Hidden camera in motel?

I wasn't sure exactly where to post this, but here goes.

I'm wondering if anyone can help me figure out what this thing was.

A couple of years ago my family and I were on vacation in San Diego and staying at a motel (not sure which chain it was). There was a small black thingy on the wall with a small red light inside of it (it looked kind of like the things on the ceilings at Kmart, etc..which I always assume are cameras but if they're something else please tell me, I'm uninformed ). I thought it might be some kind of smoke detector but wasn't sure. It didn't look anything like a normal detector. I was joking with my parents about it being a hidden camera, and that it was watching us, so just on a lark I got a kleenex and covered it. Not 5 seconds later the phone rang. It was the motel staff, saying that they were just calling to make sure everything was alright and satisfactory in our room. This has NEVER happened before. Was the black thing something normal that's in all motel rooms? (I've never seen it elsewhere though.) Did they call as some sort of safety precaution? Was it a camera? Or am I just paranoid?

Any information would be helpful! Thanks.

I would say it was a camera. I've never once been in a motel/hotel where the staff cared enough to call to see if everything was alright. I am surprised that they used something so obvious though. With the tech we have today, it's really easy to get a camera and put it in a place where it almost cannot be seen at all. Remember the reports years ago where the cameras where hidden in the walls behind mirrors?

To this day, even as little as I visit a hotel, I scour the room for anything that could be a camera. Last thing I want to see is my wife and I plastered all over the internet just because we wanted a night of privacy without kids.

iT WAS A CAMERA and good for you to cover it up. Its nobody's business, specially in a motel what you do- terrorists or not.
Period.

Many hotels/motels now have sensors to turn on the AC when people enter. They look like an alarm sensor, or could have an infrared lens on them.

If messed with it sends an alarm to the controller at the front desk, thats maybe why they called.

Although, I couldn't imagine a kleenex disturbing the sensor

Try and see if you can remember/get the name of the place and we can see who the owner is. Even if its a chain it may be a franchised one.

my feeling is it is a camera and you did what most wouldn't have. a camera in plain site in an inconspicuous box, most would not trust their instincts and do anything but you did. Did you read your fine print on the deposit slip you signed or the liability form you are to read "yet nobody does". they may have admitted installing a camera in common living space for security purposes. once you sign that they are not liable and it becomes legal and binding that they own it and can use it. i had one in a room and i knew it was no smoke detector. i taped a box over it and after i left the room and returned housekeeping had removed it. i put it back but never received a courtesy call. i have not been out in any hotel since but when i am i will be sure to read all fine print in a hotel from now on and time share too.

Thanks for the advice! I didn't read the fine print..my parents checked in, not sure if they did..but I'll never look at a motel room the same way again.

I had a similar experience in the 80s. After checking in and getting undressed for bed, the phone rang and someone said 'you look like you could use some company' (male voice, I think).

Probably safe to assume that some motels do have cameras allowing them to see the rooms, though I couldn't see one at the time.

Anyone work for a motel that can tell us?

What motel was this one you found the red light?

I think if they were using cameras now it wouldn't be detectable by sight, just looking around.

sounds like a camera,would be co0l if you could remember the motel/hotel chain.... ill keep an eye out next time i stay in one.

A good way to test would be to do a cr*p on the floor, while it was on. See if they ring then. lol

If you go to a big chain thats not privately owned chances of a camera in your room is slim to none. Chances are it was a sensor..
However if you find yourself in a mom and pops privately owned Motel or Hotel, Id really be watching out for hidden cameras!
Its well known to most people that more than half the men in this world are total perverts, same goes for you women too!! Ive known some really perverted chicks..hehe
So the moral of this post is to let you know that if its a privately owned shop you better watch out.. Big chains would be less likely to do that..

But Jimbo in his little shop could have rigged all the rooms so he could catch some hot hooker action.. OR get some dirt on someone who comes in with a hooker and smokes crack with them.. Not the first time its happened.. You just dont hear about it to much, becasue thats why they call it blackmail!! If you pay off the problem goes away..

If it was obvious and visible, it was an A/C sensor...a lot of the chains install them to cut down on operating costs.

Originally posted by TheStarMan
If it was obvious and visible, it was an A/C sensor...a lot of the chains install them to cut down on operating costs.

I'm of the mind that it's an ac sensor too. The motel I used to work at had them installed, saving thousands of dollars a year on power.

If a motel is going to have a hidden camera, I seriously doubt it'll be that obvious. The few rooms we had them in, the camera was hidden in the tv. Since our tvs were always at an angle in one corner of the room, we got a good view of everything. Sticking them inside the tv allowed us to get the feed through the cable wire. If customers asked, we just told them that was the wire for the "alarm" on the tv.

As someone stated in a small "mom and pop" operations, there could be a camera... however I'd say a very very small chance.

Not saying that you are lying, but reminds me of the recently released movie..

Vacancy -

A young married couple becomes stranded at an isolated motel and finds hidden video cameras in their room. They realize that unless they escape, they'll be the next victims of a snuff film

www.imdb.com...

Think about it for a moment.... If it was a "hidden" camera, would it have a little red light? NO. Hidden cameras are not obvious. Hiding a camera is easy to do and they are never obvious with a little red light. A/C sensors are the norm in hotels, and some of the newer fire detection systems look nothing like the common home style smoke detector.

I travel quite often. Last year alone I visited 40 or so cities in the US, from Florida to Alaska, not to mention my international travel as well. Each and every hotel I stayed in called my room a bit after I had setteled in, to ask if everything was satisfactory. That is quite normal in todays world. They want to make sure that you are happy as they want repeat business.

Originally posted by tebyen

The few rooms we had them in, the camera was hidden in the tv. Since our tvs were always at an angle in one corner of the room, we got a good view of everything.

So, can you explain what you mean by 'we'? IOW, you seem to be saying you worked for a motel and they not only put cameras in some rooms, but they also told you, an employee, about it? Why would they risk telling an employee who might decide to blackmail them for doing this highly illegal act?

Sticking them inside the tv allowed us to get the feed through the cable wire.

This, I seriously doubt. I know of no systems that allow tapping into the pre-existing co-ax cable to send signals from a camera inside a TV in a room to a central viewing area. In addition this would be an illegal use of the cable TV's cable.

What chain or motel was this?

Originally posted by Terapin
Think about it for a moment.... If it was a "hidden" camera, would it have a little red light? NO. Hidden cameras are not obvious. Hiding a camera is easy to do and they are never obvious with a little red light. A/C sensors are the norm in hotels, and some of the newer fire detection systems look nothing like the common home style smoke detector.

Exactly.

And can you IMAGINE the money a hotel chain would stand to lose in a lawsuit over cameras in people's rooms? I'm not saying a pervy manager has never tried to video clients, but a poorly-disguised camera with a red light, as a matter of policy? No way...