My room dates blocked by AirBnb while the identification of the guest is being verified

[Weili5]

When a  guest has been asked to provide a government-issued photo ID before airbnb can confirm their reservation.When this happens, airbnb allow guests 12 hours to provide their photo ID. During this time, my calendar will be blocked. If the guest does not complete the verification process in the time frame, the reservation request will be canceled and my calendar will be re-opened so other potential guests can request a reservation for the same dates.

[Andrea-and-Francis0]

Yes that has happened to us as well. It's unfortunate that Airbnb blocks our calendar as we have had some guests never follow through & it leaves no time to find another potential guest. Definitely frustrating! 

[Emilia42]

@Weili5 

That is correct. Would you rather an unverified guest have immediate access to book your space? You don't have to require a verified government ID for booking.

[Sarah977]

@Emilia42  Just as when a host puts up a new listing, it doesn't go live in search for at last 24 hours, guests should have to complete their verifications, upload profile photos, etc, before being allowed the option to book. It's totally unfair and absurd that hosts should have their calendars blocked by guests who just joined and immediately booked or requested to book. It's ass-backwards. You complete the required information, then you are eligible to book. It's a simple concept and it's exactly how most other things we do in life work. 

People don't just get issued a driver's license before they've filled out the forms, presented their ID and if necessary, passed a driver's test.

[Eva315]

Same thing  happened to me twice in 24h with same guest but different rooms and I asked Airbnb to unblock my calendar because I never received a booking request from the guest.

I wonder how a  new member can get access to instant booking if he’s not verified?

When contacting support they assumed I’ve accepted a booking request and therefore my calendar have been blocked twice two nights in a row. This is not ok.

Whats the point having direct booking if Airbnb let’s non verified guests go ahead with instant bookings before they have been verified. It looks like Airbnb wants to buy time for their customers on my expense. 

I see this as a form of ”pre-booking” to hold rooms, could it be a system failure or is it something accepted?