How long does Airbnb keep Guest Data?

[Kevin-s0]

I host in Japan where it is very strict on hosting with the Rugby World Cup and the Olympics coming up.

had a visit by the police. They recommended keeping my “data” for at least three years. My data, is at Airbnb- much of it(passport photos etc). Probably so is yours?

Question: how long does Airbnb keep guest’s data, in case of crime etc?

Specifically, guests must send us passport photos. I hope that Airbnb will keep all of that for three years, and that I can scroll back and easily access the photos of passports if necessary.

[David-Erik0]

Said this: 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2267/how-long-does-airbnb-retain-personal-data

you should simply get in contact with AirBnB support.

[Kevin-s0]

Have you ever used support?

Sometimes it’s like chatting with a robot that has bad AI. I suspect that Airbnb actually is testing out bots. 

It used to be terrible. Recently it has gotten better. Or maybe I am off the list to be experimented on.

I asked at support as you suggested. I will tell you if/when I get an answer.

[Kevin-s0]

David, thank you for that though! That is helpful!

I specifically want Airbnb to keep the chats I have with guests and the passport photos guests have sent- So I don’t have to myself.

[Kelly149]

@Kevin-s0 Where does this passport photo reside in your abb system? I’ve never seen such a thing

[Kevin-s0]

They send their passport photo right to my hosting inbox at Airbnb. So I am wondering how long Airbnb will keep that photo.

I asked Lorellai (Lori) yesterday. I’m still waiting for an answer about this question. It seems Airbnb I with all the money they are making cannot afford support people in my time zone.

[Sarah977]

@Kevin-s0  I don't require passport or ID copies from my guests, but I do copy down their names, phone numbers and email addresses into a little book I use for that purpose. Perhaps you should start screenshotting the info you need to keep and save it to your computer, with a flash drive backup.

[Kevin-s0]

Thank you Sarah,

In Japan, for non-residents, it is required to have their passport number.  It`s actually the law.  The police told me to keep a copy of their passport.  So I have them send me a photo as I mosly host non-site.I will look into getting an iPad perhaps. 

[Sarah977]

@Kevin-s0  Yes, I'm aware that there are many places where that is a Govt. requirement. And some hosts, even where it isn't a requirement, ask to see ID. I wasn't suggesting that a host is in any way remiss in asking for this, just that I don't- it's not required here and all my guests have either had a lot of good reviews on their profile, or communicated really nicely, and all had actual profile photos so I could tell when they arrived that it was the same person. So I've just never felt the need to ask for ID. But I do keep the info I have on them elsewhere, in case it disappears from the site.