Have you verified your ID?

[Helen350]

Just had a 'ping' to my (non-smart) phone. - I must verify my i.d. by 6 December, or be de-listed! Checked lap top, same message on dashboard. - PANIC!

Tried to calm down, & went into 'Account', then 'Personal Info' - Relief! - It told me to photograph my passport, or driver's licence, (or I.D. card, which we don't have in the U.K.) To my amazement, this slightly tech phobic 58 year year old managed to photograph my passport, AND upload the result on to my laptop, AND post it on the Airbnb site in the designated box. Minutes later, my profile is registering that I'm verified, & have provided Government I.D. Phew! - Simple really!

(Thank goodness my passport is still valid, it expires next September.  Especially as  my driver's licence is an old style one without a photo, and also in my maiden name. 😞 -

(There are many Brits who have NO photo I.D. - it's not compulsory, not everyone has a passport or a driving licence with a photo...)

[Kath9]

Well done @Helen350 ! See,  technology's not so bad! I'm surprised your drivers licences don't have photos, but you're right, it isn't a legal requirement for everyone to have a driver's licence or passport, so who knows what a host would do in that case. 

[Helen350]

Thank's for your encouragement @Kath9 ! - It's just OLD driver's licences that don't have photos I sent mine off for a new photo one in 2001, but they sent it back, owing to a technicality - their loss!

[Sudsrung0]

My husband who is English just told me you need to change it as it is only valid for 10 years 

[Bryan10]

I think the old-style UK drivers' licences were valid until age 65, so that when I passed my driving test many years ago aged 17, I had a licence for 48 years! You can see why that probably had to change.  The new style licences with photos are only valid for 10 years (as our appearance changes as we get older, the photo has to be updated). I stand to be corrected. 

Back to the original topic and well done @Helen350  for getting round it so quickly. It does highlight the issues of what to do if you don't have ID. 

[Trevor243]

I wonder if we're all going to get that?

And if we're a business (Limited Company) rather than an individual, what AirBnB might require as ID for the business ....

Time will tell ....

[Moira-and-Bill0]

I've just had the same problem and it didn't accept any of my photos (as usual) I've been trying to do a photo verification for years but whatever point Airbnb use I don't have them. So I asked for help and I got this ....

Hello Moira,

Thank you for reaching out to us about your account verification. It looks like the reason you're having trouble is because the name on your account doesn't match the ID uploaded to your account. I have removed this ID from your account.

To get started with uploading the correct ID, make sure you have your valid government-issued ID nearby, and click here: https://www.airbnb.com/verify.

Account verification is an important tool for both hosts and guests, and Airbnb community members tell us that they appreciate having additional information as they decide who to host or stay with. For more information about the account verification process, visit http://www.airbnb.com/help/article/450.

If you need further support, please respond directly to this email or you can call +1-855-424-7262. We are here to help!

Best,

Arnold
www.airbnb.com/help

So the links go nowhere and on my listing when I click on "verify" it goes to a generic page and there is no place to actually verify. It's sending me spare trying to sort this out.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Moira-and-Bill0 

I am using my laptop. I clicked on the link you got from Cs https://www.airbnb.com/verify and it says " take a photo" then I clicked on "next" button and I could choose from taking photo by phone or to upload from this browser, when I clicked on "next"  I got a text message on my phone with a link to tap to providing identification.

(I didn't upload my photo nor proceeded because I didn't get a warning email to verify myself. )

[Moira-and-Bill0]

Yes I got the same thing on my phone and tried the verification on my phone but it continued to say my photo doesn't match. So I'm trying again ......

[Helen350]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 You didn't get a warning to verify yourself, cos your profile says you are already verified, i.e. you've previously uploaded your i.d.

- One reason I made the original post, which no one has picked up on, Is this what Brian C. meant when he made the great announcement that all 7 million listings would be 'verified'? - Just that we'd all have to upload a photo of our passports if we hadn't done it before?

[Sarah977]

@Helen350  It's so ridiculous- whether your photo ID all matches, according to Airbnb's computer bots, has absolutely nothing to do with whether a listing is accurate, a scam, etc. All it verifies is the user's identity, nothing else. 

@Stephanie  The listings that should be receiving these demands for verification should be listings with low star ratings, those that have been flagged by guests in the past, or new listings. Starting out this verification process by making long-standing hosts with a string of great reviews and high ratings upload new photos or ID verification doesn't address the issue of identifying scam or bad listings at all.

It's fine to require that all users be verified, but if the thrust is to make sure bad or inaccurate listings or bad hosts aren't out there on the platform, this is not the way to do it. You start with the ones that send up red flags, or are new with no reviews or rating yet, not the ones that have been operating successfully for years with no complaints.

[Stephanie]

Hiya @Sarah977 

A very valid way of carrying out the process. We wanted to make sure everyone was required to do this, equally. To that end, entire territories are notified for the verification, with the same deadline regardless of the profile standing.

Thanks

[Sarah977]

@Stephanie  But what is the purpose of this process?  It was supposedly listings which were all going to be verified. Hosts uploading govt. ID, while that's all fine and dandy, does absolutely nothing to address Brian Chesky's statements about all listings being verified so that guests could rest assured that the place was as advertised, they they wouldn't get a bait-and-switch, that the place was legal to be rented, that the listing would actually exist, not be a scam with photos taken off some real estate site. Me uploading a photo of my driver's license is no assurance of any of that. What they should be asking hosts to upload is a copy of their home ownership title or a notarized letter from their landlord giving them permission to rent. 

Giving guests a sense of trust in Airbnb means they need to know that when they arrive to a listing, it will be what they booked, that they aren't left standing on the street with nowhere to stay, that the amenities listed are all there and in working order, that the host will be responsive and helpful and that Airbnb will help them out if they arrive to find that it's not at all as described. They don't care whether I have a passport on file, that doesn't affect their experience at all. 

If this is what is going to be passed off to guests as "verified listings", it's an insult to the guests' intelligence.

[Stephanie]

Hiya @Sarah977 ,

I know the timing seems impeccably suspect but this is a process that is carried out around this period every few years - there are some hosts here on the CC that have confirmed they completed the check in 2017 and were not asked to complete it again this round. I completely understand how it appears to be part of the recent announcements so appreciate the speculation and frustration.

As always, your feedback is detailed and actionable so I do appreciate it. 

Many thanks,

Stephanie

[Peter2574]

 cannot seem to get my photo to match my drivers licence - it was taken a few years ago - we age!