Guest had problems booking and I lost the booking

Theresa84
Level 2
Nellysford, VA

Guest had problems booking and I lost the booking

Hello Airbnb Hosting Community,

 

I'm a relatively new host--listing published in June 2017. Things are going splendidly so far!

 

However, I had a problem with a guest trying to book unsuccessfully. Here's the story:

 

I have smart booking turned on and I allow one-night minimums. I get mostly one-nighters and many are last minute (i.e. passing through our area looking for a short stay).

 

I had a guest send me an inquiry Saturday afternoon stating she tried everything to book my Airbnb for the upcoming Tuesday but was having trouble uploading her ID.

 

We communicated via Airbnb for the next 30 hours. I offered every suggestion I could think of. She said she was getting errors that her ID wasn't readable. She tried a webcam and cell phone. She tried with the app. She tried with her desktop. Nothing worked. I tried pre-approving her, but that still required an ID. I tried sending her a special offer, but she said she still could not book.

 

Eventually she gave up and booked  a hotel. We were both disappointed. I lost the booking and the income.

 

The (prospective) guest said she booked an Airbnb accommodation 1 time a few weeks prior and had no trouble. Wouldn't she have been required to upload her ID for the previous booking? She had one review that was stellar--so I believed that she booked Airbnb once before.

 

Any ideas in case this happens again?

 

Thank you,

Theresa

3 Replies 3
Steve143
Level 10
Limerick, Ireland

Hello @Theresa84,

 

You have instant book turned on. Do you also have the "Government-issued ID" setting turned on?

 

Not all hosts have this turned on. If her previous host probably didn't require this that'd be one reason why she was able to book before without having to upload a photo of ID.

 

Steve.

Hi Steve! Yes. I guess I do have that turned on as well. I guess I have to think about whether I want to turn that off. Doesn't it add a layer of safety and security? Or, not really?

Hello @Theresa84,

 

Airbnb will never show it to you and no person at Airbnb ever checks it. A lot of hosts say that they get some rassurance about the guest from they being willing to provide the ID photo which, in practice, is as far as it goes as an in advance verification of the guest.

 

Steve.