A woman finds a mysterious “hidden” room in her Airbnb rental. And she is confused by the discovery.
Airbnb makes traveling easy—until you run into something weird. Maybe it’s an unusual house rule, a surprise fee, or arriving at a property that isn’t quite what was promised.
But every now and then, guests uncover something straight out of a mystery novel.
That’s exactly what happened to TikTok user Brittney (@gardenofb), who detailed the incident in a recent video that has garnered over 251,000 views since Feb. 3.
AirBnB guest finds ‘hidden’ room
“All right, so, guys, I’m in this Airbnb,” Brittney starts. “This is a two-bedroom.”
Walking through the space, she shows the two bedrooms. “So one-bedroom,” she says as she films the doors. “And then the second bedroom.”
However, there’s something “mysterious” going on at the property, according to Brittney.
“It’s illegal!” a voice can be heard saying from nearby.
As she steps outside, Brittney films a third bedroom that appears to have no way to access it from inside the house.
“I see… a third bedroom,” she says, filming the exterior.
“I don’t know what the [expletive] is going on here,” she concludes.
At first, there’s no obvious way to enter the room from inside. But in a follow-up video, Brittney discovers a hidden door disguised as part of a closet. By sliding a section over, she reveals the third bedroom door.
Is it ‘illegal’ for Airbnb hosts to restrict areas?
As long as the property matches the listing, there’s nothing illegal about what the host did here.
According to Airbnb’s guidelines, hosts and guests aren’t allowed to enter private spaces without permission—unless there’s an emergency.
That means hosts can keep certain rooms off-limits, as long as they clearly communicate it to guests.
In shared rentals, it’s even more common. Some hosts restrict kitchen or living room access during certain times, while others might keep entire sections of the home private.
Commenters don’t find it unusual
In the comments, users found the restricted area completely normal, saying Brittney and her family had nothing to worry about.
“What makes this illegal? They rent their house out with the exception of one room,” stated one commenter. “I’m confused as to why you’re confused.”
“So they own the house and don’t have to give you access to the entire thing,” wrote another. “Hope this helps.”
“As an Airbnb owner, we absolutely have a locked, inaccessible area in our homes. It’s an ‘owners area’ where we keep ALL THE THINGS we need to run our business. Most all of them do,” explained a third. “This is normal.”
@gardenofb wtfff is this legal???? #airbnb#fyp #secretroom #blowthisuptiktok ♬ original sound – Brittney P
The Daily Dot has reached out to Brittney via TikTok messages and Airbnb via email for additional information.
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