers to have first experience with the prospective destination. When visited, tourists might refer the destination to pals. Since pictures on social networks systems are mainly artistic, there are more real-life cosmetically artistic locations that you can choose from such as in Rome, Italy, Paris, France, Berlin, as well as Germany.

 

     Staying on par with these four large traveling trends will certainly maintain your itinerary. This will even make your traveling trip a lot more successful and greatly more satisfying.


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