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[Anne1313]

Why is it that we have to accept a booking before we can see the profile of the person booking?  I have accepted a booking from someone who has no reviews and i do not like this 

[Ann72]

@Anne1313  There have been many, many posts about this.  Here's a sampling:  https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?advanced=false&allow_punctuation=f...

[Anonymous]

@Anne1313   Airbnb controversially added this restriction in response to complaints that some hosts were discriminating against guests based on race or other assumptions based on the profile photos. I never agreed with this logic myself - and personally, I think if someone was going to treat me differently based on my appearance I'd much rather have them decline my booking than ruin my stay after I arrive.  But despite a huge amount of pushback from hosts, Airbnb has only doubled down on this lousy idea, so I think we're stuck with it for awhile.

That said, I think the profile photo is more useful to hosts at the time of check-in than during a booking request. In the absence of reviews, your best indicator of what kind of guest you're going to get is the quality of their communication. If the initial request leaves you in doubt that they're a suitable fit for your offering, ask follow-up questions to get to know a bit about their plans and expectations. 

What I look for there is confirmation that the guest understands what they're getting, seems enthusiastic about it, and is able to communicate clearly and respectfully. You might set the bar differently, depending on what your concerns are, but if those concerns aren't resolved by the correspondence, you should decline.

Side note on making photos visible - if someone had to make a decision about you based on your current profile photo, what assumptions do you think they would make? That you're a Belgian nationalist?🇧🇪🤔

[Helen3]

If you don't like accepting people with no reviews, then set up your listing to restrict booking to only accept guests with previous reviews. 

@Anne1313  you must be a new host to have missed all the announcements Airbnb made around this last year. It was introduced to help stop some hosts who were not accepting bookings because of someone's colour/race.

For me there is absolutely no reason for me to see what someone looks like before they book. If on booking I have concerns - for example they are carrying a gun or wearing right wing emblems I would ask Airbnb to cancel the booking. However,  I have never cancelled a booking purely based on what someone looks like in five years of hosting and hundreds of guests.

Some photo's don't tell you a lot though, for example,  if you look at the image you have chosen as your profile it is very hard to see anything because of the strong colour filter you have used and because you have used an image where you are some distance from the camera.  I have it in my IB rules that I only accept guests with a clear photo of themselves, so if you booked with me I would ask you to upload a clearer profile shot.

[Sarah977]

@Anne1313 You don't have to accept a booking you don't feel comfortable about- no one is forcing you. 

If you use Instant Book, as @Helen3  said, you can set it so guests have to have good reviews. If you get requests to book, as @Andrew says, communication with guests is the best way to get a sense of what they are like. 

Many guests are new to Airbnb and have no reviews, just as hosts, when they first listed. I've had many guests with no previous reviews, and they turned out to be lovely guests. But I had a few back and forth messages with them before accepting. You have 24 hours to either accept or decline a booking. There's no reason you have to make a decision right away.