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.

[Die-Koblenzerin0]

Ich bin mit dieser Neuerung nicht einverstanden. Ich möchte wissen wer mein Haus betritt. Ich möchte die Möglichkeit haben Gäste abzulehnen, die unseriöse Profilfotos haben. Ich möchte die Möglichkeit haben, Gäste abzulehnen, die offensichtlich nach Party feiern aussehen. Ich möchte auch wissen ob jemand junges oder jemand altes zu mir kommt.

FAZIT: Ich werde nicht mehr vermieten wenn ich kein Profilfoto sehen kann. Ich werde mich hier abmelden. Weil ich kein Foto mehr sehen kann. 

Ich stelle meine Wohnung nicht an wildfremde anonyme Personen zur Verfügung, von denen ich nicht mal ein Foto habe. Wer schützt mich denn?. Das mache ich nicht mehr mit.

[Michael2399]

Niemand schützt Dich! Das Risiko ist bei Dir, auch wenn Airbnb Werbung macht mit einer Millionenversicherung. 
Ich hatte leider einen negativen Fall und habe fast gar nichts bekommen. Der Gast hat mein Parkett kaputt gemacht, mir ein teures Kissen geklaut und den Matratzen Topper zerrissen. 
Neben einer riesen Sauerei habe ich nur 20 EUR erhalten! Der Gast hat einfach gelogen und das war es.

Deshalb braucht man unbedingt ein Gefühl für den Gast! Deshalb hier mitmachen... es sind erst 13 ??!!
https://www.change.org/p/brian-chesky-equal-rights-for-hosts-we-want-to-see-the-profile-pictures-of-...
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Nobody protects you! The risk is with you, even if Airbnb advertising with a million insurance.
Unfortunately I had a negative case and got almost nothing. The guest has broken my parquet, stole me an expensive pillow and torn the mattress topper.
In addition to a huge mess I received only 20 EUR! The guest just lied and that was it.
Therefore you absolutely need a feeling for the guest! So join in here ... it's only 13 persons?? !!

https://www.change.org/p/brian-chesky-equal-rights-for-hosts-we-want-to-see-the-profile-pictures-of-...

[Wende2]

Hi.....I was just at the petition, an there are 14 now that have signed, I was going to right up until they wanted me to sign in with google or facebook, then it said they would have access to all my contacts, so I'm sorry that's when I declined to sign an left the site.  It's a good idea, but I'm not allowing any site to have access to any of my info, let alone my family and freinds, could be why so few have sign so far.?

[Michael2399]

Hello Wende,
i think it is possible, to just sign in with email and name. Create a account at Change.org
Before you do that, log out of your Google account...
Best
Michael

[Johnny-and-Mark0]

You can decline to share your contacts by clicking the button underneath the request to share them.

[Christine1]

Hi all,

The main reason that I prefer my guests to lead with a profile picture is to assist me when I  do an identity background check based on information they give me and matching to their photos. It helps me to confirm if this really is the person with whom I am communicating. I don't use it to assess what type of person they are or whether I will be safe with them, or whether they will behave in particular ways which are a match for my listing-venue. I use other information for ensuring the guest will be a good safe match for my property. 

I am really concerned that many of the writers to this forum  mention how they use the photos to assess the type of person they are viewing and make a judgement based on items such as a nice smile or kind eyes...... this is not logical or fair to guests, and it is an unreasonable basis on which to accept or refuse a guest. Quite a few writers have actually acknowledged that their evaluation based on appearance did not align to the eventual behaviour and attitude of their guests. Ie, nice respectable looking guests behaving in less desirable ways while many less blessed in their facial features or their overall appearance were lovely, suitable guests. 

The only legitimate reasons for retaining guest photos is related to confirming ID and bona fides.

The more hosts who write in to this forum saying they use photos to evaluate the character of their guests, the more it may appear that the change to restrict profile photos might be needed. 

A while back I watched a report about choosing job applicants  based on gender. In one particular example it was only by eliminating identifing gender terms that they began to have a better representation from minority group candidates. Seeing the appearance of the candidate as male or female, carried a whole lot of assumptions, and too few women got through the selection process. We need to be mindful of internalised bias and make an informed choice when evaluating the match between guest and venue. This example relates to stereotyping and bias, it is not a comment on the legitimate choice by hosts to preference female or male only guests. That is a separate matter which is helped by clear photos as well.

I want to keep the profile pictures upfront, but for practical reasons, not so that I can make a subjective judgement.

Writers who describe this process are likely to reinforce the executive decision to hold back photos until an acceptace or pre-approval goes through.

Photos should be provided for ID and curtesy purposes. And to facitate prebooking ID checks by the hosts. 

You will not win over the hearts and minds by describing the way you use photos to screen out guests based on instinct and kind faces. 

Let's be honest many of the writers in this thread are admitting to doing just that. 

It's essential that Hosts have tools to do their own  background checks, and enforcing Instant Book on more recent newbie Hosts combined with late-release-after-booking photos, is not a good idea. 

Please fellow Hosts, be careful about the reasoning that you are advocating, and be extremely cautious before putting your name publically to any statements or petitions that make adverse comments about selecting guests based on the behaviour that you think you can predict by looking at a photo. This method is not sound logic.

Sincere regards. 

Christine from Wombat's Studio at Glenbrook. 

[Bonnie15]

Hello Christine, how do you do an identity background check? I think all of us are concerned about security, trust and confirming identity - and a guest photo helps meet those concerns. An identity background check sounds ideal.

[Christine1]

@Bonnie15,  ask the potential guest the things you need to know. If you want to know who they are ask them to supply their full name and the name of one or two organisations  they are associated with. 

As who is coming and what for? Genuine travellers will include details that are consistent and often not widely known to outsiders. If you have concerns you can point out information that you think they may have overlooked, this may guide them to reconsider. When you have the personal info and pic you can research the on the internet to see if it matches. Match the name to the organisations and the picture.

Encourage all guests to provide a goverment ID to Airbnb,and send a message to their phone soon after any booking is confirmed to check on their reply nice and early on. Don't give out you exact address until a day or two before  they are due to arrive. Do not give out information about your movements until it is necessary for your guest to know. 

Ask questions and discuss the travel purpose and matters such as dietary issues. All these things will serve to enliğhten both you and your guest. 

Don't be shy,  be friendly welcoming, appreciative and assertive.  

I hope some of this is helpful.

Regards Christine 

[Shelley6]

I signed  the petition to return to the old system.

However, Change.org show only one comment and it’s from a nut job and goes on for many pages about women and sex abuse and porn etc.

That can’t be helping the petition.

i think there is power in numbers... and we are not going anywhere complaining to each other here.

Just my 2 cents. Thanks, Shelley

[Christine1]

@Shelley6, I followed links from other writers to look at the petition.

The person you refer to as a nut job is obviously  very traumatised. Their posting was certainly very extreme in it's content. I suspect they may have intended to post on the next petition which was on a topic related to violence and protecting women. 

Regards. Christine 

[Shelley6]

I’m sorry if my description of the individual was short, but perhaps her post is a reason that the signatures are low?

Is there any other way to turn this around, if hosts won’t join in a protest?

I think maybe my type of homey accommodation isn’t needed anymore by Airbnb, since they are preparing for their IPO and are now looking at the numbers only. 

 Best,

Shelley

[Bonnie15]

This is so helpful, Christine - thank you so much!

[Luca511]

Dear @Christine0,

I see that you are active in the host community. Your suggestions are appreciated. 

I would like to share some of my thoughts here with you. 

Back and fourth messages prior booking may result in losing the booking. 

Many of us may not have the skills to do an investigation in order to accept a booking since airbnb decided to not facilitate this process.

Many of us have the address already listed in the listing. This address can not be edited. (They removed this feature while ago).

Many guests request the address for visa purpose. 

This new policy only makes the process more difficult and more questinable. I appreciate your input but airbnb must review this new policy. It is not our duty to bring solutions in order to make this process nice and smooth, facilitating both sides if airbnb chooses to not listen to us. They are making it harder, more complicated, more problematic, more calls involvig airbnb help team will be needed. The acceptance rate will reduce and the cancellations will rise since this new policy is leaving hosts insecure, uncomfortable, vulnerable and unprotected. 3rd party bookings will increase and we will not be covered by the airbnb host guarantee. 

Guests should not have the option to choose to share or not their profile photos. This should be mandatory. 

[Christine1]

@Bonnie0 and @ Luca NyNY.

If a back and forth conversation results in a guest not booking then they got the information they needed to make and informed choice and realised the right choice for them was an alternate venue. That's the outcome you are aiming for. One where guests end up in accommodation that suits them. If your home is not it, then it's better if they don't come. I am no private investigator. I use strategic and targeted  questions expressed with diplomacy. Guests have the option to reply or not. Either way I gain information which assists me to evaluate whether my accommodation is a good match to the guest needs. I believe that I have learnt through practice and being disciplined about prioritising safety and matching to the guests circumstances and needs. And by ignoring any perceived pressures from Airbnb. If I  detect that a guest may have hopes or needs that are not compatible with my listings, I point out these aspects. I have conntinued to try and develop my skills in this area as I want to actively participate in managing my bookings for the safe successful development of my small home based enterprise.. If I have these skills it's through practice, and I encourage others to give it a go. 

Previously, it was possible to leave your address incomplete when setting up your listing.  A few years back a system upgrade resulted  in addressses clearly pinpointed on maps and distributed via guest itineraries automatically.

I  was able to have this altered and my addressed details edited by contacting support and having the tech department remove my address.

Now I am in control and release it directly to  guests a day or two before they arrive. This prevents my address being released to people who are not going to arrive.

I imagine this option is available to  other hosts. It's been a stable permanent solution. 

I hope my explanations are helpful to you and others.

Regards Christine from Wombat's Studio at Glenbrook 

[Christine1]

@Bonnie84 inn paris france.

Although Airbnb restrict identifying information for good reason. If I  feel the need for further information including the full name of someone asking about accommodation then I just ask for it and other information. Genuine guests  provide it and I  check to see if they are a real person and a match for my listing. 

I  hope this is helpful to you.

Regards Christine