There are few places where people expect greater privacy than inside a hotel room or short-term rental. Whether traveling for business, vacation, or personal reasons, guests reasonably expect that the space they have rented will be private and free from secret surveillance. Unfortunately, hidden cameras continue to be discovered in hotel rooms, bathrooms, vacation rentals, and other locations where guests may be sleeping, changing clothes, or engaging in private activities.
Being secretly recorded can cause far more than embarrassment. Victims may experience anxiety, humiliation, fear, loss of trust, and uncertainty about who has viewed or received the recordings. Depending on the circumstances and the law that applies, a victim may also have a civil claim for monetary damages against the person responsible and, in some cases, against a business, property owner, employer, or other entity whose own conduct contributed to the violation.
Since 1990, Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC has represented people harmed by serious privacy violations, sexual misconduct, and other wrongful conduct. Attorney Mitchell Sexner has also discussed hidden-camera risks publicly, including in a January 2026 FOX 32 Chicago interview concerning hidden cameras and privacy violations.
If you believe that you or a family member was secretly recorded, our legal team is available 24 hours a day for confidential information at (312) 243-9922.
The Growing Problem of Hidden Cameras in Private Places
Modern recording devices can be extremely small and may be disguised as ordinary objects such as smoke detectors, chargers, clocks, electrical fixtures, or household electronics. Some record to internal memory, while others may transmit images remotely.
The legal rules governing recording vary from state to state, but private locations receive significant protection. In Illinois, for example, 720 ILCS 5/26-4 prohibits specified forms of unauthorized video recording or live video transmission in locations including hotel bedrooms, restrooms, tanning facilities, locker rooms, changing rooms, and residences.
Guests may be recorded during some of their most vulnerable moments—while sleeping, changing clothes, using a bathroom, or engaging in intimate activity. Learning that these moments may have been captured, stored, viewed, or distributed can cause significant emotional harm even when there was no physical contact with the person responsible.
If you are concerned about surveillance while traveling, our separate article explains practical ways to check a hotel room or vacation rental for hidden cameras.
Airbnb Prohibits Indoor Security Cameras
Airbnb's current rules prohibit hosts from having security cameras or recording devices that monitor any part of a home's interior, even if those devices are turned off or disconnected. Hidden cameras are also expressly prohibited. Certain exterior cameras may be permitted when properly disclosed and used consistently with Airbnb's rules and applicable law. The company explains these requirements in its security-camera and recording-device policy.
A platform rule does not guarantee that every host will follow it. When a prohibited recording device is discovered, the circumstances may warrant investigation into who installed it, who controlled the property, who had access to the recordings, whether earlier complaints existed, and whether other guests may also have been recorded.
Who May Be Responsible for a Hidden-Camera Recording?
The person who installed, operated, or controlled a hidden camera is an obvious focus of any investigation. That individual may potentially face criminal consequences, civil liability, or both, depending upon the applicable law and evidence.
But a civil investigation does not necessarily end with the person who physically placed the camera. Depending on the facts, questions may also arise concerning a hotel, rental-property owner, employer, management company, or another business or entity.
For example, potential liability may need to be investigated when an employee misuses access to guest rooms, management ignored earlier warning signs or complaints, an employer negligently hired or retained a dangerous employee, or a property owner knew about dangerous conduct and failed to respond appropriately.
This does not mean that a hotel, rental company, or online platform is automatically responsible whenever someone secretly records a guest. Liability must be established based upon the applicable law and evidence concerning that defendant's own conduct.
Civil Hidden-Camera Lawsuits Are Separate From Criminal Cases
A criminal prosecution is brought by governmental authorities and focuses on whether a defendant committed a crime. A civil lawsuit is brought by the injured person and seeks compensation and other civil remedies available under applicable law.
A victim does not necessarily have to wait for a criminal prosecution to be completed before speaking with a civil attorney. The timing and relationship between criminal and civil proceedings depend upon the circumstances of the case.
Potential civil theories may include invasion of privacy, negligence, negligent hiring or supervision, intentional misconduct, and other claims recognized by the jurisdiction where the events occurred. Which claims are legally available depends upon the facts and applicable state law.
Our hidden-camera lawsuit attorneys evaluate these issues by examining the location of the recording, the relationship between the parties, who controlled the premises, what the defendants knew, and how the privacy violation affected the victim.
Compensation That May Be Available
The damages available in a hidden-camera lawsuit vary according to the jurisdiction, claims asserted, evidence, and severity of the harm. Potential damages may include the cost of counseling or psychological treatment, lost income when the incident interferes with employment, and compensation for emotional distress, humiliation, anxiety, and loss of privacy.
The fear that images may have been copied, viewed, uploaded, or distributed can itself become a major part of the emotional injury. In some cases, victims may never know with certainty how many recordings were made or who received them.
Punitive damages may also be available in certain jurisdictions and under particular circumstances when the defendant's conduct satisfies the applicable legal standard. They are not automatically available in every hidden-camera lawsuit.
Examples of Significant Hidden-Camera Awards
$2.78 Million Jury Verdict – Au Pair Secretly Recorded in Her Bedroom
In September 2024, a federal jury awarded an au pair $2.78 million after she discovered that her employer had placed a hidden camera in a smoke detector above her bedroom. According to Associated Press reporting, the award included $780,000 for emotional distress and $2 million in punitive damages.
$45 Million Total Award – Couple Secretly Recorded in Rental Cottage
In another case, a South Carolina couple who had rented a cottage learned that the landlord had secretly recorded them during private and intimate activities. According to The State, a jury awarded $27 million in actual damages and later $10 million in punitive damages, with an additional $8 million imposed by the judge under South Carolina's Unfair Trade Practices Act, bringing the total to approximately $45 million.
These cases involved different defendants, jurisdictions, facts, and legal theories. They are examples of prior outcomes elsewhere and should not be viewed as predictions of what another hidden-camera case may be worth.
Why Hidden-Camera Cases Require Careful Investigation
Important questions often remain unanswered when a recording device is first discovered. An investigation may need to determine how long the camera was operating, whether it recorded continuously or only when activated, where recordings were stored, whether they were transmitted over the internet, who had access to them, and whether additional victims exist.
Evidence may also exist outside the camera itself. Booking records, hotel access logs, employment records, repair records, Wi-Fi information, communications, prior complaints, surveillance footage from common areas, and electronic records may help establish who had access to a room or device.
For that reason, preserving evidence quickly can be important.
What to Do If You Discover a Hidden Camera
If you discover what appears to be a hidden recording device, avoid destroying, dismantling, or unnecessarily handling it. If it is safe to do so, photograph or video the device and its location before anything is moved. Document what the device appears to be facing and preserve photographs of the surrounding room.
Consider leaving the room or property if you feel unsafe and contacting local law enforcement. Preserve reservation confirmations, receipts, text messages, emails, communications through the booking platform, and information identifying the room or rental property.
You should also consider reporting the incident to the hotel, management company, or booking platform, although the timing and manner of doing so may depend upon the circumstances. Speaking promptly with an attorney can help determine what additional evidence should be preserved and what legal deadlines may apply.
Your Right to Privacy Matters
A person should be able to sleep, undress, shower, and conduct private activities in a hotel room or rented residence without secretly being recorded. When that expectation of privacy is violated, both criminal and civil law may become relevant.
Civil litigation can provide a way to seek monetary compensation and investigate whether responsibility extends beyond the individual who operated the camera. Each case, however, must be evaluated individually based upon its own evidence and the law that applies.
How Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC Can Help
Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC handles serious civil cases involving privacy violations and misconduct. In addition to hidden-camera claims, our attorneys represent clients in matters involving medical malpractice and sexual abuse and sexual assault, including cases involving people who used positions of trust, employment, authority, or access to harm others.
If you believe that you were secretly recorded in a hotel, Airbnb, vacation rental, bathroom, changing area, workplace, medical facility, spa, or another private location, contact Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC. We can evaluate the circumstances and help determine whether a civil lawsuit may be available.
Our legal team is available 24 hours a day for a confidential consultation at (312) 243-9922. There is no attorney fee unless we are successful in obtaining compensation on your behalf.
