Inquiry from Bev, security-conscious IT professional

[Gregory87]

Have any of you received the following type of message?

"Hi Gregory. We are coming in for the weekend for a family reunion July 12 & 13th. I would like to book your place, but I don't feel comfortable with giving my Drivers license placed on a website and stored somewhere. I'm in IT security, and this doesn't make me comfortable. Are there any other ways that I can book this?"

This seems to come up every 6-12 months with a "guest" attempting to book outside of Airbnb's terms and conditions.  It isn't a problem since I don't allow guests to book without some type of verified ID (DL, passport, etc.).  Plus, you still have to use a credit card to pay for the rental.  

How have others dealt with this?

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

Hi @Gregory87 

In the UK, if you want to hire a vehicle, often they ask for license verification. This is done by visiting the Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and they provide an authorisation code. If ABB don't already do this in the UK then they should be looking into it. 

In MN where you are, since cars are universally hired, you should have a similar verification scheme. That could be used instead of a scan or sending personal identification online.

[Ana1136]

@Gregory87 I personally take copies of the passports of every person staying in my home. If they don't feel comfortable with that, I don't feel comfortable with them staying in my place. This is not about sharing the personal info, it is about booking without having to pay the fee for Airbnb which I also wouldn't feel comfortable accepting since you could very easily get de-listed from Airbnb. 

[Josiah0]

Most of are guests are domestic, and like most Americans, I doubt they all have passports, so requiring copies of their passport would be impractical.  Also, getting copies of DL seems illogical, too.  We get 5-10 guests per week, so running making copies of DLs and PPs would seriously hinder the check-in process.

Instead, and call me naive, we trust in the Airbnb process of verifying guests' identities.  Over 320 reservations, and easily over 400 guests, we haven't had any problems requiring their use of their IDs.

Anyone looking to book and/or trabsact offline we categorically decline and report to Airbnb immediately.

[Inna22]

@Gregory87 

I have never gotten a message like this but I would immediately report it if I did. While I require the minimum Airbnb allows to book, I do put it in my listing that I check IDs. So in your case, they can book without an ID but would have to show you one (if you implemented this). To anyone questioning it I say that it is just like a hotel, where you would have to show one at check. In reality, I only ask for an actual ID when I have a reason to worry (usually young kids and I think they might have a party).