Why as a host, I require guest's ID and why you should too!

[Leplubo0]

No, I don't mean just relying and trusting airbnb in checking guest's ID, I mean mentioning in your house rules that YOU, the host, not airbnb, will be asking for the guest's ID after the booking.

Why?

1st because it's your most legitimate right to know who is staying at your place. The relationship between the host and the guest is not just about a few hundred bucks for a couple nights stay. There are safety and trust involved. Both the material and the emotional value of the house you let the guest in is in noway comparable to those few hundred bucks. Materially, at least here in California, properties are $1M or more each. Emotionally, we all know what we put in setting up a house, even those we don't live in as our primary residence.

2nd because Airbnb can't be trusted as a reliable insruance , in case of damages or issues. If you have doubts on that, read my very own recent experience here:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Abuse-of-dominance-Airbnb-bullies-hosts/m-p/1017120#M252...

And it's well known that airbnb's security deposit is a joke:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Security-deposit-is-a-total-JOKE/td-p/43673

3rd, in case of issues, Airbnb will never reveal that ID to you anyway. So they don't cover you if the guest trashes your house and they won't help you to go after a bad guest. So what's the point? As a host what's the benefit for you that airbnb has their ID especially as we all know who they side with in case of issues.

4th, airbnb's automated ID checking tool is not even working. It's another airbnb joke. Try creating a new guest account with a new John Doe email and someone else's ID and see what happens. (I'm not saying I did, just a hint).

5th, and this is the most important reason: guest who gives you their ID, is going to be a more responsible guest than the one who does not. A bad guest who intends to party or trash your house won't give you their ID and you don't want them in your house. Beware of someone who wants to enter your very own house, and does not understand that it's your basic right, at a minimum, to know who they truly are.

Now you may think there are downsides to it:

1) Guests will refuse booking or refuse sending their ID after booking: I have been doing this since 4 years. It's written clearly in my house rules, and I have a saved message asking for ID sent out immediately after a booking in a nice message. I have 85% occupancy rate average in the year (could do better if I wanted to reduce the price in low season but I don't. Maybe in another post will explain why if needed). I can tell you less than 3% of guests have a problem with this and I happily ask them to cancel with no penalty. Very rare. But good thing. I don't want those 3% in my house and neither should you.

2) In the unlikely case there is an issue and a guest takes your request to Airbnb and complains, the airbnb rep will tell you that despite I have written this in my rules, airbnb doesn't "support" this, meaning that if my requirement leads to a cancelation, that can be considered as a host cancelation. Well, if you accept to refund even a last minute cancellation in full, all guests accept to initiate the cancellation, so you don't get penalized.

It's YOUR house, it should be YOUR rules. There is a reason hotels ask for ID and all those hotels I have tried in the past few years get a copy and keep in records (not just viewing it). If there is an issue, airbnb has nothing to lose, you are the one to lose it all, so don't get into the "super host" game that airbnb is succesfully playing with you. I have been there and been super host and lost it and gained it again and lost it and I can tell you, when you have a good property with fair reviews (no guest needs 5 star average, anywhere above 4.5 average is great) and a fair price, you get booked (4 years experience with several propertiess talks).

I have learned not to be an airbnb slave manipulated by their superhost logo and rules, and use the platform as what it is: a marketplace connecting hosts to guests. They don't have to dictate us their policy or rules. VRBO and others respect that, not the bully airbnb.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Helen3 

it also depends where the host lives, here we have to take care of ourselves the best we can, I don't trust and don't rely to any public service , police included 

[Helen3]

Yes absolutely @Branka-and-Silvia0 hosts need to do what works best for them.

[Adrian458]

I totally agree with u.... no public service really cares much about other problem... better we do in a best way to make sure to have a safety and nice time with ours guests and asky for ID or passport it’s not a big deal when the guest is a nice and serious want to be in somebody home... I definitely gonna be a little bit more careful specially now than we can’t see the guest pic upon to the confirmation... this is a little ridiculous Airbnb rule, why can’t I see my guest pic on profile when they can see my before the request...I contact them and they said if for not any kind of discrimination... sounds ridiculous... I can’t bring someone to my condominium without knowing who I am bringing to my home... I always ask for the guest please send me pic and profile there’s the only way I can see and agree with the request, otherwise I have no clue if my place is the one for the type or request... anyways thank u for sharing 

[Helen3]

Many of my guests are from the UK. Here we don't have an Identity Card and don't travel within our country with passports. My UK guests would think i was mad if I asked them for a passport on check in @Adrian458  🙂 

By the way, just in case you weren't aware of it,  there is a box you can tick on your listing so that only those who upload a photo on their profile can book with you. In that way you will see a  photo on booking and if you are not comfortable you can contact Airbnb and if the guest doessn't provide a photo of themselves but a cartoon or picture of something else you can ask them to upload a clear photo of themselves.

[Mike1034]

@Leplubo0I agree with you 200% if possible:-)

With the lack of support from Airbnb, we as hosts have to protect ourselves. Even if 99.9% of guests are good guests, 0.1% guest could still cause huge damage to a host's property or/and endanger a host life and health. Airbnb's lack of support is manifested in the following areas

(1) Very little screening. A person can register and book with a fake ID, fake name or change to fake ones later on. Therefore, criminals could register and potentially stay in your house as well.

(2) Airbnb does not disclose a person's full name, photo, residence location at all before booking is confirmed.

(3) Airbnb does not have any measures to penalize the guests when house rules are broken.

Safety is the number 1 priority when we do business. Airbnb rental is no difference. Any safety and security related measures we as hosts should take serious consideration.

[Leplubo0]

absolutely @Mike1034 . When something goes wrong with a bad guest, there is no way to penalize them anyway. They can't be charged and  they just go ahead and create a new profile (it just takes another email address) and restart all over. Hosts can't do that. We are attached to the property address.

Think about it for a second:

Hosts are as solid, loyal and permanent as the real estate they offer and guests are as virtual and ephemere as the email address they provide!  Despite that airbnb is not protecting the hosts and is totally biased towards the guests. Crazy!

[Cathie19]

Hi @Leplubo0. 

I think all hosts depending what country or state or province they live in, understand their legal requirements with collecting ID information from guests. As to whether they choose to collect this information on a hosting level, is an individual’s choice. This topic has been raised in other threads quite a lot.

I’ve had ID “will be sighted and copied” as an option in my messages and house rules for a long time. If I do it as mandatory or on case by case, is my business..  my option.. my choice.

What makes STR work through Airbnb is that hosts individuality can shine. @Branka-and-Silvia0, @Helen3, @Mike1034  & @Etienne-Marie0.

So yes, we all choose to secure and protect to the best of our ability and also to our personalities.

[Lilly28]

@Helen3 

Do I have the right to flag someone who stayed in my flat, did not follow the house rules and took some items which he just liked? I recently had a guest whom I know from 30 years, since he was born - and even though he did not follow house rules - I left him excellent review. Thought he put somewhere the items - but no - they were in fact stolen - and I wonder can I flag him. 

He was a first-time user. Used me to have great review... I feel uneasy mistakenly thinking you know someone but in fact you do not.  

[Helen3]

Hi @Lilly28 

I never give a guest a review until I check my listing.

If something is missing,  then I would ask the guest as to where they might be and if they don't respond or don't provide a satisfactory answer., I would have asked the guest to cover the cost of the said goods through Airbnb.

You are an experienced superhost, so rather confused as to why you would have given an excellent review to someone who you know had broken your house rules (which ones by the way?) and had stolen from you.

You absolutely have the right to flag his profile but your case is somewhat weakened by your giving him an excellent review.

I am very sad to hear a longstanding friend of your family would have done this to you. Now you know he took the items why don't you just ask for them back?

[Lillith0]

You can contact support and tell them you made a mistake with the review that you left and ask them to take it down. Tell them what you stated ended up not being true even though you thought it was at the time.  This has worked for me. I could not change my review of a guest but I could have it deleted.

[Mike1034]

@Lillith0 I am curious to know if the guest’s review was removed when your review was removed by Airbnb.

[Lillith0]

@Mike1034 The review by my guest was not removed. My review of the guest and her reply was removed.

[Sarah977]

@Lilly28   I'm sorry you were taken advantage of by someone who you thought you had every reason to trust.

But I also don't understand why you would give someone, even someone you know, even if they didn't steal anything, an "excellent" review when you say he ignored your house rules. Reviews aren't about being nice, or friendship, they should be objective windows into whether a guest is desirable or not for fellow hosts. 

In addition to being treated very badly, you did a disservice to your fellow hosts.

[Cheryl-and-Chris-Hosts-W0]

It is not just a “marketplace connecting guests with hosts” and that attitude is very damaging to hosts that signed up to play by the rules.

[Joan2055]

I am lucky in that I had a terrible guest my first month of hosting. (Used drugs in my home, stole items from my home, bothered the neighbors, etc). I quickly became aware how useless Airbnb is in this kind of situation (they responded to my emails and phone calls a week later) and I ended up using the local sheriff to evict the guests. From that moment on, I purchased commercial insurance. It's expensive at $250 per month but worth it. And I started requiring a photo of a government ID and a photo of their car tag before they are allowed to check in. Not having an ID and a car tag for my problem guests was a real problem while working with local law enforcement. In their case, they didn't even have a car. They were dropped off at the property. In the year since I started requiring this, only one guest has balked. I refused to give her the door code until she supplied the required information. She was rude and argued with me and her daughter shouted at me, but finally relented. I was worried the entire night she would retaliate (she didn't) but the stress wasn't worth it. From now on, I will politely suggest they cancel and book elsewhere if they resist my ID requirement. Bottom line: It is YOUR property and only you can and will protect it.