Greece Government ask for valid ID on Check in - airbnb doesn't follow rules

[Claudia452]

Hello to the Community, 

i My name is Claudia and i'm hosting in Greece .I had yesterday a reservation  and i asked the guest kindly to send me the ID for the contactless check in

( Corvid free with distance rules  )  , so i could issue a receipt and leave the receipt inside the house upon arrival, as i leave the key in a lock box.The guest canceled the stay as didn't want to provide the details and Airbnb refunded the guest with an open  case requested by the guest  in full. Question, the Government rules are not binding to Airbnb? How is it that possible i will get a penalty of asking according to the local law and Airbnb is ignoring the fact ?The local law is even listed on Airbnb website

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1246/responsible-hosting-in-greece

 I'm very upset and i would like to hear your  opinion about it please.

thank you 

[Sarah977]

@Claudia452  Guests do not necessarily read your profile and they certainly don't read Airbnb policies. 

Whatever you require of guests needs to be stated in the listing information so they can decide if they are willing to comply or not before they book.

[Claudia452]

@Sarah9

It should be stated for all travellers coming to Greece as it is a law 

[Sarah977]

@Claudia452  It "should be" ? Regardless of whether you think it should be or not, Airbnb does not post country-specific laws for guests. That is not their responsibility. It is up to guests to check what the laws are wherever they are travelling to, but as many guests don't bother to do that, if hosts are required to collect copies of ID, or ask to see it on arrival, you need to put this in your listing information.

I don't know why you are so adamantly arguing this- just add it to your listing info, as other hosts do, it's no big deal.

[Claudia452]

@Sarah977 I'm not arguing, it's a discussion we have. Thank you for your contribution about the subject and your opinion 

[Peter3659]

I can understand the frustration from both sides. I am presently travelling through Greece. No host has requested this information PRIOR to coming, but upon arrival several are asking for it (though not all I should add so am not even sure it is law). Even if it is by law, I personally don't like handing over my passport details to hosts and in reality, there is no value in a host having my details actually, other than for excessive book-keeping purposes. Why excessive? In Denmark, where I live and host, we don't need this passport information at all. Airbnb has an arrangement with the Danish tax authorities to automatically provide the total hosting income (of every registered host) to the authorities. From what I understand, Airbnb has the same agreement with the Greek authorities. Providing a passport number/ID to a host should therefore be inconsequential. Firstly, every user of Airbnb is required to provide legal ID documents when signing up, to protect against scams. Secondly, and more importantly, all information regarding payments is automatically be sent by Airbnb to the Greek authorities. As long as everyone's information (host and traveller) is in the Airbnb system, it ought to be enough. The problem actually is one of over-reach by the Greek government and the government's lack of knowledge/trust regarding digital information systems. If you're a host in Greece, I would lobby the government to change this redundant passport requirement. If a host wishes to keep records of who and how long people have stayed, that's fine for checks and balances purposes. Having passport info from guests won't affect the sums, so that requirement needs to be changed imo.

[Helen427]

@Peter3659< Why don't Airbnb just leave it to Border Control/ Immigration to ensure all those traveling are doing so legally and keep away from the excessive collection of people's private and personal information and putting people's personal safety at greater Risks though collecting Government Documents that are issued for specific departments procedures?

Best for those who need to see such documents to do so in person face to face.

We did that when we traveled through Europe and it was much safer and less risk of such documents been 'accessed and used' by those of unsavory character for Identity Fraud.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Helen427 you seem to be blaming Airbnb for what is, in many countries, a Government requirement to check identity at check in. Believe me it does catch out unsavoury characters who have avoided border controls especially in Schengen regions where there are no border controls once inside the area.

[Helen427]

Pardon @Mike-And-Jane0 ?

Absolutely not.

Everyone used to also be required to check into Motels, hotels and Guest Houses with one's ID and there was no need for everything to go through the internet Prior to actual check in.

What's wrong with carrying on with a little Humanity in life and interaction with those one is choosing to stay with?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Helen427 the use of the internet is for those hosts or guests who want to check in without contact with each other. Doesn't seem to bad an idea given the Covid pandemic.

[Peter3659]

Hi Helen and extended comments. I think the point I'm trying to get through, is that all information regarding users of Airbnb, including proper, thorough identity checks at Airbnb registration, is already enough. Passport information ought therefore not - in a functioning digitalised data-exchange scenario - be required to be shown during travels to hosts. Only at border control, as you say.

Many governments, and in this case Greece, are simply too lazy to establish systems allowing for such digitalised exchange of monetary transactions. I can be 99% sure that Airbnb does not exchange passport information of travellers when sending in yearly reports to the Danish authorities regarding hosts Airbnb income. Why? Because the traveller is not the focus when it comes to income earned.  It's the income earned that is of interest to tax authorities. Given that Airbnb is not a cash-under-the-bed type of business, citizens across the EU need to encourage their politicians to set up more transparent, secure digitalised systems. Then the tax authorities cannot blame individuals for not having the information of guests.

As an endpoint, the only thing that matters is that money is transferred into a host's account and tax is paid on it - if exceeding the yearly threshold - or not. A good digitalised system between Airbnb and the Greek authorities ought to be enough, as it is in Scandinavia. Lobby your politicians to make the change...after all, they are probably being paid a lot of money annually for generally doing bugger all.

[Claudia452]

Kalimera Peter from Rhodes,

thank you for your reply, i appreciate it .

Send from Crete for a tax check last August  at my place with an Airbnb   printed version of all past bookings ,starting from the year 2016 to recent the authority advised ....

if i want or don't ,i need to present the information as pass number ,address etc.

Booking for example has got the option to state it in the booking form if this is required.

I'm a registered business in Rhodes with our vacation villas & homes portfolio and so there i use the online platform for all income at Epsilonsmart from the start since 2 years  , where i need to fill out those details for our guests staying in the medieval city of Rhodes in our home.

Denmark is much better organised in legalization and taxes as well there social programs for families, students etc. Greece has an unemployment rate of 11.6% the highest in Europe (Spain is first) and lot's of young people leaving the Country for working abroad to make a living. But this is another subject , i just want to point out that you can't compare Denmarks system with Greece!

[Peter3659]

Hi Claudia. Thank you. I think the real issue is that different EU countries need to exchange knowledge and systems, to make things easier and more transparent in the long term. Yes, in the case of Denmark/Scandinavia, everything is much more digitalised. But it makes all the paperwork redundant. Hence my point, that Greek citizens need to push the politicians to make the digitalisation shift and follow successful examples elsewhere in the EU. After all, Airbnb is not a money-under-the-bed business, so in such similar circumstances, why not get the government active and encourage the change?

In Denmark, when all this Airbnb digitalisation took place, the tax minister came and had public meetings with Airbnb users, about the best way to move forward, constructive talks that were fair for both the state and the citizens. It worked. There's a high threshold for income on total Airbnb stays each year before the tax kicks in, and the tax itself is not super high above the threshold amount.

[Rosy-and-Ryan0]

I see nothing in your linked article that states the customer is responsible for sharing with the host their personal information more than what they have provided to airbnb.  I would never share my social security number or AFM with anyone, let alone an airbnb host I do not know.