Awaiting ID Verification

[Jillian115]

I have "Instant Book" turned on.

My requirements are:

1. ID Verification
2. Recommended by another host
3. Profile Picture

Also, in my pre-booking message, I ask that the guest provide a reason for the visit, e.g., Yosemite, family visit, etc.

If they don't meet my requirements, they come in as a request to accept or decline the booking.

However, today a booking came in, and it is blocking my calendar. I did not get a notification. I do not have the option to accept or decline the booking. It's not a request. The calendar says "Awaiting ID Verification." Then there is a note on the profile "We're working to resolve a few details about this request in the next 11 hours. These dates will be held for this guest until then."

The guest provided no information about their stay and did not meet my booking requirements on at least two of the three criteria, and maybe all three, but Airbnb blocks my calendar?

This is crazy. If this is a new norm I'm going to have to turn off instant book. 

Has anyone ever experienced this?

[M199]

@Jillian115 

Since this was an Instabook, you have the guests info.  Why not send them a nice message saying politely, something like...

"It appears from an Airbnb message that there is an issue with your booking request.  As well, it concerns us that you have not yet communicate back responding to our pre-booking message.  We do not want to deny you the booking, however, we feel that we are off to a bad start and this may not be the right fit for your stay.  If you agree, feel free to consider cancelling your booking"

Of course, no one on the discussion board can know the whole situation.

Good luck.

[Brian2036]

@Jillian115 

I did have a similar situation a few weeks ago.

Apparently the guest was trying to upload ID and it wasn’t working. I was blocked from communicating with the guest.

 I was somewhat upset by the 11-hour thing but it was resolved in less than an hour.

[Jillian115]

@Brian2036 It was 6 hours before I noticed it. She sent me a message that she would not be able to provide an ID for a few days. Then it ended up coming in as a request. It seems strange that airbnb would handle it this way. It's a bit unfair to hosts to block our calendar's without a notification. Makes me wonder if this has happened in the past without me knowing. 

[Colleen253]

@Jillian115 It is  a request, as the potential guest doesn’t meet your requirements and therefore can’t IB, but in the case where they need to complete a task such as ID upload, it is ‘on hold’ so to speak. Airbnb gives the guest a certain amount of time to get it done. If they do, then the hold is off, and the request comes through to you. If they fail, then it expires. Yes it’s annoying. It’s what Airbnb does, as they are mainly interested in giving it a chance to become a booking. 

[Carole247]

I just received the same message but I do not have instant booking on.

What does someone do to correct this message?

I have accepted the booking.  Will I get paid?

Carole Jackson

[email protected]

[Sarah977]

@Carole247  What do you mean by "to correct this message?" 

If a Airbnb is in the process of confirming a guest's information, you just have to wait until their booking is confirmed or not.

If their info and payment is approved, you'll get paid. If not, the booking no longer exists, so of course you wouldn't get paid. 

Also, you should not post personal information like your email address here. This is a public forum viewable by anyone anywhere in the world.

[Carole247]

thanks for the info.  I have never posted in this Community Forum.  I wasn't sure how someone would get back to me.

[Cait6]

Found this yes. My guest is sitting beside me and what was annoying is that once the reservation was made it did not appear to her what information was missing, only to me. We since went to her profile page to add the ID and now it's resolved. But like so much of AirBnB the navigation is as clear as mud.

[Cindy807]

I just did. And I have instant book turned off. Airbnb is holding my suite hostage as I have to wait 12 hours for these people to verify their ID. WTF? 

[Cindy807]

If guests do not have the proper verified ID  Airbnb should not let them "book" your place until they comply with the ID parameters. As hosts we rely on them to vet the guests  and in this situation it in unfair of them to block our space while someone gets their act together. How about they tell potential guests to please try booking after they have their ID verified? So simple!

[Louise1073]

If this feature bothers you, you can turn it off here: https://www.airbnb.com/hosting/requirements

I tried turning it on just to see, and sure enough, "awaiting ID" request came through and is now blocking my calendar, LOL!

I would rather just get the request directly and vet the guest myself.