Profile name change should turn off ID Verified flag

[Tommy49]

Airbnb allows guests to change the name on their profile. I believe this should be linked to their “Identity Verified” flag in the profile and also disable IB until they request a new ID verification to match their profile name.

Backstory: had a guest book with “T” as their verified name. Her vaccine card (we require it for bookings in our homeshare) clearly had a longer name that started with a T* that she had scratched the rest off of in the image she sent.  Clearly “T” wasn’t staying but we had no idea who was...  

@Airbnb please fix this. A name change in the profile should disable “ID verified”!

[Kelly149]

@Tommy49  Abb has always been very clear that THEY have seen something they consider “verifiable” from the guest. AND they’re also very clear that they aren’t sharing it with us. 

it’s been a long time since I’ve even seen govt ID under the profile metrics. It’s very much a “trust me bc I said so” kind of situation 

[Helen56]

When a guest requests to book Airbnb will also send you an email, in addition to the information in your messages on the site.

If you scroll down the email you will see the name listed on the ID, it usually has the full first and last name, and often a middle name too.  This is only on the first email they send you.

You can then search on facebook or other social media to find out more about a potential guest.  This is really important and useful when you host one bedroom in your own house.

@Tommy49 

[Suzanne302]

@Helen56 

I think you may be confused, or you get special emails from Airbnb that no one else does. The email does not give you any more information than you get on the app or in your messages on the desktop version. You aren't given a last name or a picture until AFTER the request is accepted.

[Emilia42]

@Helen56 Can you provide a screenshot of the e-mail here? Block out the guest's name, of course. I have never been given this info and wonder why this important information is available only to you?

[Huma0]

@Helen56 

No, I don't think that is correct and I just double checked my emails. You only see the full name once the booking is confirmed. Only the username, which is usually the first name, but sometimes a nickname, something nonsensical or just an initial, is shown on the emails while the request is still pending. 

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Helen56  @Tommy49 @Suzanne302 

All I get is someone's first name and no photo, until I accept. If the person has no reviews it is a leap of faith. Please, everyone, post reviews of all your guests. 

[Helen56]

@Huma0  @Emilia42 @Suzanne302  @Kitty-and-Creek0 @Tommy49 

Here is a screen shot.  As you can see near the top is the Accept/Decline button in red because this is a pending reservation that I had not yet responded to.  

Underneath the blue panel you will see the guest's full name as listed on the ID provided.  It also says whether they are under 25 or not.  

I didn't blank out the guest's name as suggested by @Emilia42  because then I would not be able to clearly show you what I receive, but there is no incriminating information, just a name which many other people also have.

I made it small so you could see the whole email but realise that it is blurred.  Here's a close up of the part under the blue panel: 

At the bottom it says that I have 24 hours to respond.  So obviously I can see their full name before they book.

I get an email like this for every guest who requests to book and assumed that you all did too!!

The guest's full name is also in the subject line of the email:  See the third line, which is for this same guest.  It says 'pending' which means that I haven't yet responded.

Look at this next screen:  Three guest requests are shown as pending so I haven't accepted them at that point:  top line, bottom line and 5 lines up from the bottom.  They all show the guests' full names.

Each of those emails also had the guest's full name like in the first one I showed you.  I am sooooo astonished that you all don't see this either!!! 

Looks like I have my own private glitch going on here 🙂 

[Suzanne302]

@Helen56 

What sorcery is this??!! LOL! No, I've never gotten that info!

This opens up a whole new can of worms! Is there a secret setting other hosts don't know about? Is this a glitch benefiting you? Are there some unique laws specific to your area that requires Airbnb to give you that info?

This is wild!

[Z-2]

@Helen56 @Suzanne302 I have different email with no information as Helen56 mentioned. I only has few requests since i use IB, but I set 48 hour advance notice. So within 48 hours, they need request. I found my email and attached part of here.

[Helen56]

@Suzanne302 @Z-2 

This is just so strange!!!  I always thought that everyone got this information and that people just weren't reading their emails.  Guest names being hidden has often been a topic here but I have never joined these discussions about it before.  To me it had been a case of 'just read the email'.  Sorry everyone.  I was so wrong!!!

I live in California so maybe we have different laws here that say that we should know the name of the guest.  I also rent out one bedroom in my house so that might make a difference too.  However, I know that @Huma0  does this too and she has said that she can't see the names either.

The plot thickens...

[Huma0]

@Helen56 

I checked back over my emails when you first said you could see the full name in the email about the request. I can see exactly what you see but ONLY once I accept the request. In the emails prior to that, it's just the guest's first name for sure.

I am also wondering now if there is a setting somewhere, e.g. similar to how we can require guests to have profile photos before they book, even if we can't see them until afterwards.

I would expect to find this under Guest Requirements, but there's nothing there about the guest's full name.

This article mentions the information Airbnb requires from guests should they be required to verify their ID: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/1170/booking-requirements

which includes the full name. The article suggests that this information is NOT given out to the host:

"We will need to know some basic information – which we don't share with Hosts or anybody else.

We need your:

• Full name
• Email address
• Confirmed phone number
• Payment information

Your Host may ask for:

• Brief introductory message
• Agreement to house rules

Your privacy is important to us

Hosts never see your payment information or your email address, even after you book. We'll email you whenever a message is sent to your Inbox."

While it is not made crystal clear, this very much implies to me that the full name is not supposed to be shared with the host prior to booking but, unlike the email address or payment information, is shared after booking (like the profile photo).

I do wonder why you are able to see this when others can't and also when Airbnb is not supposed to share this information with you at that stage.

[Suzanne302]

@Helen56 

I’m a homeshare host too. Well, if I were you I wouldn’t say anything about it so it doesn’t get taken away! That’s a nice perk you’ve got!

[Marianne89]

@Suzanne302 @Z-2 I have been hosting in San Francisco CA since 2012. The names and photos started being hidden around 2014 until you accept the reservation. I do my due diligence by asking politely if the potential guest can tell me a bit about themself and fellow travelers such as background, schools, professions and reason for the visit. I have had hundreds of answers sometimes long stories and then I check for matches online, all seemed like fine people and I accept. Only two people have declined to answer so I declined them. 

[Helen56]

@Huma0 @Suzanne302  I have no idea why I can see the full name but it has always been the case. I don't remember changing a setting anywhere either.  Perhaps it's just left over from when I first started hosting - this was back in 2016 when nothing was secret - we could see full names on the request and a photograph. Then 'transparency' was thrown out the window!

I think that it is absolutely shocking that Airbnb expects us to agree to have someone stay in our own homes without giving the full name and photo first.  We give these guests our front door keys!!  We really need to check out who they are. 

My husband looks at their  airbnb page on his computer  - everyone can see the photograph except the potential host!!  It's really just so insane.  He can then find them on social media or Linkedin and see if they look like nice people. Red flags are photos with guns, any kind of racist/slurs/hate speech. 

My usual reason for declining is that they don't answer my follow-up questions.  I also prefer the ones who have a bio on their profile page and who also write a few sentences about why they are visiting.  I frequently have first timers with no reviews with no problems - the last guest was a first timer - he was from Guam and we loved him so much we invited him to have dinner with us every evening; my husband is keeping in touch with him on facebook.

We have been so lucky with guests so far - we've hosted people from all over the world from China to Uzbekistan, Africa to Uk, as well as USA, and they have all been lovely wonderful people.

[Huma0]

@Helen56 

Well, that might be one explanation. For a long time, I could see guests photos prior to booking in the App, long after Airbnb supposedly stopped showing us these and other hosts told me they could not see them. I am guessing it's because I hadn't updated the App. At some point (I think it might have been when I got a new phone), I couldn't see them anymore.

I officially started hosting back in 2012, but that was only for a few weeks while I was waiting for the sale of my apartment to go through. I then started hosting regularly in my current home from August 2016. However, if it was a case of when one signed up, then I too should be able to see the full name prior to booking.

I agree that it is ridiculous that hosts are not provided with a full (and real - the username doesn't even need to be the guest's first name) name and photo. While I understand that people are wary of having details like their full name online, there is no reason why it shouldn't appear in a booking request that only the potential host will see. As for photos, well they get to see ours, as does everyone else, so why not vice versa? It's supposed to be to stop discrimination, but then surely hosts should also be protected from discrimination.

I had no idea that guests' profile photos were visible to the public in general and just not to hosts. That is really ridiculous, but at least I know now that I can maybe see them if I log out or from another person's device. Thanks for the tip!

I agree with you RE first timers. Most of mine have been wonderful. A few have needed a bit more direction and, occasionally, I have had first time guests who were awful, but no more frequently than awful experienced guests. Reviews can sometimes be a bit meaningless. Hosts don't always leave honest reviews, or review at all when there is a problem, and others leave generic ones. Perhaps they are remote hosts, there is self check in and they never met the guests etc. their reviews don't necessarily flag up issues with the guest's behaviour that would be problematic in a shared space.

The guest's communication is usually far more telling, which is why I try to have a reasonable amount of correspondence with them and look for red flags. I just need to get a bit braver about turning away anyone that makes me feel slightly uneasy. Although, occasionally, those have turned out to be great guests, e.g. the girl who drove me crazy with what seemed like silly questions, but turned out to be an amazing guest, usually when I have ignored my gut feeling, I have regretted it.

It is harder now though as the Summer Release has destroyed my views and no one is booking. Still, I am trying not to accept just anyone who comes along. I've only had one enquiry in the past few weeks. She seemed nice enough, but there were a couple of things that made me pause, including one of her reviews. That review seemed to have much more to do with her father's behaviour than her own, but I still mentioned it to her as a concern and never heard back from her. I'd rather the room was empty than  live with another difficult guest.