Guest profile pictures removed

John232
Level 10
Bangor, United Kingdom

Guest profile pictures removed

I have been an Airbnb host for many years, but am very concerned to find just now that profile pictures of potential guests are now not being displayed until a booking is confirmed. For me and I am sure many other hosts who welcome guests into our homes it is vitally important to be able to see what a guest is like and make a judgement about their suitability for accommodation within ones home where there may also be children. I am VERY concerned about this decision that seems to encourage 'incognito' travelling, and I cannot continue to offer accommodation unless hosts are able to see a good clear and recognisable profile picture of potential guests BEFORE we accept a new booking.

 

Withdrawing profile pictures makes selecting our guests a lottery, and takes away from us the ability to exercise choice. This is not what I regard as responsible hosting. I have always valued the vetting process provided by Airbnb but have many times expressed my concern that so many guests seem to seek accommodation with avatar profile images. In my opinion this is an insult to the hospitality offered by hosts. This new decision to hide all profile pictures of guests until after acceptance is not acceptable, because it encourages this incognito invasion of a hosts private home.

250 Replies 250
Julie4
Level 6
Brighton, United Kingdom

I have updated my profile now. It may mean that I will lose my Superhost status if I have to cancel bookings but that is a hit I am prepared to take. I am not prepared to sacrifice my own safety. I also finding that I am rejecting more bookings now because of this change and only taking guests who have good reviews.

 

GUESTS MUST PROVIDE A CLEARLY RECOGNISABLE PHOTOGRAPH OF THEIR FACE IN THEIR PROFILE AND MUST BOOK THROUGH THEIR OWN ACCOUNT. It is important that I recognise you when you arrive at my home. Airbnb no longer allow hosts to check this detail before a booking is confirmed which means that I will have to cancel the booking if your profile doesn't show this. I will do this quickly so that you can look for alternative accommodation.

This is exactly how I am handling this as well. Since I cancelled my last one, I am hardly getting any inquiries on Airbnb. I think my calls and complaints about this issue has my account black listed. However, VRBO has been giving me great renters, and a lot of traffic.

Susan17
Level 10
Dublin, Ireland

@John232 

 

The excerpts below are from an Airbnb blog post, about the important initiatives the company had embarked on to design and build products that would best foster trust, openness and a sense of security between hosts and guests. It was written exactly 3 years ago this week, and profile pics were featured highly.  Airbnb is certainly singing a very different tune these days. 

 

"Designing for trust is a well understood topic across the hospitality industry, but Airbnb's effort to democratize hospitality mean we have to rely on trust in an even more dramatic way. Not long ago our friends and families thought we were crazy for believing that someone would let a complete stranger stay in their home. That feeling stemmed from the fact that most of us were raised to fear strangers.

 

“Stranger danger” is a natural human defense mechanism; overcoming it requires a leap of faith for both guests and hosts. But that’s a leap we can actively support by understanding what trust is, how it works, and how to build products that support it.

 

We began with the assumption that people are fundamentally good and, with the right tools in place, we could help overcome the stranger-danger bias. To do so, we needed to remove anonymity, giving guests and hosts an identity in our community. We built profile pages where they could upload pictures of themselves, write a description about who they are, link social media accounts, and highlight feedback from past trips. Over time we’ve emphasized these identity pages more and more. Profile pictures, for example, are now mandatory — because they are heavily relied upon. In nearly 50% of trips, guests visit a host’s profile at least once, and 68% of the visits occur in the planning phase that comes before booking. When people are new to Airbnb these profiles are especially useful: compared to experienced guests, first time guests are 20% more likely to visit a host’s profile before booking"

 

https://medium.com/airbnb-engineering/building-for-trust-503e9872bbbb

People deceive others often and the reason for so many safety concerns as hosts is in direct contrast with your statement that "people are fundamentally good....."  These are our homes so asking for our blind faith is discriminatory when one side of this equation of people (guests) can see the other sides (hosts) profile yet not the other way around. 

 

So let's do this, let's "democratize" this airbnb trust issue by relying on hosts ability to be equitable for their own property to ensure that things like safety are in place. Being a big entity I'm sure that this dramatic way of doing business is uncomfortable for you, yet AirBNB relies on us (hosts) to create profit. So to be really transparent why doesn't AirBNB "rely on trust in an even more dramatic way." By setting up it's own building rather than rely on our (hosts) buildings to do things your way?  This is my home, my safety, my profile picture, pictures of my home, that you blantantly telling me I need to "assume" will all be ok. 

 

I will insist on profile pictures be sent to me prior to me approving anyone at the time of any request sent through your domain. This is my home, my person and personal property that I am protecting, and to have you tell me that I have to "approve" them first is not a democratic but dictorial move on AirBNB's part. It is not equitable or fair. 

 

Rhonda  

Julie4
Level 6
Brighton, United Kingdom

Hi Rhonda I totally agree. How will you ask potential guests to send you their profile picture to you to check? This is a good idea. It is such a serious issue. My bookings have gone down dramaticaly because I just do not feel safe not knowing anything about a person (apart from their name). If I cancel the booking after seeing this information then the penalties are high, not just losing superhost status as I originally thought. I will only take bokings from female guests now aswell. I hope Airbnb begin to realise the knock on consequences this is going to have. I will certainly look for another platform for letting out my room.

Aloha Julie,

I have my listing clearly stated that I will not approve anyone until I receive a private message from them with a profile picture. I have turned off my insta book and when they request my property I ask them to send me a profile picture PRIOR to accepting their request. This way I do not get dinged for canceling a persons trip. I have it set up in the beginning prior to approvals.  Do I think I will get less bookings this way? Perhaps, but my safety is more important. I live a very desireable area and do not think my bookings will decrease.  I do not rely on this income so therefore, it is not as damaging to me. My safety, regardless of income, is more important than profit.  Having said that, I think AirBNB themselves will begin to feel the decrease in income as well....remains to be seen. 

Rhonda

I have done the same. I require potential guests to send me a message via Instagram 

Julie4
Level 6
Brighton, United Kingdom

I agree Rhonda and so pleased that other hosts feel the same as me. Are we able to pass our private message contact details onto guests without Airbnb blocking this information? Usually if a guest tries to pass on their contact/ social media details it’s removed?

Julie

WOW!! What can we do about this??? I’m considering listing elsewhere.....shocking Airbnb!!!

Kevin1056
Level 6
Los Angeles, CA

I appreciate this change... I am glad that pictures are blocked.

Explain this logic

Even with your profile picture that is not clear (only shows your arm) you'd be declined to stay at my home. I would 100% not trust you. good luck....

James1430
Level 2
Toronto, Canada

I completely agree. You can tell a lot from a picture, whether someone is a professional or someone that looks like a hoodlum. Or someone that's clearly in their teens who is often looking to have a party in my condo, versus a mature person who will take care of my place. We need to be able to see the pictures of who we are letting into our place.

John232
Level 10
Bangor, United Kingdom

Thanks for your comment James.

I have never seen the word 'hoodlum' before, but I get the image!  For me it is important to be sure that a potential guest islikely to fit into the sort of hosting offer we make.  In fact a hoodlum might be better than a posh couple in a Mercedes.

But this morning I had a new guest request from a member with no reviews seeking accomodation for a third party who is not even a member of Airbnb.  No picture.   This shows to me the importance of pictures.  The whole Airbnb offer has gone crazy.

Please keep writing to Airbnb demanding a withdrawal of this silly policy.

John

Chris694
Level 3
New York, NY

Does anyone have an email or contact information to any of the higher ups at Airbnb?