Requiring Verification?

Zachary0
Level 1
Atlanta, GA

Requiring Verification?

Do most hosts require verification of your guests? If so, do you think it turns people away from your listing when you're asking them to provide gov't ID's? Any feedback here is greatly appreciated.

111 Replies 111
Clare0
Level 10
Templeton, CA

HI @Zachary0, some hosts do and some don't.  Seems like the Airbnb world is divided into two categories:  entire home and private room rentals.  I have an entire home so I require Verified ID and a proper photo of guests.  I don't ask for any more ID than what the guest has already provided to Airbnb.  

Hosts who rent rooms in their homes tend not to be so picky since they are there to monitor guests' activity.  

Requiring Verified ID is up to you and your comfort level.  It never hurts to require it in your booking requirements. 

Ruth18
Level 3
Mississauga, Canada

I require Verifications and I think it goes without saying, that if someone, basically a total stranger is going to stay in your house overnight that one should have some verification of his/her identity. I hope that airbnb encourages potential guests to provide verifications. I do not open my door to anyone who has for example an email only verification. Guests seem to be surprised when I ask them to comply so that is why I wonder if airbnb encourages the verification process. I certainly had to do it in order to be a Host. 

I just tried to rent in Stratford and was shocked by the government ID requirement.  Do you realize that AirBNB hasn't taken basic steps (ISO 27001 or SOC2/3) to protect your guests privacy?  Do you realize that in Canada this personal information is governed by PIPEDA, which AirBNB seems to be ignoring?  Hmm ... wonder if the host is on the hook?

 

So ... I told the host the issue, she gets it .. but .... there is no way to turn it off?  She tried, but we couldn't work around it, so I ended up booking my wife and I elsewhere.

 

You worry about your security as a host, but what about security of my personal information as a guest?  Personally I think my picture, plus my payment card is enough ID - why do you need my passport or drivers license after that, and "I think it goes without saying, taht if someone, basically a total stranger" is going to have my personal information I want to know why and how they will protect it.    There was NO protection beyond PCI (for credit card collection) and SSL for transmission.  That is nothing.

 

Nope .. I'll never book AirBNB again if government ID is required.  You might want to think about your flippant answer, Ruth.  I understand your position, but there is more than one side to this coin.

You don't understand, Cal. The host NEVER sees or has access to your ID. We can't even see your last name unless you list it. Only Airbnb has verified your ID so the hosts will know they are safe. There is not a security issue for you. 

Nope, Sandy. My host keep demanding on my husband and my driving license pictures. He wants us send our ID to Airbnb msg and he clearly see my husband driving license. Host is ask him if he coming from Chicago because his address in driving license is in Chicago. It scared me out the person I never met has my husband ID so I refuse to send mine. I don’t want hand to my ID to the person I never met before 

There is a security issue, air bnb has the photo of the ID you have to trust them to keep it safe! Once that photo is online you have no control over it any longer anyone who gains access could use it to steal your identity. Company’s like air bnb are massive targets for hackers looking for exactly this kind of data

My host just asked me to take a picture of my and wife's driver license and send it to her personal email. It's just odd to me. 

 

@

 

Hi Ange:

 

I tried for a number of weeks to get a straight answer out of AirBNB, and they ducked at every turn.  To answer a few of your comments though, AirBNB at no point in our conversations denied that:

 

1) Nothing in the Terms of Service limit liability, or avoid a class action where AirBNB was negligent in their protection of client data;

 

2) While Hosts are told to obtain insurance, they likely have no inkling as to the fact that they may need Cyber coverage (and that could make Hosting uneconomical!); and that
 
3) AIrBNB appear to be willfully ignoring the potential for data leakage by requesting guest personally identifiable information, providing that data to a 3rd party, and having NO certification in place to indicate they or AirBNB have taken appropriate procedures to protect that personally identifiable guest data.
 
My conversation with AirBNB ran over a six week period with numerous emails exchanged.  I asked to speak or have a conversation with their Chief Security Officer or equivalent, and that never happened (although you can be fairly certain that person, or their equivalent, was notified of my concerns).
 
AirBNB isn't safe for either Hosts or Visitors.  When it comes to the handling or personal information they have been very opaque and have shuffled it off to a third party who clearly don't have ISO 27001 or SOC2 procedures in place.
 
It may be harsh, but AirBNB are not to be trusted with personal data, and as a Host I'd be sure to have cyber insurance in place if you are going to be asking for personal information.
 
You raise valid concerns about Host security, but at least you have something, and I'm sure AirBNB can put other procedures in place (advance hold for the amount of stay on credit cards, for instance), or insurance from their end against fraudulent activity.  
 
In my humble opinion, even being a host and taking personal information, is rolling the dice.  Even a decade from now a leak of information coudl haunt you, disrupt your life, and result in a significant claim for damages - better hope AirBNB is around to cover you.
 
 
 
 
Linda1339
Level 2
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

Cal,

 

I think you are being way overly-dramatic about it. 

 

  1. AirBnb never shows the hosts a guest's ID. They take the information from you so that they can assure themselves that you are the owner of the credit card you are using. When hosts know that AirBnb has an image of your ID, we get an assurance that you are the person who were authorised to book, that is the only assurance we have. 
  2. AirBnb never transfers any image of your ID to us if the host is the third party you are referring to. 
  3. Hosts can ask to see your ID on your arrival. Seeing is confirming that you are the person who booked - ESPECIALLY if the guest is such a private person they have an orchird as their profile picture and then appear before you with a face. A host would have to assume that their guest did not get killed along the way and a criminal took his/her place. The host should not copy your ID and keep it in their file drawer nor as a scan on their computer.
  4. The host should not 'take' your personal information. Taking is different to 'seeing and confirming' and handing you back your ID swiftly.
  5. Cashiers at certain stores now note our ID numbers on their merchant receipt for credit card payments and they are just cashiers and you're not even using their house or sharing their house. Hosts must have a right to at least note your ID number and state or residential address. You know our residential addresses! It's not a one-way street.
  6. As a host taking a potential stranger into my house I want to know the guest's driver's permit number and state. Your birthdate would not be recorded (which is also not recorded on your driver's permit anyway unless yours is different to mine).
  7. I am pretty sure that AirBnb ignored you while all rolling their eyes at your hysterics.
  8. Cyber coverage? For what? Hosts are not supposed to scan your ID and keep it on the computer or in the cloud, be real.
  9. Hosts have a right to know who is coming to their property, what that person looks like and that the person who arrived is the person who booked.

You are making a mountain out of a molehill.

Hi Linda, thank you for this information. Where on the website can I find this. As our host is asking to take a picture of id ofall the guests?! I am not comfortable at all doing this.

Fei7
Level 1
Vancouver, Canada

Umm.. but you would need to provide the same document if you want to check in at a hotel though...If not, how do they know your picture match to the name of the payment card.

but its not copied and stored online

I was just trying to make a reservation and Airbnb wanted to use my laptop to take a photo of the front and back of my drivers license. That photo would be in their online records. So yes, it is copied and stored online. I was ready to reserve the house but didn't because of this.