Unverified Guest made a reservation despite the setting prohibiting unverified guest from reserving.

[Fumi0]

          I've posted a reply to an already existing thread related to my concern, but I did not receive any response, so I decided to create a new thread. My initial concern was about the fact that there were few guests who made inquiries while they were not yet verified. Although I responded by messages and the count down clock went away as I did, I hesitated to select Pre-Approve or Decline with the worry that this might either allow the unverified guest to proceed with booking or that I would decline guests that are probably totally fine... And then of course I worry that I might get ding'd for slow response time if I don't select either course of action. 

Then recently I realized that a guest with no verification (only 3 out of 4 verified IDs required) was able to book with us. How was this possible? Please let me know if I need to contact Airbnb to ensure no other verified guest be able to finalize booking? Also to know what action to take when I receive an inquiry from an unverified guest? 

I'd appreciate any information. Thank you! 

Fumi

[Ash-and-Dasha0]

You should contact airbnb support, there is nothing that jumps out on your listing that allows for unverified guests to book. Best of luck to you. 

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

They can book if they are going through the verification process - weird, I know, as you have said 'unverified guests only' but you are the revenue stream for AirBnB, so they ignore your request and hope that the person will be able to complete verification. 

In the meantime you lose the busienss you wanted to attract.

[Andrea9]

@Fumi0

Not sure out of your text if you chose "verified guests only" as booking stipulation?

Airbnb does a general basic guest verification, but the strict full-on verification with the check mark on green only applies when you stipulate it. You can always turn it off and on again whenever you want.

[Fumi0]

@Andrea0

Yes, I have the Require guests to go through verification box selected, if that's what you mean? (Please see image below)

I did mention to my guest that he is missing 1 out of 4 verifications and he said that this was weird since airbnb once did tell him that he was fully verified. He said he would look into it.

Also what about my other questions regarding how to respond to inquiries from unverified guests? If I approve, would that allow them to finalize their booking without full verification? Also, would i get penalized for not pre-approving or declining within 24hrs, just like a regular booking?

Thank you for your help.

Verified ID

Your guests will need to verify their ID before booking with you. Learn More

Require guests to go through verification

[Andrea9]

@Fumi0

Since I'm a host like you and not an Airbnb employee I can only speak from what I know.

My experience and knowledge is that Airbnb requires 5 verifications for "verified ID" acc. to your image. It has now and then taken guests a while to get it all together and upload their 5 verifications during which time the booking had "pending" status. If your experience is that guests only had 4 verifications after "verified ID" , this is new to me and I have no answer as to why this was possible. Only Airbnb can answer to that.

If your requirement is verified ID, potential guests can still send an inquiry as well as send a reservation request wit

However, as soon as you accept or they book after pre-approval the system requires them to complete full verification if they haven't done it yet. They will have 24h to do this, during which time the dates are blocked for booking by another party. If they don't succeed the reservation is anulled. But they can re-try the booking process. 

And yes, you still need to accept/decline the booking within 24h from your side to avoid penalization of having the dates blocked.

If you see that a guest doesn't have full verification upon inquiry, you can always tell them to complete the verification process and then book.

Hope this clarifies the issue better for you.

The requirement

[Helen--Holly-0]

I have a potential guest from the Netherlands and she can't book because she has not been verified.  She said it is agains the Dutch law to provide a copy of her passport to a company.  Does anyone know if this is correct?

[Andrea9]

@Helen0  

I live in the NLs and have never heard of this before. All of us hosts here have to get verified and supply a copy of our ID.

Sounds like she wants the gains of Airbnb without the pains. What if your insurance insisted that you only rented to guests who supply you with an ID copy? Hosts in some countries - I know Portugal for sure - even need to submit an ID copy of their guests beforehand to their touristry ministry or office. 

[Helen--Holly-0]

@Andrea0, thanks so much for your reply!  Here is the email the guest sent me:

However, for me this poses a problem, especially since it is forbidden by Dutch law to provide a copy of your passport to a company. I see that other Dutch people have also addressed this issue, but so far there is no workable solution.

[Helen--Holly-0]

I found this article that agrees with my guest:

Privacy watchdog warns companies: photocopying ID is illegal SocietyTech & Media February 13, 2014    Companies are breaking the law in asking customers for a copy of their passport, the Dutch privacy watchdog warns on Thursday. Handing over a photocopy of your ID can be an aid to identity theft, the CBP says after an investigation into a number of different sectors. For example, in some cases people were asked to provide a copy of their ID when signing up to a gym or swimming pool. Organisers of major events often ask for a copy of a passport as well, the CBP says. Checks ‘Of course companies can check if people are who they say there are,’ watchdog spokesman Wilbert Tomesen says. ‘But piles of photocopies of passports is an invitation to identity fraud, which has major financial and social ramifications for citizens.’ The tax office also advised companies to make copies of subcontractors’ workers’ passports, but this has since changed, the CBP says. The transport sector association has also informed its members that lorry drivers are not required by law to hand over a copy of their ID when making a delivery. Many companies are not aware making copies of passports and ID cards is an illegal practice with only a few exceptions, the CBP says. The organisation has drawn up guidelines to ensure citizens know their rights. Share Share Share Tweet Share

Read more at DutchNews.nl: Privacy watchdog warns companies: photocopying ID is illegal http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2014/02/privacy_watchdog_warns_compani/

[Andrea9]

@Helen0

Thanks Helen, wasn't aware of that. I guess we've become so used to this practice in signing up for things that it has become as commonplace as giving one's cc #.

As in many situations it's either comply or don't make use of the service...

And the decision will fall for what we want most at that moment - a product, a lower price, or not have any of that and keep our integrity.

In the end the decision for her will be to comply and make use of Airbnb's services or not comply and book a hotel.

She also needs to realise that hosts invite random strangers into their homes and one of the reasons we do that is the fact of knowing that Airbnb has knowledge of their identity in the case that they misuse our trust.

[Helen--Holly-0]

@Andrea0, I agree regarding the hosts taking on the risk of unknown guests.  I fell bad because she has great reviews but you are correct that this process is in place to protect the hosts.  Hopefully, she will reconsider.  Have a great day!

[Hamish9]

This is also continually happening with our listing. We get reservation requests from people who do not have any prior reviews even though the settings on my listing stipulate this is required (even with instant booking active). 

Does anyone have any info about this? I realise this conversation started in 2016 and it is now 2018 so the settings have certainly changed in that time. 

[James802]

Hi all,

I join in, it might be an old post, but like Hamish, I am having a current issue here as well.

I have been in contact with Airbnb today several times to figure out how to set up 'requiring guests to go through the verification process' and have so far been unable to get a proper answer...

First, the airbnb customer service member sent me a copy of one of their help posts which says:

Hosts can require guests to complete Airbnb's Verified ID process. In order to require Verified ID, you must first verify your own ID.
To set reservation requirements:
Go to your Manage Listings page
Click Reservation Requirements in the menu
Check the box next to Require guests to go through verification
Click Save Reservation Requirements

Ok, so then I look for those setting and can't find them. I tell him that and ask if he means 'booking settings' and 'guest requirements', although there is no point there that says 'Require guests to go through verification'. He then turns around and says that is the page 'reservation requirements' (although completely differently named) and says I have already set it up. Well, no I haven't, hence I am asking. Anyways, he states I am only receiving booking requests from people that have a verified ID. Well, no, again incorrect. I did receive today again a request from a guest without verified ID, which is why I am asking him how to set it up... 

I saw in previous posts here that it was stated, that when guests book without verified ID, the hosts can accept their request, then the airbnb system automatically requests the guest to get their ID verified or their booking will be cancelled. That process happened to me as a guest years ago and this is exactly how I would like to set up my listing. I start wondering if airbnb changed their policies/website and if this process in that way is not even possible anymore...? Maybe they just forgot to update their help?

I have now only the possibility to set up that guests can only do an instant booking if they have an ID verified. Guests without an ID verified can only, but still, send a booking request. And they are not asked later on to verifiy their ID, because I accepted a few booking from guests without verified ID a few days ago and their profile still shows no verified ID... So, the process either doesn't exist anymore, or has a high faulty rate...