Why accommodation is different
At home you know your surroundings. In a hotel room or short-term rental you don’t know who was there before you, who has access, or how long things have been in place. That uncertainty makes a short, routine check worthwhile. The steps below take a few minutes and need no special equipment. The aim isn’t to turn every stay into an investigation, just a sensible, quick, calm check.
The first few minutes
Check before you unpack
Do it as soon as you arrive, before unpacking or changing. You check before your most private moments, and you see the room as it was handed to you.
Lights off, torch on
Close the curtains and turn off the lights. Hold your phone torch at eye level beside your nose and slowly scan surfaces facing the bed, shower, bath and mirror from different angles. Lenses reflect light back towards its source and can show as a small, bright, often bluish point that appears only from certain angles.
Prioritise the bed and bathroom
Cameras are placed with a purpose, and in accommodation that’s usually the bed, shower or changing area. Anything with a view of those is a priority: the TV unit, a shelf on the opposite wall, the ceiling, the smoke detector, the bathroom vent.
Adapters, clocks and smoke detectors
Look closely at USB adapters nobody seems to have plugged in, clocks on desks and bedside tables, smoke detectors and decor. A single tiny hole, an unexpected light or an object that doesn’t fit the room deserves attention. Turning a clock away from the bed, unplugging an adapter or covering it is a simple precaution.
Infrared check
With the room dark, look around through your phone’s front camera. Infrared night-vision LEDs can appear as a purple or white glow. This only shows cameras using night vision and running at that moment.
Short-term rentals
Hosts may have disclosed security cameras at the entrance or garden. Most booking platforms have rules on cameras and these change over time, so check your platform’s current rules before you book. Note the number and location of disclosed cameras and compare them with what you find. If you can see the router’s connected device list, look for unidentified or camera-like devices, bearing in mind the host’s smart home devices will also appear. Cameras in bedrooms, bathrooms or changing areas are not acceptable. If you find one, document it and decide whether to stay based on your safety.
If you find something
- Don’t touch, remove or break it. Photograph it, including shots that show its position and field of view.
- In a hotel, report it to management rather than just reception, and ask to change rooms.
- In a rental, report it to the platform and consider whether to continue the stay.
- If it’s in a private area, consider going to the police. If you are in immediate danger, call 112.
Business travel
On business trips the risk is often audio and data rather than video. A sensitive call from the room, a laptop left unattended or a device on the hotel’s shared network can be a bigger exposure than a camera. Avoid sensitive conversations in rooms you haven’t checked, don’t leave devices unattended and use your own mobile data where possible. For critical meetings in a hotel, having the room or meeting space swept beforehand is the safer route.
The limits of your own checks
A torch scan needs the lens to be in your line of sight; one recessed or angled away can be missed. Infrared checks only show cameras using night vision, and the network list only shows Wi-Fi devices. Phone apps don’t close these gaps, as our separate guide explains. Finding nothing doesn’t prove the room is clean, but it does mean you’ve checked the most common hiding places, which for most stays is a sensible precaution.