Privacy alert! New DSA laws: all Host details to be included on listing info therefore becoming visible to anyone

[Philippa7]

Hi all

I am surprised not to find any other posts about the following.

At the beginning of the year the platform warned hosts that a new data security law is passing, in France at least, on the 17th February whereby all listings must bear full details about the host: telephone number, full name, full address and email. This information will be visible by potential guests but also by anyone surfing through the platform.

Are these not the very elements of identification that can lead to one being hacked, to having one's identity usurped and other privacy problems?

This will also open up the possibility of potential guests contacting hosts directly and bypassing the platform.

I'm not comfortable with it at all as I rent half of my personal home in season therefore it is all my personal details that will go public as of the 17th of February. I cannot afford a dedicated phone for my business; I cannot change the name or the address of my business;  if I create a new email I will lose contact from returning customers.

What are you all thinking about this? I have tried to raise the issue with Airbnb and after many promises to pass the subject up to the relevant persons, all exchanges have now ground to a halt from their end. I have had no coherent reply from them that addresses my concerns.

Many thanks look forward to hearing from some of you,

Phils *

*[Personal details removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines]

[Helen427]

@Philippa7 

We believe there's news media articles about this also raising concerns in Scotland.

Privacy and Personal Safety is vital for all.

[Philippa7]

@Helen427 Airbnb are just throwing the book at me. There has been no direct response to my concerns, just automated reply/copied and pasted text. They have even suggested I contact a lawyer for heaven's sake! Talk about washing one's hands!
If this is the future of such platforms, I feel it's time to go it alone. I have already contacted a fairly new ecological and environmentally conscious platform offering much the same services as here and they do not require the posting of one's personal information publicly on listings. This makes it all even harder to understand.

This was Airbnb's response:

"We hope this message finds you well.

We want to inform you about the Digital Services Act
("DSA"), which aims to enhance transparency and safety in
consumers' online experiences. This regulation applies to
platforms like Airbnb and mandates that we collect, verify,
and display specific information about business hosts.

The DSA is an EU regulation that imposes obligations on
online intermediaries and platforms operating within the EU.
It establishes a framework of accountability and
transparency that pertains to your activities as an Airbnb
host.

In particular, the DSA requires us to collect and verify
information about hosts operating as businesses. If you do
not provide the required information, your listings may not
be visible on Airbnb. Successfully verified business details
will be displayed on Airbnb listings in the EU. For more
information on determining your status as a business or
individual host, and on Airbnb’s collection and verification
processes, please refer to our guidelines.

We have reached out to EU hosts who have previously
identified themselves as businesses to confirm the following
business details in their accounts:

Business name
Business phone number
Business email address
Business address
Business registration details (if applicable)

Please note that these details will be integrated into a new
business details section of host listings starting February
17, 2025.

For further information on how to edit your business
details, please visit our Help Center:

https://www.airbnb.ie/help/article/3543

We always want to give our Hosts the best support possible
but Airbnb can’t provide you with any legal advice. If you
have questions, concerns, or need a legal opinion on this
matter, you may want to consider contacting a lawyer who is
familiar with your local laws.

Best regards"

Thank you in advance for any comments or advice you may wish to make on this subject.

Philippa

[Helen3]

In the UK we were asked to provide our NI number as part of the new consumer distance selling regulations .

Like with the personal contact information Airbnb already holds for us, this information is not available for guests to see- it's just information Airbnb holds internally so you don't need to worry about it being publicly available @Philippa7 

perhaps this is different in France but this is how it works in the UK.

[Philippa7]

Thanks for your reply @Helen3. Over here all this info will be visible by all, this is my worry. Airbnb explain this in their message. It's absurd as it making these elements of personal info public goes against all we have always been warned not to share!

🤷‍♀️

[Helen3]

Yes that does sound worrying but it won't be Airbnb regulating what needs to be public but whoever in your government or EU - whoever is responsible for for your distance selling regulations. @Philippa7 

[Joelle43]

Hello @Philippa7 

There have been posts on the subject here on the anglophone forum but also on the French one and I have raised this problem on both forums as I too am very concerned at the thought that my personal phone, email and address will be available to all on my listing under my host profil😱

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/G%C3%A9rer-votre-activit%C3%A9/Publication-de-nos-informations-p...

This is only one of the posts but there are others too.

This is an European directive and applicable to hosts who have their listing(s) under a company name.  Most of us aren't big companies with a switchboard with a corporate email address, just a one man/woman band using our home address as the company registered address.

So with all this information readily available to all and sundry, what is going to stop guests from contacting us to go direct?  I am really concerned too that my personal information will be used by spammers or used to other more dreadful ends.  So Philippa I share 100% your concerns too.  

The frustrating issue I have is that this warning sign is still showing up on my dashboard as if I haven't checked the information that is required so have no idea if all is OK or not!  If it's not, we're told that our listing may be suspended or payments held up but no indication from Airbnb that all is verified and OK!

So, if anyone has any information on how we can protect ourselves, please share.  

Worried,
Joëlle

[Philippa7]

Thanks for your reply @Joelle43.

I guess I didn't see those posts,  I should have used other key words... 

I also have the frustrating issue of the red dot that won't budge.

I now have Airbnb proposing to talk to me on the phone about this.

Will let you know more later but if rules is rules I guess there isn't much that can be done aside from changing platforms.

À suivre...

[Joelle43]

@Philippa7 

Have totally given up on that red dot issue as if we haven’t seen a message! Again many of us have mentioned this but we hope it will disappear as of 17th February 🤞

[Joan2709]

@Joelle43 

Wow....this seems very dangerous to me. I had no idea this was going on. Airbnb may have their hands tied if this is a legal requirement? I can foresee all kinds of privacy issues for Hosts.

What's to stop a guest (or criminal) for that matter from coming over to your property for a look-see and just walking into the property without permission? Or maybe potential criminal  checking out the property for potential burglary? All they have to do is see your calendar is empty and you are a remote host?

Whats to stop someone from bombarding you with phone calls and phishing emails?

I suggest Hosts start creating a business email (not your personal email) and add that to your profile (you can link the business email so it forwards to your personal email account). Could there be the possibility of using a PO Box instead of a street address to satisfy this new requirement? At least the whole world isn't going to have your actual street address.

Perhaps one of the moderators can forward this to the appropriate team at Airbnb and report back here for all the Hosts to be affected? Also address the annoying "dot" everyone is referring to:

@Bhumika, @Rebecca , @Quincy, @Alex 

[Joelle43]

Thank you @Joan2709 for your support and for expressing what a lot of us feel. 

The red dot issue has been ongoing for many many months and the moderators are aware but haven’t had any luck in getting it removed sadly

The trouble of creating a PO Box and different email etc is that it won’t match the business details and I fear this will open a can of worms and get us suspended!!  So it feels as if we’re snookered whatever we do!!

[Joan2709]

@Joelle43 

Yikes...that's true. Maybe just change the email address? Thats a tricky one for sure. I think the authorities should change/amend the parameters for individual Hosts not listed under a business name?

[Joelle43]

@Joan2709  These new measures only affect hosts who have their listing under  a business name so private hosts aren’t affected. 

Unfortunately changing the address of our business details will involve jumping through hoops, delays and costs! So not as easy as it may seem unfortunately. 

[Joan2709]

@Joelle43 

I see...wow.  Aren't many Hosts with one listing just setting up an LLC or sole proprietor?

I see the issue...