Guest's profile picture is no longer visible + Instant book cancellation

[Farah1]

I found out that guest's profile picture is no longer visible until you have a confirmed reservation (yes, even if you go to their profile). I understand that Airbnb wants to promote the anti-discrimination policy. However, they need to realize that we are not hotels. We share our house and open our house for our guests and our safety is important. I want to make sure that the person who makes the reservation is actually the one who is showing up on check-in day, etc. Also, host's profile picture IS visible to future guests at all times! I just made a reservation for my next trip and I was able to see my host's profile picture even before I made any reservation request/book the place/have a confirmed reservation.

I am also taking off instant booking feature from my listings as it does not really seem to matter other than giving problem because people do not read the listing in full, have a bad review yet still able to book, etc and when I want to cancel *unlimited* penalty-free as they say... it is not true, I can only do it for 3 times and after that I need to contact the customer service. Then they said "we will do a one-time corteousy to waive the penalty for this cancellation." No, it is not a one-time corteousy. This is how it supposed to be. Why do I need *permission* to cancel a guest who has negative review from his previous host? Why do I need to be pressured to open my house to anybody without thinking about my own safety?

I have been with Airbnb for 4+ years and it seems like they might share a different value now than what they used to have.

[Kat17]

@Lois-and-Darryl0 I’m with you on this. My last guest, I was able to see their picture and something about it did make me uneasy. They didn’t trash the place, thank God, but they were not my usual ABB guests, either. Never left the room, although she pretended to carthat I was near the beach. Very tense long weekend wondering if they were doing drugs. After this, I’ve also decided to block my listing for the next few months. I agree that Airbnb has the sophisticated technology to handle discrimination issues while protecting hosts. Seems very much like the focus is all about increasing and serving guests. As @Fred13 pointed out, Airbnb now has plenty of hosts. We’re not the priority any more. 

[Regina38]

@Tom-and-Lois0& Darrell,

I had the same experience. The csr contacted the prospective guest and she agreed to let Airbnb share her photo with me. I approved stay and she was a lovely guest! 

I am getting tired of doing Airbnbs work of training guests to fill out a proper profile. The csr told me there was a glitch and her profile wasn't showing. I just declined someone who had a profile of as statue with only email verified. They also talked about not needing much of a place. 2 guests only out in one. Also said husband traveled a lot s could they get a better rate....the answer was no.

If airbnb will not show photos I am going to start replying, I must decline your request due to Airbnbs new policy of not showing guest profile picture. In order to approve a request you must have visible profile picture, verified ID with Airbnb, profile paragraph, full names of all guests and towns where they live, and wy you are traveling to xxx. This is for the safety of my family and my guests.  I look forward to hearing from you with the requested inforinformation. 

Airbnb should be supplying this info. Having the host ask for it starts the interaction out in a confrontational manner. 

[Susie5]

@Regina38 and others, I had something similar happen yesterday. A potential guest with no reviews requested to book; I accepted, supposing that I could find out a bit more than his name from his profile. When I got to the profile, there was nothing and his photo was of a teddy bear!  I rescinded my acceptance and he wrote asking why. Here is what I wrote - I'd be interested in hearing from others about my reply. 

Dear [potential guest],

I always think twice about whether to accept guests who have no reviews yet - clearly everyone has to start somewhere, but many new guests don't understand the Airbnb method of working. Usually when I do accept someone with no reviews, I rely on the information in their profile and other information they provide in their inquiry such as where they are from, who they are to each other (relatives, friends, etc.), why they are visiting Boston, etc. This helps me to get a sense of whether the guests will be a good match with my hosting style and my accommodation which has steep stairs, several pets on the premises, etc. Remember that with Airbnb, in most cases you are staying in someone's home, even if you are not sharing the space.

If you were hosting, what would you want to know about someone who was going to be staying in your home? Would you want to know more than the name of one of the people in the group? IN your case, I could not learn any additional information. Your profile is incomplete - I could not learn even your full name, where you live, or any other detail, and your profile photo is of a stuffed animal, which is not very helpful. Airbnb may have this information but they do not share it with hosts. Only what is in your profile is visible to hosts. So that is why I withdrew the acceptance. If you want to fill out your profile completely and let me know more information about your visit to Boston, I'll reconsider if you are still interested in staying at my place. best wishes, Susie

Your thoughts?

[Regina38]

@Susie @ This is a great reply! May I use it with revisions to suite my situation? I want to set a saved message for this type of inquiry because it is taking up too much of my time replying to them. All I get any more are newbies with no info because I am in the non instant book dungeon I imagine.

[Regina38]

This is a great reply! May I use it with revisions to suite my situation? I want to set up a saved message for this type of inquiry because it is taking up too much of my time replying to them. All I get any more are newbies with no info because I am in the non instant book dungeon I imagine. 

[Susie5]

HI @Regina, absolutely, feel free! I'm glad to hear it is useful.  Let me know how it works for you!  I don't get too many like this one with absolutely no info (and the guest name was Asian so I couldn't tell gender from the name).  It was going to be 3 friends having a good time and their questions were all about whether I or anyone else would be sharing the space with them.... I had the feeling they didn't want "Mommy" around!

[R-And-R0]

the discussion thread of this subject is helping tremendously, learning that most hosts share the same frustration with Abnb.  i've actually already started the process on three other sites:  Oasis, VRBO and onefinestay.  

your response was well worded.  if i were an inquirer with the right intentions, i would have NO PROBLEM providing complete disclosure with a host whose home i wished to stay in.  we, as hosts, have to keep this in mind.  it is OUR HOME we are sharing, and we shouldn't feel odd or guilty because we want to know as much about the potential guest as possible.

[Lois-and-Darryl0]

@Regina38:  When I contacted Airbnb, I was told that not being able to view a prospective Guest's profile is a new policy of Airbnb (not a glitch).  The CSR spent a lot of time researching it, so I feel confident that this is the case.  And feel that this is a way to protect Airbnb from discrimination lawsuits.  However, the decisionmakers at Airbnb really don't have the nth degree of experience that 90 percent of Airbnb Hosts have - I think it's awesome that they latched on to a need and created a phenomanon, but over and over I see and experience REALLY BAD decisions related to impacts to Hosts that tells me they don't understand what we are up against.  I've blocked off the next 3 months waiting for Airbnb to remove this restriction.  What I commented earlier is that Airbnb has the capacity, the capability, and the money, to create algorithims in their system to alert them of Hosts who DO discriminate.  They CAN do this!  They don't need to punish ALL Hosts for those who actually do discriminate.  And the fact that they care so little for the people who made them rich, makes me all the more convinced that I need to look elsewhere for my hosting business.  I LOVE doing this.  And I loved Airbnb and created a myriad of Guests for this company, but I don't appreciate the one-sided approach to hosting, and the apparent disregard of understanding what Hosts need to succeed.

[Renee171]

The philosophy of airbnb has changed and is similar to booking .com now . As I see it, they are owned by a bank , the one who processes the payments, three days after someone lives there already .  . The ID and credi card is  the only area they really check . Airbnb is only a platform and has O responsibilities. Many guests have no information on their profile and many want to book like in a hotel. Airbnb knows very well , that we are private owners with condos or homes were neigbors can complain, if there is noise or other things. I have a place in Las vegas and have to be careful to get party guest or people setting up sex dens for hire. I am not sure, if we can as host get together and boycott this new feature. I have also noticed that I can not leave a reply to a guest review. Since airbnb and Homeaway ( now expedia) have bought up alll competition , its difficult t to find other venues. 

[Fred13]

Inevitably 'big' Airbnb will surely give rise to 'mini Airbnbs', and inevitably one will offer a more personal CS , tighter guest and host selection and a more charming experience. It will probably cost the hosts a bit more than 3%, but surely it will be worth it to many existing and future hosts to be. It is a common cycle. I been saying many times in a few boards: "Remember, these are the 'Good Old Days, in which you will look fondly upon soon".

[Kat17]

@Fred13 Couldn’t agree more. 

[Fred13]

Kat. I fight this myself here, in a tiny scale of course. Everyone tells me: you 'need' to fill the island to its full 1.5 acres, make a big resort of it, go for the 'big bucks'. Mmmm, no. Love the small/friendly model; couples, small groups of friends or families versus the big (aka early-heart-attack) model. Just plain more fun.

[Jann3]

I can top THAT @Farah1, IN ADDITON to no profile from my latest booking, her NAME is listed as: "E"... YES, a LETTER as their first name! Looking through the previous review, I now know her name is "Elaine." SO, what good does removing profile photos from view do when I STILL know the person is female?

Jeepers, AirBnB! There are SO MANY other problems to solve with your platform...I can't BELIEVE you instituted THIS change!

Really angry,

Signed

"J"

[Fred13]

You told them your 'secret'; next time they will probably use a number. I can see it now: "#3,662,185 will like to stay in your place".

[Alejandro75]

When a guest books there is a booking confirmation number. Just simply ask them for that number upon arrival to confirm they booked the reservation. They do it all the time at hotels. I had a guest arrive whom their assistant booked. The guest did not have an Airbnb account barring them from getting the access code to the key box. I told the guest that third party resevations are not accepted and told the guest to call their asssistant for the access information.

I back Airbnb for not showing the photo to curb discriminitory behavior. When I book a hotel room I'm never asked for a photo. I am merely asked for ID and confirmation number upon check in. Do the same at the door when they arrive. If they get offended turn it into a safety precaution to protect them from fraudulent behavior. Just make sure you advise them of your requirements prior to check in. As for guest not reading your listing in full is a problem I have had in the past. If they give you a bad reveiw because they failed to fully read the listing make sure you respond to them in a polite positive response that the information was on the listing.

I do not want to tell you what to do but the hospitality business is hard and the guest is always right. I hope this helps.