I had a recent experience I thought I'd warn other hosts about. I've relied heavily on the ID check process to vet that people are who they say they are, and they at least pass a background check (which I believe airbnb does). My last guest, unbeknownst to me, turned out to be a homeless person who brought in drugs, and angrily refused to leave at check out until the police were called. She was using a third party account set up and paid for by a friend but she quite easily passed the "verification" process. Since the new policy is that we cannnot see the guest's picture prior to approval, I only had the "verified" info and the name "Locke" to go by, which I assumed was a man's name. Had I been able to see her picture, the mismatch might have deservedly given me pause.
It turns out that "Locke" is neither the name of my guest nor the name of the friend who booked the room. I was told later by airbnb support that people are able to change their name and it doesn't have to match your ID, which further erodes my trust in this process.
Lessons learned: 1. Do not rely on Airbnb ID verifications and 2. Do not accept their advice to use fewer filters in the interest of making money. It's simply not worth the risk. If I can't rely on airbnb verifications my only options are to depend on other host reviews or not rent at all.
