Address the Guest's default hometown "Lindenwold, NJ"

Address the Guest's default hometown "Lindenwold, NJ"

Hosts receiving inquiries and bookings from Airbnb Newbies are seeing multiple guest's hometowns as "Lindenwold, NJ." This seems to be a new phenomenon, probably an artifact of an update.

 

original (2)

 

After opening a ticket w/ ABB Superhost support, I was told that it is a default setting that has to be changed by the guest. The advice was for me to remind them to do it. Now, it is optional, and if they don't do this, it still shows up under their name and profile pic even after they book, which is confusing.

 

I think that's backward. Hosts should not have to add to their instructions to Guests — especially Newbies — a reminder to do something they should be required to do.

 

Instead, Airbnb, please fix this so that everyone must enter their hometown before making an inquiry or booking request.

 

Patti

 



 

Response from Airbnb

 

Status: Fixed

 

Thank you for alerting the Airbnb team to this bug in our system. We fixed the underlying problem on August 9 and corrected the hometown location on affected guest profiles on August 16. The issue was being caused by a quirk in our system that automatically added a hometown location if the guest didn’t provide one. We’ve switched to a more reliable way of getting that information, so you shouldn’t be seeing this problem anymore. However, if you do, please let us know!

 

22 Comments
Peggy-And-Mike0
Level 10

@Patti0, I posted too as I thought I should execute my own suggestion ! 🙂  Def put a thumbs up on yours.  Wills see about removing my post now as a duplicate.  

Marissa4
Level 2

Thanks Patti!

Thanks for the explanation. Many hosts in Portland noticed the Lindenwold NJ thing and thought it was weird. Hope it gets resolved.

Judy152
Level 1

Resolve it now.

Judy152
Level 1

Resolve it now.

Marissa4
Level 2

I think the problem may run deeper...I had a guest listed as from "Hyattsville, Maryland", who I gathered was not native to USA, but only later had to cancel because she had a visa issue. I absolutely love foreign guests and US citizens who are born elsewhere- but where guests are coming from is an important clue when communicating with them, as concisely and clearly as I can. I am still not quite sure what country she may be coming from...

Patti4
Level 8

Isn't this one of Airbnb's basic concepts? Trust and verification.

 

It's essential that hosts know the accurate location and other info about potential and booked guests.

 

We can't be expected to ask the guest, "Please make sure your profile is accurate," because it potentially erodes THEIR trust in the process and risks guest-initiated cancellation.

 

Really, it needs to be resolved.

Nancy46
Level 2

Needs to be resolved. Hosts should not have to ask their guests to update their info; surely Airbnb could do this quite easily based on a search for Lindenwold, NJ.

Melissa63
Level 3

I just received a request from a "Lindenwold, NJ" guest so this has not yet been fixed. I declined the reservation because I don't feel comfortable inviting someone with false identification into my home. Airbnb: please fix this!

Danny-And-Alan0
Level 2

I require verified ID, so why can't location information go directly into the profile?