Government ID requirement.

[Andrew157]

For IB abb allow the hosts request the guests  upload government ID. This is not available to the host but allows a further verification that the guest is OK. I first came across this when booking to stay in Dublin. I uploaded a photo of my UK driving licence and a selfie and was sorted.

We are on IB but I ticked the box requiring ID for our place on return. We have also asked new guests on abb to upload ID before we have booked them with no issues. 

Today I have an Australian guest trying to book for July 2018. Apparently their whole 2 month tour of the UK is all abb. Anyway they cannot book due to the government ID requirement and I am the only host to require it. Also they have made a non IB request to book.

Now even the scousers have been able to provide the ID. 

So what do we do?

The problem is that if we don't approve their booking request we get dinged on our stats. 

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

@Andrew157

It depends on how much you want this booking - I am not  clear why the guest cannot upload Government ID...

What you can do is tell the guest you will need a copy of their passport on arrival or in advance. I am sure they won't object to that.

Declining a single request does not get you dinged - decling multiple requests, particularly in a row, will get you a knock back.

Good luck

[Marit-Anne0]

@Andrew157

I believe you have a request to book rather than an IB because these guests do not meet your booking requirements.

[Andrew157]

There is no reason to think that these guys are not OK. After Brits are largest country of origin for guests is Australia. They are no problem other than speaking a different language 

The issue is not appearing to discriminate or give priority to one group over another. After all the good people of Liverpool had to provide ID. 

The stats I meant was the speed of response target. 

I will probably pre-approve them with the requirement that they produce their passports.

I wondered if anyone else was having issues with the uploading of the ID

[Marzena4]

@Andrew157 But when you're declining a booking request, there are now options to choose from the meny why you are doing so. I remember that in the case of my recent refusal I chose sth about dates from request not being the dates the guest wanted to saty. I can't remember the other options now, but check them.

[Fiona-and-Keith-and-Fami0]

I am totally out of the loop. What is IB? I'm so busying hosting and working, I don't keep up with the jargon, although I did figure out abb is Airbnb (right?).

[Christa-And-Zach0]

Hi Fiona - If your is not set where someone may instantly book your place without your permission (there are some guidelines), your listings are automatically filtered out. If you have noticed a drop in your bookings in 2017, this is why. There was no warning. Today I have just found out that I cannot require an ID of my guests unless IB is turned on. This is absurd. I have written to Airbnb now - this may help you understand the downsides to IB, and the issue I take with it in general:

---

A year ago, without any notification to hosts whatsoever, Airbnb automatically filtered out listings who did not have Instant Book turned on. After a month of having little no bookings and wondering how we were going to pay our bills, we stumbled upon this fact and only then learned that we had essentially been hidden from all users without any warning. Your company has forced our hand into turning on Instant Book just so we can continue to use this platform, causing major inconveniences (such as limiting our ability to choose when to accept one-night stay is available to fill a gap, or when it is booked three months in advance in the middle of an entire week).

Now today, I go to turn off Instant Book so that it a booking does not occur during a time when we are out of town (and no, your reservation requirements for specific dates do not work in the slightest), I see that your company is no longer allowing us to protect ourselves securely in our homes since we have turned it off. Apparently security is only offered to a select few.

Just to give you a bit of a backstory here: before our hand was forced into Instant Book in 2017 to make even $1 on this site, we were ALWAYS permitted to require an ID for guests to book with us. This was a no-brainer. Now, Airbnb has decided that security is only for the folks who fall into the ploy of Instant Book (or, for those of those who can actually manage to do it), and has removed the right to requiring a government-ID. This is shocking, and disgusting.

For such a PR ravaged company, with countless stories of thefts, unknowing sex parties in private homes, major damages and incidents, and physical and sexual assaults (and even a false imprisonment case!) that have made the news, this comes at a huge shock. I'm not entirely shocked that such a big company like Airbnb doesn't care about a host's safety anymore; I'm entirely surprised that you don't care more about your image.

I have been a fiercely loyal Airbnb user and host for 7 years. In fact, we have just received Superhost status today for the fifth time in a row, and this news of removal of security was the congratulations I received. I was on the fence last year, but it's clear the time has come for us to seek out Vrbo, Tripz, Homeaway, Flipkey, and Wimdu when welcoming strangers into MY HOME. I will now book personal trips through others venues at every opportunity I can get, as they do what is right by protect their hosts' security. I will encourage others and my media contacts to do the same until this horrible policy is reversed.

Regards.

[Kathryn119]

I tried IB for some months but have reverted back to Re

[Kathryn119]

Whoops no idea what happened there!

As I was saying...

I have only been using the platform for a year and IB for just the last few months however, it wasn't for me, so reverted back to Request Booking. I too was horrified to find they have removed the Gov I D. a small level of security I know but I'm standing for the singletons and every little helps as they say.

Have sent a coupleof messages (below)but from what I've heard I'll be lucky to get a response.

SHAME ON YOU AirB'n'B

Having just reverted back to Request Booking, as a retired single woman, I was absolutely disgusted to discover THERE IS NO LONGER THE FACILITY TO ASK FOR GOV. I.D. I cannot believe Abnb are so mercenary, uncaring or totally unaware of the vulnerability of their many single women hosts by removing the availability of this simple check. 
Why Oh Why should this small measure of security be automatic for Instant booking only?

IB is not the be all and end all is it? or maybe it is to be!    

[Steve515]

I have been happily using airbnb for years but today traveling in British Columbia all me requests are requiring government ID.  This is the first time I have encountered it and I'm not going to do it.  (many foruns and articles on the wisdom of this).  I wish I could tell these hosts that they are losing my business.  It's a shame.  I think many bookings are wasted by this <new?> process.  Is this new in Canada for the new tax laws?

[Tina489]

I am an Australian, a host and also trying to book Airbnb accommodation in New York for next year.  I would not book at the accommodation that best suited our needs because of the whole government ID issue.  These are the reasons for my concern that I fedback to Airbnb:

My feedback is regarding your policy on collecting guest government ID before being able to book accommodation.  We recently attempted to book accommodation in the USA but were unable to do so as we were not prepared to upload government ID into cyberspace.  Your policy raises the following concerns:
> it contravenes a person's right to privacy and complete a transaction without providing that level of identification which historically has not been necessary in order to book Airbnb accommodation
> it places people at risk of identity theft given you cannot guarantee the safety of the internet usage and storage.  One only has to look at the recent data theft of British Airways customer information to be concerned with this newly imposed regulation.  In fact, there were 16 such breaches in 2018 alone; including major companies like yours.  Whilst you might purport the new requirements make for a safer community, I cannot see how this is the case and it puts the entire community at increased risk.
> I personally have had four fraudulent activities on my credit card and back accounts and are very reluctant to put this information into cyberspace.
> all cyber security information regarding protecting your identity warns against uploading this type of information onto the internet, yet you are requesting people compromise their identity security by asking for this
>your policy states that you can share the information with third parties if needed.  You have not provided the privacy policies of these third parties, so whilst you might consider your privacy standards sufficient, what guarantee does anybody have of the privacy policies of the third parties to whom you share the information?
>unless you are able to either provide the privacy policies of the third parties or guarantee that their use in limited to their own organisation, how can you safeguard that the information you share with the third party will not be shared by that party?
> our own experience is that we cannot book properties at which we want to stay because of this regulation.  It will drive people to other booking platforms if they are, like us, unwilling to submit there private information.  From our own experience, this has caused hosts to miss out on income as people will book elsewhere.  You are disadvantaging both the hosting and guest communities by insisting on this ID.  It forms a restriction of marketplace trade.  Even as a host, I would go to another platform rather that comply with this request.

I trust you will reconsider this unnecessary intrusion, invasion of people's privacy and potential harm you are forcing on the Airbnb community.
Thank you

[Kelly144]

I only accept folks who have uploaded their ID. Even though we Airbnb hosts never see this ID it shows to me that they are honest and have nothing to hide. In my real job, I own and manage a hotel, and we scan and upload the ID of the guests checking in. This is standard procedure in just about every hotel and in my experience, the people who are paranoid that we are going to steal their identity or some such nonsense usually end up being trouble in other ways too. 

[Anonymous]

In my world the imposing of the photo ID requirements is nothing more than criminal. There is no reference on how airbnb is safeguarding my information or intending to follow GDPR data protection. The new mandatory collection of people’s personal ID data in a private institution is making me really worried. 

Are you all fine with this? Really? Picture passports sent to a corporation? Where are we? East Germany?

[Michelle1486]

Please see my comment below.

[Michelle1486]

When people complete their Government ID check, are their ID visible by anyone ? First i do not feel comfortable to host someone without ID check, second, this a legal requirement in the UK. 2 x guests share with me that they are reluctant to upload their ID because they are concerned anybosy can see it.

Thanks