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.

[Arvind14]

Karem from Turkey and other hosts’ concerns are 100% valid . I fully endorse these concerns . As a matter of fact the host should be able to talk to the prospective guest to gauge the civility of the person . 

Hosting is not just accommodation its interaction and hospitality at play .

[Susan1028]

Thank you for using the “H” word @Arvind0. It seems to have been lost in the chaos this new rule has inspired.  

True Hospitality comes from the Heart, and is the reason I love hosting.  There’s pure Grace when you’ve created an environment and energy that says “welcome” that matches a guests sensibilities, especially when it’s part of your beloved home.

It implies mutual positive regard and respect, manners, gentility, thoughtfulness and a desire to meet eye to eye in kind mutual regard.

It implies you love where you live and what you do and want to share the best it offers and create the opportunity for your guest to see it through those eyes. 

It also implies the guest has chosen your place because they want to be there, and gratitude for the opportunity.

Before online registrations and pictures, there were conversations on the phone, or correspondence, or there was a face to face conversation.  Both parties had the opportunity to learn and discern before an agreement was made and what was included.

We’re living in a fast food age where much of that grace has been lost.  I chose ABB because it still echoed some of that depth.

Maybe they’re so big they’ve sold out.

Either way, I’m not interested in changing my heart/ based approach and I’m also not naive enough to believe there aren’t multiple layers to the decision to change policy.

I offer Hospitality, not just a cheap bed for the night...to people who understand and appreciate that.  Guests who ask and choose to stay here know this, and almost every one has thanked me fur sharing my home with them in those words.

With both completed profiles including recent photos, we know what we’re getting and if it’ll be a good fit.

Until now I was confident in the good matches and felt joyful anticipation in prepare the space for my guests and knowing it would surpass their expectations.

Now, I have no idea who will be driving into my private, remote property. The last 4 requests had no photo and didn’t respond to my questions...even about the welcome refreshment preferences, so I doubt the listing was read much less the house rules.

Im going to continue to expect the best, knowing that if something goes wrong, i’m on my own and it if happens enough times, I will choose to stop doing this.

[Patsy6]

this is about the poorest decision airbnb has ever made. How could they even think that a host would

would allow a guest to stay in their home without a providing a picture and hopefully some prior reviews. I thought the whole idea around airbnb was the transparency. I have been hosting for 3 years, am a super host, and have never declined a reservation unless I was not going to be here or I had family or friends stayin here and the room was not available. I am happy hosting guests from around the world and happy to provide people with a place to stay at a lower cost...hotels are so expensive. As well, I put a lot of time and hard work into making my home a desireable place for people to stay...now I feel that airbnb has taken away my right to see who is requesting to stay in my home...that pisses me off.  Airbnb, I will NOT accept any reservation request with out a photo I can look at prior to accepting...you are not be mindful or respectful of the hosts

who work so hard for you.

[Thomas1033]

We turned instant book off today because the option to require a photo was not even there.  Even when it does appear we may leave instant book off to prove our point and that is that this is OUR home and not Airbnb’s.  We make the rules.  As of late with prices down we have had several booking inquiries in a row that were sketchy at best and we accepted them all after a few messages to determine the reason for the stay as 2 were locals.  Only one did actually book from out of town for himself for 2 days.  He cancelled after he arrived and realized we lived here and the carload of people he didn’t book for weren’t going to be able to sneak in.  And Airbnb keeps suggesting lower prices hahahaha.  Were not a no tell motel!

[Sherri3]

From another perspective, as a traveller (im also a host) with Airbnb,  if someone were to see my picture and not want me at their house, I would rather not stay there anyway. If they are racist etc...I’d rather see their true colours by declining my request rather than waiting to be treated badly when I arrive.

i say (as a traveller), let my photo be seen... if I had a problem with it I would put a pic of my dog up. In my opinion, this decision is quite ridiculous. 

[Meryl18]

Profile photo first. We have every right to see who we are letting in our home. We must also feel safe. If I don't feel safe, I will have to quit airbnb. Also it will be much more confusing to book with all the back and forth. 

[Carol743]

I don't feel it necessary for a guest to display their photo to me even after booking, as long as that person will show some government issued iD when they appear at my door.  I am offering a room in a private home so trust is essential!

[Urban-Suites0]

As an active host with multiple listings accross different building, it does really help to be able to see our potential guest's profile picture. This enables us to know them better even before we met as far as security concern, where it makes sense to know who exactly is the person who placed the booking and staying in your home.

[Vimari0]

I agree with most of your comments. I am also a Super Host so I clearly do not cancel bookings. I feel better seeing the photos before accepting the reservation. I have the instant book turned on for guests that have reviews because to me that's extra security that they have reviews. Photos are especially important if the guest does not have reviews. I've had a bad experience with fraud and a reservation that trashed a property I manage and that particular person changed their photo after check-in. There is a pattern when something is not right and the photos are part of that pattern. I am very disappointed that Airbnb went this route. If a guest is hesitant to share a photo then something is fishy because like someone said, their face will be seen when you arrive. Airbnb should focus on safety. It is apparent that the focus is on the guests solely and there would not be guests if there weren't hosts. Without the hosts there isn't an Airbnb platform. Somehow Airbnb needs to be more aware of that when taking action and making changes. 

[Mary1354]

I’ve been a superhost since joining with a 5 star rating. I have NEVER declined a guest.  In the past if a guest attempted to book without a photo I’d explain to them for both their comfort of being able to see my profile picture and me welcoming them into my home with my family, it’s for everyone’s safety to have the profile picture uploaded.

Seeing the guest profile picture has also allowed me to be sure I’m asking the right questions.  We’ve had several instances of young guests thinking they are booking a “party house” who clearly haven’t read house rules or the listing details.  I feel having the pictures there is an aid in the messaging conversations.  I’ve never once declined anyone and with my steady 5 star rating I’d say it doesn’t seem to have offended any of my guests to have a photo uploaded or to be asked to upload a photo prior to booking.   When inviting someone in to share your home I think having a photo uploaded prior to booking is not too much to ask.  

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

So why is it that guest pictures are hidden to keep "discrimination" from happening, but they require real pictures of hosts?  How many guests bypass a listing because of the color, gender, or sexuality of the host?  We host a lot of single women - are women seeking us out specifically because we are a heterosexual couple and skipping the listings hosted by single males or gay couples? That's discrimination too.   It is the most biased, uninformed, poorly executed and thoughtless thing to think only guests get discriminated against.  

And profile pictures are not about just checking out if the guest is a particular race or gender, it's about understanding your audience when interacting with them.  When I see a picture of a white-haired woman with an infant on her lap, I can make sure that I connect with her about that baby during our conversations because we're building rapport before she arrives at my door. Since she posted a picture with that baby in it, it may be important to her (like maybe it's the reason she's coming to my town - so she can visit!). Why wouldn't we want that clue?  The opposite holds true, someone posts a picture of their toes in the sand after one of my very first house rules states they need to have a picture of their face so I can recognize them when they arrive. This tells me alot about their ability to follow the rules, how much of my listing they actually read, and how much time I might need to spend communicating with this guest before they show up.  The pictures provide more than a someone's race, age, gender, or sexuality - they give us a little insight into the person we're welcoming into our home.  

Caveat:  I have Instant Book turned on and the minute I can update my requirements to include that the guest must have a picture, I am going to do that.  I have never and will never host a silhouette head.  

[Lois62]

This is going to open up so many discriminating cases against hosts.  People will power play this oppurtunity to reap finacial gains like the group of people whom slam on thier brakes in front of the elderly driver and they sue them for damages and bodily injuries..  

I notified Airbnb regarding this new policy and they replied that we need to base our bookings on the customers review.. but what if they are NEW they have NO reviews .. Also pictures show the age of the person and I have had request where the customer was 18 and my rules are 30 or above in age due to past expereiences with young kids that have trashed the place and you need original receipts from 7 years ago when I origianlly built the build out..  You also have people whom you have denied knowing from other Airbnb people that that person had bad reviews and they are hoping you did not read them.   I had one try twice whom brought a rabbit in and let it poop and pee .. if I just got a name I would not know whom she was if she tried to rent a third time.    This is giving no protection to the host and forcing instant bookings on hosts who have no idea who is coming to stay in their home.     

[Lois62]

This new policy regarding discrimination is a Trojan Horse full of possible no probable discrimination law suits for your hosts.  Your intentions are good for the public but have lost sight of your hosts... NO HOSTS .. NO GUESTS.... NO BUSINESS.    You are taking away the hosts security and safety in their own home.  You have given the guest total control over the host and how they book.  You have made this system into instant booking where the Host has NO say in who books with them.  The host is STUCK with the guest or penalized or worse banned from Airbnb. You are leaving the liability of a lawsuit as you help the guest prosecute the host with sending a paper trail to the host wanting them to purger themselves into why they do not feel comfortable with a guest when they cancel and will create a papertrail for lawsuits and subpoena's.   It is the HOST that will be the one that could loose their house if a guest cries wolf and Airbnb hold NO liability at all.  The host make up your business and now you are throwing them to the wolves. This is not a corporation or hotel where their guidelines are enforced , this is our homes our security and the Trojan horse will rear it's ugly head.  I no longer feel the support from Airbnb of a time when it was a pleasure meeting new People of all ethnic groups and welcoming them into my home for the most pleasant of experiences.. beware for the Trojan horse and those that will cry wolf to gain profit and power over the system .  Airbnb you have sold your soul and pray you see where this is going. 

[Gurneet0]

Hello

The need for a photograph for a guest should be a must.

We as hosts can not in scheme of things discriminate against anyone due huge penalty imposed on us.

At the same time we would definately like to see whom we are allowing into our private places.

If it is after the booking is made then it serves no useful purpose.

Please make photograph of your guests compulsory before they can book in cae they want to do anonymous searchs before that they are most welcome.

Thanks Regards

[Jason706]

I'm thinking of removing my profile photo all together. Why should anyone see my face when I can't see theirs?