Airbnb Answers: Guest profile photos

[Airbnb]

Update: January, 2019

A few months ago, we told you about some changes Airbnb was making to the way guest profile photos are displayed. You can read the original post, below.

Now that those changes are being introduced gradually, we want to make sure you have all the information you need. Here’s a recap of what will be changing, along with some tips.

New photo process

Moving forward, rather than displaying a potential guest’s profile photo before the booking is accepted, you’ll receive a guest’s photo after you’ve accepted the booking request. If you have Instant Book turned on, you won’t notice a change to the booking process.

Airbnb does not require guests to have profile photos. Although most guests provide a photo, some have told us they don’t want to share a picture of themselves when booking, and we listened.

At the same time, many of you told us that you value guest profile photos, and we listened to you, too. That’s why we’ve introduced a new option for hosts to be able to customize their own booking requirements.

New host control

You now have the option to require that your guests provide a profile photo. Again, the photo will be visible to you only after you accept the booking request. If you’d like to require your guests to provide a profile photo, you’ll need to turn on the control option in your settings for each of your listings, either on mobile or on web. Specifically:

On mobile:

1. Go to the listing you’d like to require profile photos for
2. Tap Booking settings
3. Tap Guest requirements
4. Look for the Profile photo section and tap Edit
5. Tap Require a profile photo
6. Tap Save

On web:

1. From your host dashboard, click Listings
2. Click Booking settings
3. Next to Guest requirements, click Edit
4. Check the box next to Profile photo
5. Click Save

If you take this step and a potential guest doesn’t already have a profile photo, they’ll be prompted to upload one before they can request to book your space. A guest’s profile photo will not be available to you until after you accept the booking request. If the guest doesn’t want to provide a photo, then they won’t be able to book your space. 

Additional support

If you choose to require that your guests have a profile photo and one of your potential guests uploads an image that doesn’t show their face—a photo of a sunset or their dog, for instance—then you can call Airbnb’s Community Support. They’ll work with you to address the issue, and if you feel uncomfortable hosting someone without a photo that shows their face, you can request to cancel the reservation penalty-free.

As a reminder, Airbnb’s nondiscrimination policy prohibits hosts from making booking decisions or canceling reservations based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. 

As an extra step, as always, you can require guests to provide a government ID to Airbnb in order to be able to book your space. You can read more about that process here.

Why these changes are important

We talked with lots of hosts and guests about profile photos, and we think these changes satisfy the core concerns and feedback we heard. We’ll be paying close attention to how these changes to profile photos affect our community, and will continue working to improve and simplify the process to ensure you feel comfortable hosting. We hope you’ll share your feedback with us so we can continue to build a community where everyone can belong. Thank you for hosting.

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October, 2018

You've been asking a lot about guest profile photos, and Airbnb has been working on new policies to address your concerns. Here is an update from Airbnb:

Today, we’re announcing some changes we will be making to the way we display guest profile photos.

Moving forward, rather than displaying a potential guest’s profile photo before the booking is accepted, hosts will receive a guest’s photo in the booking process only after they’ve accepted the booking request. Airbnb does not require all guests to provide a photo. Instead, we’ll be giving hosts the option to ask their guests to provide a profile photo, which will only be presented to hosts after they accept the booking. We have discussed some of this work in the past and we want you to know more about the changes we will be making in the coming months.

We have participated in a number of conversations with hosts and guests regarding this topic. We have listened to our community, and while most guests provide a photo, some guests told us they don’t want to share a picture of themselves when booking. We also recognize that concerns have been raised about the potential for photos to be misused in a way that violates our nondiscrimination policy.

At the same time, hosts have told us that they value profile photos because they can help hosts and guests get to know one another before a trip begins and help hosts recognize guests when they check in. Additionally, we’ve seen how photos can be a useful tool for enhancing trust and promoting community.

We want to balance these concerns. Airbnb does not require guests to provide a profile photo when booking a listing and, as we discussed earlier this summer with our hosts, we will be implementing a series of changes in the months ahead:

• If a guest chooses to provide a profile photo, that profile photo won’t be displayed to the host as part of the booking process until after the booking is confirmed.
• Because some hosts value profile photos and want to be able to know who they can expect at their front door, we will give hosts the option to ask that guests provide a profile photo prior to booking, which will only be presented to the host after the host accepts the booking request. This new option comes with important safeguards that are designed to ensure our community is fair and open to everyone:
  • Hosts must turn on this feature for each of their listings proactively, before they receive a reservation request.
  • If a host asks for a profile photo, we’ll prompt guests to upload one to their Airbnb profile before they can request to book that host’s particular listing; however, the photo will not be presented to the host until after the booking is confirmed.

If a host cancels a reservation after they see a guest’s photo, the guest will have an easy way to contact Airbnb and report any concerns about potential discrimination by the host in violation of our nondiscrimination policy and Community Commitment. If any guest believes he or she has been discriminated against and notifies our team, we’ll immediately help them book an alternative listing consistent with our Open Doors Policy, investigate the report, and take appropriate action. Any host who violates our nondiscrimination policy may be permanently banned from using Airbnb.

This announcement follows the commitment we made in 2016 to evaluate how we display guest profile photos in the booking process. As we implement these changes in the coming months, we hope you’ll share your feedback with us so we can continue to make thoughtful changes that make the Airbnb community a place where everyone can belong.

[Taofi0]

If so, then airbnb should be responsible and make sure the person booking is actually the guest coming to stay! My recent guests were employees of the member who booked my place for 3 nights. He had his profile photo with wife and child, booked for 2 adults, and wrote we are arriving at around lunchtime and gave his mobile number if I had any questions. When I asked him via a text msg who the 2nd guest was -  that's when he revealed it's for his two employees coming to work in the area. I wasn't happy to know I'd accepted the booking already and it is not for the person with the profile photo and reviews I had read about. I knew absolutely nothing about the 2 guys he booked my place for.. they in turn had not read any of my house rules and brought their own cooking pots, pans, gas burner, and left rubbish bags out front of my studio even though 2 bins are provided for recyle and general rubbish. Left the aircon on and a lamp while they were gone to work? Safety before money or airbnb status...I will not be accepting any future bookings from this member.

[Chellee1]

Had the same thing happen, call Airbnb they can take as much money that you put in your Security deposit.  You are also allowed to go into your premises & inspect for damages.  Call Airbnb and they can be removed, you keep your money & get money against security deposit.  My listing has all the dog verbiage, they must have a kennel/crate that dog must be in anytime they are away from your home.  They must sleep in that at night time, not in bed (or left to roam at night and go potty/poo).  I also have Verbiage that dogs can’t be on furniture, they can sit on your lap but that’s it.  Can’t use any utensils/bowls/etc for animals.  If you can put an outside camera that records animal, you get full security deposit.  A lot of people go on line and buy the service animal certification for $75 (ish), so they don’t have to pay for their animal to travel or housing.  You can ask for that certification, my current renter used that and they have a puppy (untrained).  They were leaving it to roam our Guesthouse when they weren’t there.  I would take my dogs out & I could here their dog barking and scratching my door.  I walked to the door and hit record from my phone, the dog was scratching my glass and door.  I went in and put it in its too small kennel.  Did again the next day, I texted renter they needed to get home ASAP as their dog was scratching everything to get out.  I also told them I was submitting both videos to Airbnb for $375 for each time they left dog out.  If you don’t have that verbiage, copy and paste mine into yours and then start taking pictures documenting and send it to Airbnb as soon as you get the pictures. Dave will help you get the dog out of there and damage is paid for, even if it’s a service animal

[Nwabisa0]

I agree with you, at times, you can a booking for John , when its check in time, John tells you that Peter will be staying or he shows up with a guest. I have another listing and yes, I would like to see who else is coming.

[Petra333]

I agree, I'm in the same situation. We host mainly longer stays and share our space with the guests, so for that reason it is vital for me to know who I will be sharing my place with and the other way around. We host all races that you can see from my reviews. The picture and a message from the guest always gives me more confidence to accept. It helps to build the trust between guest and host. Not being able to see the profile photo before booking is accepted, will take longer as I will have to think twice about accepting it and perhaps ask more questions ...

[Ricardo677]

I agree 100%, how can i let someone into my own expensive house without having a clue who they are... CRAP NEW UPDATE. 

I'll definitly be canceling way more requests this way.

[Susan1028]

@Karem0

youll be interested in this article.  it makes sense of everything:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/techcrunch.com/2018/06/29/airbnb-ipo/amp/

[Lois62]

This artical has nothing to do with the hosts..it is for thier employee's .. once you reject someone after recieving a photo you will be sent a form as to why you rejected that person with turns out to be a paper trail of discrimination on the hosts part and evidence a renter could use in court..

[Margie40]

I totally agree with Kerem, i live alone and need to see what my guests look like!  I have super host status and have hosted all kinds of people without discrimanination!  In my opinion this is a dangerous practice!  marge in Phila

[JoAnne346]

.I agree with Kerem. It's enough that we don't know these people and this is our home but to have no idea what they look like ahead of time...anyone could show up and this would also give people use of profiles that are not actually theirs.

[Rumeena0]

I agree with Kerem here. I too do not like or agree with the new changes. I let out a room in my home. Thus personal safety of myself and my family are vital. This new approach reduces my ability to form a first impression of my guest. 

I recognise the need for being anti-discriminatory but we also need to remember as hosts we have the right to know who we are letting into our homes before we confirm a booking.

[Rumeena0]

I agree with Kerem. As a host who lets out a room in my family home, it is very important to me that I know and see whom I am potential giving access to. I have the right to form a first impression, the profile pic allows one to do this. 

I recognise the need for being anti-discriminatory however, we have the right to feel safe in our own homes while hosting guests. 

Airbnb has taken a one-sided view when implementing this new practice. I do not agree with this.

[Joyceline0]

I totally agreed, we need to know the two person that booked  to stay at the property because I had guest who booked  as a single guest  and   another guest  checked in  a few days later.

[Lois62]

This is nothing other than forcing INSTANT BOOKING we are becoming a HOTEL.

Personal experiences are now plain bookings.  Homeowners rights are gone and you the host

are opened up to the mercy of someone claiming you are discriminating against them.

 Airbnb requires an explanation for the denial which is a paper trail for a discriminating law suit and can penalized you or bans you from the system. YOU alone hold the liability of the lawsuit if accused.   The latter scares me to death, all my choices will be subject to being accused of discrimination and that is what this new policy is focused on.  

[Nancy462]

I completely agree.

[Andrea433]

Absolutely.

Hosts need to know who is coming to the door of their home. Airbnb is a home rental platform, not hotel. When a host opens their home to a stranger, they expect a gracious friend, not an entitled customer to take over their life. Yes, I absolutely want to see the face of the guest. It is good manners.

This is for the safety and comfort of both sides.