Guest Allowed to Book With No Photo, Even Though I Require It

Guest Allowed to Book With No Photo, Even Though I Require It

We have turned on the requirement that guests must have a profile photo to book.  If you have instant booking turned on, guests with no profile phone who attempt to book will come through as a request to book rather than an instant book.  Today, someone who is brand new to Airbnb and who has no photo was allowed to book.  Sure, it came through as a request to book, but within minutes his reservation was confirmed.  His reservation was not confirmed by me or by my husband, and there is no one else on our account.  Airbnb was NO help at all.  I asked about it, and was given such a runaround.  I was given responses to questions not asked, was given an illegible screenshot of my booking settings which I did not need, and was given non-responses to questions asked.  I prefer to have photos of people who will be in my house unattended and the fact that I do not have one for this booking isn't the end of the world, but I cannot believe how Airbnb responded.  Has anyone else experienced this??  Thanks.

10 Replies 10
Mike-And-Helen0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

I have not experienced it, but I'm sure if you contact CS and say you're not comfortable hosting without a profile photo, they'll have the guest upload one or cancel for you.

Dimitar27
Level 10
Sofia, Bulgaria

Not so sure about this. Accounts without pictures are very common.

Emilia42
Level 10
Orono, ME

@Bruce-And-Patty0 

The main issue here is that the "request to book" was confirmed by an unknown account. Did you ask CS WHO confirmed this booking? Can they see this on the back end?

I did ask CS how this happened.  We were told they had NO idea who had confirmed the request to book. 

 

We had guests check out last Friday who were new to Airbnb, had no previous reviews and no photo.  Although they respected house rules, left the place clean, etc., they did go home with two of our beach towels.  I communicated with them about the missing towels, but got no response.  After I put in a request for money to replace the stolen beach towels, I heard from them.  It did end well, so there's that.  Because they agreed to pay for them, I gave them a decent review.

Susan151
Level 10
Somerville, MA

@Bruce-And-Patty0 It is very possible that the requesting guests uploaded a picture right after they sent the request, and then removed it before you had a chance to see it.

 

I doubt that a picture or lack thereof is an indicator of a towel thief.

@Susan151 I'm not sure I understand your response.  We had four beach towels when they checked in, and two when they checked out.  They admitted they took them home with them and apologized.  However, they ignored me when I mentioned it to them, and it wasn't until I put in a request for money to replace the stolen towels that they admitted they had taken them. Then and ONLY then did they admit they took them.  My mention about the no picture was not to be construed that it was indicative of being a towel thief, or any kind of thief at all.  I mentioned they were new to Airbnb and had no history, no reviews, no photo, no nothing.  I know that some hosts will not allow people with no previous Airbnb reviews or history to book with them, and this could be one of the reasons.  New people may not understand that a bad review (e.g., stealing from hosts) may follow them forever and no one will want to host them.  For me, I will not be quick to host these people again.  My cleaner noticed two missing towels, but what else could these guests have taken that my cleaner didn't notice?  

@Bruce-And-Patty0  Sorry to have been cryptic. I don't believe that having or not having a profile picture will give you an indication of whether or not a guest will take a towel home with them.

 

[And that is pretty cheeky! taking two towels that is.]

@Susan151 Understood.  But that is not exactly what I meant.  The "no picture" was included in a list of things--no history, no reviews, brand new to Airbnb, no photo.  I would never say that no photo automatically means thief.  It was just inclusive in a list of things that other hosts do not allow (i.e., new people, no reviews, no history).  Some hosts view this as risky, and perhaps it is.  But I figure people have to start somewhere, right?? : )

@Bruce-And-Patty0  I was suggesting that the guest did upload a photo for just enough time to instant book, and then immediately deleted it. The application will only check for a picture during the active moment that they try to book. It isn't a constant check once a reservation has been made.

@Susan151 Ohhh, ok.  I get what you're saying!  In any event, they paid for replacement towels and I gave them a decent review.  They did leave the house neat and tidy and aside from the theft, they observed the house rules, so there's that.  That said, we had guests with photos and glowing reviews take full rolls of toilet paper home with them, and another guest with a photo and great reviews steal two full, brand new boxes of tea bags.  So you are right--no photo does not mean thief or other bad things.  Conversely, great reviews and a photo does not mean they're 100% honest!