Can’t view guest profile picture

[Pamela-And-Jack0]

I see on the help desk that I won’t be able to view the guest’s profile picture until the reservation is confirmed. 

Is this something new?

Being that the room is in my home, I’d like to see who is staying here. 

Thank you. 

[Sarah977]

@Gordon0  Me, too. Airbnb says it reduced discrimination? I'm skeptical that you would believe everything that Airbnb says is true.

[Lisa1831]

@Gordon0 

Thank you Gordon. 

@Pamela-And-Jack0 @Ann489 @Patricia55 

I would think you would be more upset that the Government ID is not required.  

Guest have to book without knowing exactly where we are going. Likewise you have to book without a photo. 

It is rough for both.

Based on my photo would any of you book me? 

By judging a book by its cover you may miss out on great content and wonderful characters.

Have a good night 

[Sarah977]

@Lisa1831 Of course I would consider your booking based on your photo, taken in tandem with the way you communicated, and your past reviews. Vetting guests is a multi-layered process, and all those things are just tools. The more useful tools one has at one's disposal, the better things turn out, no matter whether it's building a house, fixing the plumbing, making jewelry, or making sure a guest and the host/listing will be a good fit.

I couldn't care less about the color of your skin, your religion, or your sexual persuasion, but I don't want to have to go through the song and dance of contacting Airbnb to cancel a booking after seeing a guest profile photo like one that was recently reported here- the guy was giving the finger to the camera and was grabbing his crotch.

And I hate the terminology "I'm uncomfortable with this reservation." A photo like the one I mention wouldn't make me "uncomfortable"- it would make me incredulous and disgusted that anyone would post a photo like that when expecting to be welcomed into someone's home.

Seeing a profile photo of a guest before accepting their booking isn't about judging a book by its cover, it's about openness, friendliness and trust.

[Ann489]

@Lisa1831 

Why would I NOT allow you to book based on your profile pic?  Your picture is a very clear head shot, of what I assume is you.  It does not show a fish, bicycle, etc.  That's good enough for me.  If you are implying that I would deny you based on race, then you would probably not be well-suited to my property.  My family includes several, multi-racial members, and I do not make my decisions based on skin color.

[Patricia55]

Oh, I kind of feel we're at cross purposes a little on this thread, ie people are coming at it from different standpoints (understandably)...

Can I just make this disctinction:

You can look at someone's photo and just simply SEE it.

You can look at someone's photo, see it and make a judgement upon the person (and then a judgement on whether or not to accept their booking)

I'm absolutely not in favour of the second (with the exception of eg people looking like white supremacists!)

I'm also not going to argue against a policy which is geared towards cutting out discrimination, and, if we believe Airbnb, is having the desired effect ... just saying I preferred to see the pic pre-booking, but am coping fine with seeing it afterwards, took a bit of getting used to, that's all.

@Gordon0 

Thanks for that. You obviously “know whereof you speak” - sorry to hear you were discriminated against. I can't really say I've had personal experience of discrimination in this sector... or does being invisibilised as an old woman count?!

@Lisa1831 

I probably AM more upset that I don't automatically get Govt ID anymore... there've been so many changes, that I don't even know if I have the energy to get too upset anymore...

Well, guests do get a fair amount of info on the listing, including photos, and, I would have thought, a reasonable idea of where they're booked to stay, without getting a specific address.

Would I book you based on your photo? I wouldn't accept/decline you, or any guest, purely based on a photo – I need a lot more info on anyone who's coming to stay in my home!

PS I really like your photo, by the way, and after reading your profile and reviews, I'd accept you like a shot. But, going by what you said elsewhere, I'm not sure my cleanliness standards would meet yours, so I'd be a bit nervous 😉

[Emilia42]

@Patricia55, so when you go into your settings the requirement for a government ID check box is just completely gone?

[Patricia55]

@Emilia42 

Yes, think so... I mean, the Govt ID option was still listed but it had "Instant Book only" next to it.

Airbnb Help initially told me, oh, it makes no difference whether you're on Instant Book or not... then came back, apologised, and said Yes, you can only require the guest to have Govt ID if you use Instant Book...

This made me super nervous, so I signed up to Instant Book... now I'm super nervous about being on Instant Book!  Talk about being between a rock and a hard place... grrr...

[Emilia42]

@Patricia55, ohh yes, an Airbnb push to get hosts to use instant book. For what it's worth, I love instant book and really feel that I have more control and an easy time hosting because of it.

[Sarah977]

@Patricia55  I like what you wrote- that we can look at a photo and simply see it. That is how I use profile photos- you can't judge a person by their face. But you can judge if someone posts a profile photo that is quite inappropriate to expecting to be welcomed into someone's home, and those are the ones I would weed out and decline if we were able to see the photos before accepting. I'm talking about someone posing with a gun, scantily clad, as some evil movie character, etc. Some people may consider those things cute for their facebook photo or to send to their friends on Snapchat or Instagram, but if they think I would be open to sharing my home with them with such a photo, it indicates a level of cluelessness I wouldn't want to deal with.

[Jacqueline501]

I think you should have a photo not a cartoon or some other type of picture a real photo of your self . the guest can see our photo why can't we see theirs if  they book at a hotel they have to show a photo such as drivers licence. sometime i meet the guest and i would just like a picture to know who i am hosting , the color of your skin ,sexual preference or religion does not matter . 

[Flor-and-Scott0]

Agree with you 100%.  This is not correct. I have a $3 million dollar home and I like to see if this person is of age, not some young rich kids that destroyed my home last year. 

[Ansel0]

a profile picture will not stop someone from destorying your home. 

[Safaa4]

I am happy to see people fotto 

[Robert613]

I am starting to look at these forums more often when I am feeling frustrated by some aspect of the hosting experience. I looked at this because in the past three days, I have had two guests book instantly and when their picture was revealed, it was not of them. One was a butterfly and the other was a phrase from a poster. No, we have NEVER discrimminated against anyone based on a picture but we do like to know that the person standing at our front door that we are allowing into our home is the person who booked. That is all this is about for me. We have hosted people of all ages, races, sexual orientation, disabilities, etc. and most experiences have been delightful. We are a gay couple and maybe there are people out there that choose not book with us when they see our picture. We can never know that and if that is the case it is their loss, not ours. While we have hosted for about 18 months, I will say it has gotten more frustrating lately with people ignoring check in/check out times, household rules that they should have read before booking and obviously didn't, third party bookings for "friends", etc. All I think is that there should be consistency in the expectations for photos. If they say the photo will be revealed after booking, then let it be of them and not a sunset just as it is for our pictures as hosts.

[Jane627]

@Robert613  because of the issues of the government id and the no photo pre-booking I have gone back to my listing and posted " You may be asked for your id, if so it must be a government id and it must match your profile picture". Go to your listing, go to " title and describtion ", scroll down to other things to note, thats where iI put it. I often encourage my guests to read the whole listing when they inquire.