Details on Airbnb's update to Instant Book settings

[Airbnb]

Updated - 12.12.2022

Hi everyone,

As part of Airbnb’s latest release, we announced that we are expanding identity verification to all booking guests traveling to the top 35 countries and regions on Airbnb*, and that we will plan to expand guest identity verification worldwide in Spring 2023.

With this update, Airbnb has made some adjustments to Instant Book settings. 

• In the top 35 countries/regions on Airbnb, the “government-ID required” option has been automatically replaced with the new multi-step identity verification process, and removed as an Instant Book setting. Learn more about Airbnb’s verification process here
• Hosts outside of the top 35 countries who previously selected the “government-ID required” option can now require Airbnb’s multi-step verification process. Learn more about Airbnb’s verification process here
• The “Host recommendation required” option has been updated to “good track record,” which only allows guests to book a stay if they’ve had no incidents or negative reviews. Learn more

If your building or community requires proof of a government ID, you can ask your guest to provide it by sending them a message through Airbnb. If you have any questions or need more information, check out our Help Center article. 

Thanks, 

Airbnb Community Team

*Top 35 countries = Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico, United States (including Puerto Rico), Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa

[Helen427]

@Adriano78  We all have Birth Certificates issued when we are born, they contain all the details we need to state who we are.

The issue we all face is the explosion of the internet age and online fraud, and lack of borders and boundaries.

When we traveled through Europe, the only time we were asked to show ID, was when we did a Tour and that was in the from of our Passport.

Of course in any country one must carry a Driver's Licence if one is Driving a vehicle.

There is no legal requirement in New Zealand to show one's 'Papers' nor to carry them every day to go about daily life.

Incidentally I recently had an international guest whose phone that all their documents went into the water and they spent a month without any Identification documents, including their Passport and work Registration certificates.

There's far too much reliance on Electronic Documents and doing everything Digitally without thinking about Consequences.

[Emilie]

@Mariann4 @Helen427 Thank you for highlighting how this works in your countries - I've asked for more clarification, any info I get I'll let you know here!

Thanks,

Emilie

[Laurelle3]

@Emilie I agree with @Jennifer2672 with the message with the booking on Instant booking because this is a message before the horse has bolted.

For me the answer have been holiday by the beach, wedding anniversary, suprise birthday for husband or wife, attending a wedding, meeting relatives, working, gift for parents, a group of friends get away, bring mother who needs a break away,

This information lets me know before booking why the guests are staying so I leave different welcome notes, it allows directed conversation on arrival as I meet my guests or leave information that may be suitable for their visit.

I am wondering from Airbnb's research was this decided from hosts request or guests.

I think this is decision by sending the question after the booking is that you are putting an emphasis and questioning them after the event. When it was before it was part of the booking requirements.

Not happy, I think it is putting a negative tone to the booking before you even meet your guests.  

[Gillian166]

Guests that have recently broken Airbnb policies—or house rules set by Hosts—don't qualify as having a good track record.

1) can we please have an AirBnb definition of "recently". 

2) how does the system know that guests have broken policies or rules? I don't see a report button. Is this based on our review feedback?

[Emilie]

---

@Gillian166  a écrit :

Guests that have recently broken Airbnb policies—or house rules set by Hosts—don't qualify as having a good track record.

1) can we please have an AirBnb definition of "recently". 

2) how does the system know that guests have broken policies or rules? I don't see a report button. Is this based on our review feedback?

---

@Gillian166 Here's a bit more info I got on the points you raised: 

Regarding your question of "recently", Airbnb evaluates signals from trips up to 3 years ago and within the last 10 trips. The system looks at both the Host provided review and any Community Support requests initiated by the Host to determine incidents.

Hope this helps!

Emilie

[Loretta126]

@Emilie I'm unclear on the good track record.  If I require a good track record, does that mean new users are not allowed to book?  I'm willing to give a new user a chance, but I'm not really interested in letting someone book who has a "bad" track record book. 

[Emilie]

@Loretta126 Apologies for the late response! New guests or guests with 0 reviews will not be able to book when you have the “good track record “ requirement on.

Emilie

[Gillian166]

@Emilie  wow, that is very interesting info, thanks for getting back to me. 

(up to) 3 years seems a bit long, 10 trips seems pretty good for most situations.  It's actually quite reasonable and not  extra lenient on the guest, which is great.

[Pippi1]

I've had some guests recently that were not good. I noted this in the review number and made comments yet Air BnB have given them 5 stars - the same as other guests I have had recently who have been wonderful. How are hosts supposed to tell them apart if they are all given the same star rating and negative comments are not included? I do leave different summary wording - damning with faint praise vs being very clear that someone was a great guest and I would love it if they came back to stay again; but not all future hosts will pick that difference up.

[Gillian166]

@Pippi1  do you mean that after you marked the guest down they still have 5*?  

this post here explains how that happens:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Host-Circle/Hosts-vs-Guests-Review-Metrics/m-p/1700444

and ever since we fathomed that I now mark down guests who don't communicate, because it takes a long time for that 4* to actually make a difference. to a guest a 4* is basically 4.99  but for a host 4* is bad. turns out that 5* across the board doesn't mean 5*, they could be 4.8 on something but it's not registered until they drop to 4.5

I have a guest next week who has a 4.5 for cleanliness and yet every written review is glowing. 🤦🏻‍♀️  I suspect more than one host has to have marked them down to have that score. 

[Pippi1]

Marked them down and they still show as 5*  - the same as the really good guests. I wonder what you have to mark them down to to make a difference to the overall rating?

[Gillian166]

@Pippi1  excellent question! I think it takes quite a few hits to make a dent in their ratings, which is why so many guests are 5*. 

I always did 5* ratings, i even forgave up to 3 annoying things, but that was before I learned that a 4.6* shows up as 5*, and now I've had a few 4* reviews over stupid things, and I'm less inclined to be so generous given guests already have a very generous system weighted in their favour. 

[Emilie]

@Gillian166 I've asked for clarification on those points for you, as soon as I have more details I'll let you know here!

Thanks, 

Emilie

[Jennifer2672]

I'd love to see you bring back the pre-booking message on instant booking reservations. I've added a automated message saying what I used to say in the pre-booking message, but people are not responding. It takes away our opportunity to make sure that instant booking guests are a good fit for our places.

[Emilie]

Thanks @Jennifer2672 for your feedback! I'm glad you've managed to already add a schedule message in, but I'll let the team know you found this feature useful as well. 🙂

Emilie

[Jennifer2672]

@Emi4 @Please don't tell the team that I find it helpful. It's not helpful. What was helpful was a message that the guest read before booking. Now I have to talk to somebody who already sees that they have "bought" a reservation and annoy them with questions. That's a very different thing

[Emilie]

@Jennifer2672 I meant I let the team know that you found the "pre-booking message required" feature was useful, I'm really sorry if my response was confusing!

Thanks,

Emilie