Lending out your home to a total stranger on Airbnb was kind of a crap-shoot to begin with. You have no way of knowing whether you’re entrusting your bedroom to a normal person or a serial killer who enjoys hosting splosh fetish parties on your 1,500-thread count sheets. But it became even more of a risk earlier this year, when it was reported that an Airbnb user held a “BBW Panty Raid Party” in a New York City resident’s apartment, leaving behind more than $67,000 in damages.
Luckily, BrickHouse Security, a home security firm in New York known for creating various spy gadgets, is attempting to solve this problem by creating a surveillance system exclusively for Airbnb users.
It’s called MORza Airbnb, and it’s intended to guarantee that no one holds any freaky-deaky BBW Panty Raid Parties while they’re staying in your abode. (I mean, if you’re into that sort of thing, more power to you. But yeah, probably don’t do it in someone else’s house without their permission.)
Essentially, MORza Airbnb uses motion sensors to detect whether private closets have been opened or if doors have been unlocked or kept ajar for an inordinate amount of time, a sign that whoever’s staying in your home might be having a party. The system is camera-free. (While Airbnb does not have an explicit policy against homeowners keeping cameras in their homes, the website’s guidelines state that hosts should alert guests if there’s a security camera system in place.)
The security system also lets you install additional tilt motion sensors to determine if any valuables, such as jewelry or furniture, have been moved. If there’s any suspicious activity, MORza Airbnb will send a text message to the home owner’s phone. It also enables guests and home owners to lock or unlock their doors remotely with a smartphone, thus negating the need for a key swap.
Does MORza Airbnb actually have a system in place to prevent users from having wild sex parties in your home, like, for instance, genital activity sensors, or tracking sensors under your bed to see if it’s squeaking too hard? Nope. But if nothing else, for $299, you can have peace of mind that no one is using your home for an impromptu BBW Panty Raid—or, if they are, at least they’re being relatively discreet about it.
Photo by pinguino k/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
