AirBnB has the surname of the booking guest, so why not provide it to hosts? That way it won't matter if a guest uses a fake name, only initials, etc.
AirBnB's terms state, "When you as a Guest submit a booking request, certain information about you is shared with the Host (and Co-Host, if applicable), including your profile, full name, the full name of any additional Guests, your cancellation history, and other information you agree to share. When your booking is confirmed, we will disclose additional information to assist with coordinating the trip, like your phone number."
Yet, AirBnB does not provide the host with the guest's verfied full name. They provide only the name the guest decides to use in her/his profile.
This situation just happened to me and I confirmed the above understanding with AirBnB.
AirBnB leaves it to the host to get the guest's full/correct name, which is difficult or impossible for some hosts.
This seems like a liability issue, or at least bad optics for AirBnB, should a guest do property damage or commit a crime. Knock on wood, we've had nearly all great guest experiences in our hundreds of bookings. But, if there was an incident requiring a host to call law enforcement, the host would have to say, "Sorry officer, AirBnB chose to NOT give me the name of the person who committed the crime."
In the meantime, I added the following to my house rules for both of my AirBnBs: Guests must provide their full name (i.e., first and last name rather than first and middle, first plus last initial, etc.) plus a photo of their actual face (i.e., no photo of pet, photo taken so far away that guest is not visible, photo with multiple people where it's not evident which person is guest, etc.)
