Can I ask for ID after booking?

[Harriet54]

Hi, we've just accepted our first Airbnb booking, but I forgot to tick that 'require ID' tick box in the settings. Person booking doesn't have a profile picture and has only verified their phone number.

Would you suggest we ask them to complete the ID process and upload a photo? If they did the ID process would we be able to tell, or is it too late now they've booked?

Any advice is appreciated!

[Stephanie365]

I have had people book without a profile picture.  

While I do have Instant Book, I have the strictest requirements, including ID and recommendations from previous guests. Apparently not all hosts are particularly concerned about who comes to stay as these are people who have previously stayed at AirBNB and still didn't have a Selfie.

In these cases, I send a polite note saying, "Thank you for choosing to stay with me.  Per AirBNB policy, all guests are required to have a current selfie in their profile and an ID on file for everyone's protection. Please upload a selfie and Governtment ID in the next 12 hours (give a HARD deadline) to complete your reservation."

Basically, you're telling them without actually saying it, "If you don't provide the required information I'm cancelling your reservation". 

So far I have yet to have anyone not comply. 🙂

I would also immediately go and check all boxes requiring the maximum amount of verifications to book with you to avoid this with future guests.

[Letti0]

@Harriet54  You could ask for them to upload a government ID, but they don't have to as you never stated it was required. As @Stephanie365  suggests change your booking requirements if you want government ID. Some Guests will look for hosts that don't require it because they are not comfortable giving that information out on the internet, so they may say no. I don't require they be government verified by AirBnB, but I do require they sign my rental agreement and send me a copy of their ID so they don't have to upload one on the internet.