my experience

[Justin-And-Kimberly0]

We put a lot of money into remodeling our home so we could open up two rooms and become super hosts. I am a mother of two that homeschools as one of my children is on disability. With my second child ready to start school, Airbnb was going to be my way of making a good living while staying home with my kids. After months of buying beds, linens, towels, furniture, two mini refrigerators and a mini microwave and baby equipment to full accommodate our guests. Updating one bathroom and adding a shower to the only bathroom downstairs we were finally ready to open our home and were very excited about it.

But only two guests in and this is what happened to us....

Airbnb let a national registered sex offender not only open a profile but approved him within minutes as "verified" meaning safe in my opinion. As him and his heroin addict wife messaged me for a one night stay, I was excited to have my second set of guests and was ready to get the ball rolling to becoming a super host. Since they had been verified I let then into my home. After a couple of red flags went off in my head, I got my children out of the house and went to my neighbors where we did very little research and found that the man was a wanted registered sex offender. You can look up "Hope Ford" on Facebook with channel 2 news to see the full interview.

[Linda108]

Perhaps it is best you understand what verified means, @Justin-And-Kimberly0.  There is no background search only that the information provided is verified.  Whatever caused you to be uncomfortable with the guest, you need to work with Air BNB and have the guest relocated.  

[Kshitij0]

Verified only means that the credentials provided match with the supporting ID, documents etc. There are all sorts of people around the world. Matters such as this does not lie under the purview of Airbnb or any third party booking site for that matter. The local police deals with any law and order situation. As an airbnb host who has been hosting for 4 years now,  i have never faced any nuissance of any sort. I have learnt to be guided by the communication I exchange with my guests and make a decision based on their profile.  Even though they have a certain lifestyle does not mean they are bad guest, unless there is something specific regarding their behavior, stay related issue you faced. In which case Airbnb always intervenes and guides for an appropriate action.We can all turn around and say- why did airbnb verify ? why are they being allowed to roam around free if they are offenders etc etc etc....its of no consequence what so ever. Rather focus on making your experience delightful and enjoyable- both ways, for youself and your guest

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Justin-And-Kimberly0

As others have mentioned "verified" means nothing. Airbnb does NOT do background checks - regardless of what they say or claim. Airbnb is only a booking platform and it is up to YOU (host) to determine whether you want to allow a specific person into your home.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/336/what-are-profile-verifications-and-how-do-i-get-them

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2356/what-does-it-mean-when-someone-s-id-has-been-checked

[David126]

I have been through checks a few times, they all required fingerprints.

[Harvest-and-Maria0]

Before going into medicine I worked in both public and private law enforcement as a police officer and an investigator for over 15 years. I understand your problem and your concerns regarding who you let into your home. The other people are correct about what verify truly means however there are ways that you can feel safer about who you let into your home. First we do not do one night  bookings or same day reservations. We require at least a day's notice which gives us an opportunity just communicate with the guests as well as do a simple background check in case any red flags appear during our communication. And this way you can decline the reservation if you just don't feel right about it. It's not perfect but it will give you more peace of mind about who you let into your home. I hope this one bad experience does not put you off of a good opportunity for your family. I wish you all the best in your endeavors and hope to see you as a super host soon. Harvest and Maria