Guest profile picture

[Doris124]

How can Airbnb all of a sudden decide to take guest profile picture away why?

Putting a face to a name makes the host comfortable It doesn't make anyone discriminate!. We are allowing people into our homes! Its more than money.

I have accepted both male and female, black and white, never discriminated so why would Airbnb change things all of a sudden? 

What happens if another person turns up infront of your gate? We will now have to call or email airbnb? How much stress can hosts take?

[Wim-En-Lia0]

You ask what happens when another person appears in front of your door? We have indeed had this. We contacted Airbnb because it caused us stress but nothing could be done about it. It could be a business booking they told us and then you usually know who you can expect ... Succes!

[Doris124]

I know! It becomes go stressful going back and forth, not to mention the time and resource it takes to reach airbnb. I honestly hope they do something about this!

HOSTS MATTER TOO!

[Lizzie]

Hello @Doris124 and @Wim-En-Lia0, 

Thank you for your feedback here, I'm not sure if you have seen elsewhere in the Community Center, that there has been a lot of discussion on this. 

I just want to check that you know hosts can request to see a photo of their guests before they arrive, as soon as the booking is confirmed. Here’s information on how to set that requirement if you haven't already. 

Also, if the photo isn't real (e.g. if it’s a picture of a rose or a clown), you have the option to cancel without penalty by calling Airbnb’s Community Support. (We’d also recommend messaging the guest directly before cancelling.)

I also wanted to let you know that the Airbnb Team are still looking into all the feedback provided by hosts here in the Community Center, so it is being read and taken very seriously. As soon as there is more information, we will share it here in the Community Center. 

Thanks again,

Lizzie

[John1080]

@Doris124, Airbnb has been planning this for a bit and it’s been discussed extensively in other threads.

This is Airbnb’s attempt to cut down on discrimination, but it’s overwhelming unpopular among hosts for the reasons you’ve mentioned. 

Many of us also feel that the move will not even address the intended issue and in fact could backfire and lead to more discrimination if hosts begin denying potential guests based on ethnic sounding names, for example. 

[Susan17]

@John1080 

In many markets, the version of this policy that's being rolled out/tested (who knows?), hides the guests' profile pics and reviews, and the host sees only the guest's initial, "J", "M", "C" etc, until after a booking has been confirmed. 

[John1080]

@Susan17 , I have seen other mention that they see an initial. Is that initial not taking the place of the picture, with the first name still displayed next to the picture as before? You're saying the first name is being removed entirely in these test markets? 

[Susan17]

@John1080 

Yes, that's correct. I've had both versions myself - with the initial, but with the guest's full name still visible, and with the initial, but no name visible - so I'm guessing it may be determined by the guest's market, rather than the host's market. Or it could be just totally random. As always with Airbnb rollouts, impossible to tell for sure. 

[Doris124]

@John1080 I am guessing they will decide to withhold names too 🙂

Names and faces are just about identity.

Why don't they try using hosts without pictures and see if any guests will book at all. 

I really think they should rethink this!

[John1080]

@Doris124 @Susan17, it wouldn't surprise me if they eventually do remove names as well. And yes, many hosts have questioned how well Airbnb would do if potential guests could not see a host's photo! 

[Susan17]

@John1080 

One of the catalysts for the whole "Community Commitment Charter" and "Non-Discrimination Policy"  was a 2015 study by associate Harvard professor Ben Edelman, as part of which researchers set up 20 test accounts, and sent inquiries to 6400 hosts in 5 cities (Baltimore, St Louis, Dallas, LA and Washington DC). All test profiles were identical, except for the names. 

The study found that when profiles had white-sounding names like Todd and Allison, there was a 50% success rate for a positive response - ie they were offered the room. However, with the black-sounding names - such as Darnell and Tamika - that figure dropped to 42%, so a 16% differential overall. 

Edelman and his co-authors concluded that in order to combat racism on the site, Airbnb should adopt a booking system similar to hotels, without the guest's name being revealed to the host beforehand, and suggested that IB should be standard practice on the site (music to Airbnb's ears, as at that point, hosts were still fiercely resisting all attempts to persuade them to sign up to the instant book feature, with take-up rates hovering around the 1 in 12 mark following its introduction in 2014)

It's interesting to note though, that Prof Edelman and his team did not use actual profile pics of the inquiring "guests", and opted to use pics of sea-turtles instead. But yes, I would say there's a very high probability that the ability for hosts to see guests' names will be taken away completely. 

[Doris124]

@Susan17 @John1080 If it is truly a discrimination policy then just use name initials and no name altogether.

A guest name(for illustrative purposes) Oketsuku! Once you see a name like this you know its a male and a black African possibly from Nigeria. So tell me how the profile picture will solve this descrimination problem?

[Sarah977]

@Doris124  Well, I'd have no idea that that was a black Nigerian male from the name. You can never tell where someone is from or what color they are from a name. I know Mexicans with Russian last names, Arabic first names, whatever. Mom finds a name she likes in a baby name book- some great grandfather was Russian, people could be from anywhere. I named my daughter a name I totally made up, then found out years later that it's actually a man's name in Japan.

I also want to see a guest's profile photo, not so I can discriminate but because I'm welcoming strangers into my home and it just feels more open and friendly.

[Susan17]

@John1080 @Doris124  @Daniel1598 

Apologies, I pressed "send" too soon on that last post, have updated it now with the relevant info! 

[John1080]

@Susan17, that's okay. Yes, I'm sure some discrimination occurs, as it does in all aspects of life. While Airbnb and others should attempt to cut back on the level of discrimination that occurs, I think it needs to be balanced with the concerns of hosts, who really are the backbone of the business.  

I have never required a photo to book my place, so it doesn't really impact me one way or the other, but I can certainly understand why many hosts are up in arms over this change and would like to retain some control over this feature, particularly for safety issues, whether real or perceived.