Is Guest Verified ID less important for Hosts than for Airbnb 'Experiences'?

[Rachael26]

So here is my question of the week.

We know that Airbnb really want us Hosts to use Instant Book - and some of us Hosts are renting a room within our own homes - and I know we all feel strongly about having guests who have a clear profile face pic - as well as verified ID. And some of us ask our guests to do so before booking - but Airbnb do not make it compulsory.

So why is booking an Airbnb 'Experience' so much more important that Airbnb INSIST on a selfie to prove against verified ID?

Here is what Airbnb actually state on bookable Experiences (most of which do not occur in a private dwelling - but out in a public place) - 

"Government ID- You’ll need to take a selfie and match it to the photo on your ID. This is so Airbnb can confirm who’s actually going on the experience. You’ll only have to do this once."

Question: SO WHY WON'T AIRBNB DO THE SAME FOR US HOSTS?

So if I want to book an 'experience' to walk around San Francisco, with a guide, taking photographs for a couple of hours - Airbnb will insist I send a selfie to match my gov ID so 'they know who I am' - but they will allow a guest with a dog pic profile and an initial as a name and just an email and call that 'verified ID', and allow that guest to book to stay overnight in the house that I live in, and bring another guest/s that I will not know even the name of until arrival.

Seems a little out of balance to me.

[Jan209]

Yes, I agree..i also ask for their story, and ask them to put one online if there isn't one.  

[Stephan2]

Totally agree, I found several listings in Amsterdam who are using fake stock Foto's for there profile picture. Unbelievable that airbnb is not checking this!

[Jaxon0]

The worst part is that the host looks like they are not responding in 24 hours or declining the booking, which affects your rating.  I always email them back saying I don't book to guests with no photos, my photo is on there, why aren't they required to?

[Jan209]

yes, I email them back asking that they put up a writeup about themselves, if there is none.  Especially the Guests who have no reviews. And then see how they react to this, and if they put it up. Tells a lot about them .

[Bruce43]

@Stephan2@Stephan2@Rachael26@Lawrence27@Judy72

It is a prerequisite to book.In Europe, it is the law. 

I will ask for a real id picture and tell the guest it is required. 

You are all within your right to deny according to Airbnb rules

remember it is your pad, not Airbnb's  

[Stephan2]

Guests is one, but also hosts can use fake pictures. Not good for the trust in airbnb hosts.

[Diana297]

why do they have no help or contact information for hosts?  Who regulates this enterprise?  I am new at hosting and it has been very frustrating, no way to respond as the app does not work when I hit the accept/decline

[Jaxon0]

I've never been able to get ahold of "help".  If you decline after accepting (even within 3 seconds, cause you were on your phone app), you lose superhost status for one year, and declining anyone lowers your presence when people search.

[Momi0]

Hello Hosts:  

I understand all of your concerns, I really do.  However, I would like to point out that while everyone's listing is very different, what is not different is how we can handle our own homes' security and safety as it pertains to our potential guests.  

A host just needs to be proactive.  I do NOT rely on Airbnb to provide that safety for my family.  I take care of that. I pay a host fee to Airbnb to connect my listing to the millions of their site registered users. And to the new ones who join everyday.

I have been hosting for 2 years, proabably hosted 200+ guests, and have had no issues whatsoever with booked guests following my ID Verification House rules.  As stated in my House Rules, not only does their profile pic need to be a clear photo of the booked guests, but the booked guests must send me a clear photo of ALL of their traveling companions via their verified phone number from their Airbnb account, or email to me (never had a problem getting this yet).  Also, the booked guests must send me the first and last name of their accompanied guests within 24 hours, or I will have their booking moved to another place with the assistance of Airbnb of course.  I also use a website to vet any male coming to my home by paying $9.95 to do so.  Its worked so far too.  That's how I found out one of my potential male guests had a significant criminal drug record that included jail time. Of course, he would not be allowed to stay in OUR home.  

Also, to ensure that my guests come with who they say is coming with them, I make it very clear that I will also be checking ID's just like a hotel does so there is no last minute guests changes. These IDs must match the names of the individuals names I received at the time of booking. I dont' make copies, but I do ask to look at them. That's how I discovered a profile/ID discrepancy when a guests profile said Australia, but his drivers license said New York, which he gladly explained when I asked him about it.   I don't care if my security protocol offends anyone as mentioned by another host, as this is OUR HOME and we have a young daughter we want to protect.  We want to host the right guests, and some people will just not be the right guests.  That's the beauty of this home-sharing economy, I can share with whomever I want and decline those who need to stay at a hotel. The same hotel that will be asking for their IDs at check in too. hahahaha.

Every single guests who has stayed with us has had no issue with this, and rightfully so.  I did however, have ONE guests, who used IB, and refused to send me her boyfriends FULL NAME and government issued ID. I immediately called Airbnb after receiving her Instant Booking and ID refusal.  Airbnb did an Administrative Cancel and moved her to another listing that didn't have those same security concerns.  Problem solved.   Airbnb even thanked me for being so diligent to protect our home and our child.  And I am 100% okay with their booking going somewhere else, because I believe the right guests will come along and take those dates....and bingo, I was right.  48 hours later those same dates were booked by another guests who had no issue whatsoever complying with my rules, my ID verification and did it very quickly I might add. 

If it makes you feel better knowing who is going in and out of your home, then place a security camera above your front door or gate.  Many of us have done so and connected it to our Iphones/Androids.  Simple solution.  If a guests says 2 people are staying, then only those 2 people should be seen on camera, UNLESS they got prior permission from the host to have family or friends come over.  But those same family and friends should be seen leaving the property by the designated time as specified on the Host House Rules if said host stipulates in their house Rules, "No extra overnight guests."

Its important to keep in mind that Airbnb is a booking app.  And yes, they do have Terms & Conditions for hosts to be able to host on their platform.  Which we all must agree to. 

BUT.........They are not the police, they are not security specialists and they are most definitely not the keepers of your home.  I still don't understand why many hosts continue to write saying that guests are breaking rules but allow them to continue staying in their home.  If a guests is found breaking your rules, then give them the proper notice they need to vacate your home or property, document everything, write everything within Airbnb site, take photos and videos, and 100% contact Airbnb right away to report this violation.  Its clearly stated on the ABB website that any guests found breaking house rules, can be asked by the hosts or co-hosts to leave immediately and the remaining reservation is therefore cancelled.  Its up to the host or not if they want to refund the remaining monies. Not Airbnb.  

And for petes sake, for those guests who do complete their stay, please write an honest review for EVERY GUESTS!  In other words, if you host this guests, and they were writing nonsense comments back to the host saying "I want privacy therefore I won't show my profile pic or share my full name", then please state in your review that the guests was not cooperative about your ID verification process!  But you can also spend a few minutes sharing the positives about this guests too.  Maybe they weren't cooperative but they were very clean. For some hosts, that's ok, but for me, cooperation is KEY...and I would be declining immediately. 

Too many hosts are afraid to be honest or hestitant to write the truth for the simple fact it may hurt the guests feelings.....wish they were more concerned with the next hosts feelings....meaning mine! A host within this thread was absolutely right.....various hosts complain about a CURRENT guests or a guests who just left, and then I go back and read the reviews, and see nothing about their concerns they wrote about in their public post on the CC.   Why is that?? 

Not every person in the world is meant to stay in someone elses' home......I learned that VERY early on as a new host. And that's why so many hotels are still making millions every day in Hawaii 🙂

Be ProActive.  Do what you need to do to feel safe, secure and comfortable with your guests.  I can assure you that I do everything I can within my legal right to make sure my family is safe, protected and comfortable.   And the best part, we host the most beautiful, thoughtful, funny and caring people from around the world who we now call our Forever Friends.   One guests recently left a $20 gift card from Starbucks just for our daughter.(who LOVES Starbucks)....with a note that said:  "You are a Great Co-host with your mom."

@Jaxon0  I wanted to clarify something that you wrote because when a host writes inaccurate information on the CC, that can lead to more confusion for other hosts.  One does NOT lose Superhost status for declining a booking inquiry.....that's only done if you cancel a confirmed booking.   And if they are a Superhost, you can cancel a booking based on a host feeling "uncomfortable" with their potential future guests without losing their Superhost status.  Also, most important, to always involve Airbnb BEFORE clicking on the cancellation button too.   Call them.  Its very easy to get a hold of them 24/7.  If you don't prefer to call, use Twitter.  They are so great to respond to private DIRECT messages on Twitter via @AirbnbHelp.  They have always gotten back to me within 20-30 minutes.  But whatever you do, don't cancel on the guests before you speak with  an awesome Airbnb rep. 

[Kelly149]

@Momi0 Amen Momi!!!

right on, agree 10x over

[Jaxon0]

Great advice  on IDs.  I was on my cellphone when I received a booking request and accidentally hit accept instead of decline because I had family staying and had forgot to block out those dates.  I literally canceled within 3 minutes and wrote to the guests that I would give them a discount for any future stay, as the acceptance was an accident.  I have emailed and called airbnb with no response.  My wife got through once, but the rep said she would have to contact someone else for help with that, and could not give her a number to call, told her to write to them again.  We only require a photo of the person booking, I don't want to see a beach setting or someone's dog, because if the person that shows up is not the person on their profile, they are not getting in.

[Christine1]

@Jaxon0,

It hurts when you discover you are penalised for an unintentional mistake. The strong consequences are designed to elicite vigilence-I think. I lost SH status once and was surprised at how disappointed I was.. 

You mentioned that you wanted to make a goodwill gesture to the guest and your instinct in this is well placed in my view.

An extra option can be to go to your reservations and send an alteration request to the guest.

Using the alteration request you can do things such as vary the dates, number of guests and the overall tariff. The guest can accept or reject the offer. They may take the opportunity to decline and withdraw their reservation since you will have messaged explaining that you can't follow through for the dates you accepted but you are making a concrete offer of alternate dates. This can be less upsetting to a guest than a straight out cancellation and they may decide to withdraw the request.

As an aside, I would encourage hosts to make better use of the alterations tool, I have recently changed the dates twice for a repeat business traveller whose meeting dates got changed. In this way nobody has to cancel, and goodwill is maintained. 

I hope this general information about the changes that can be managed via the alterations tool is useful to other forum readers.

I looked at your site/profile, and I can see that you are very passionate about hosting, you and your guests are clearly having great experiences together. 

Jax and Jen, I hope the time passes very quickly until your SH staus is restored. 'Cause it will be, no doubt about that.

Sincere Regards, and "Thank You for Your Service". 

Christine

[Jaxon0]

Hi Christine, yes, we've always had great guests and we value their experiences with us.  At the time, I had no idea we would lose SH status for a single cancellation, or I would have taken the steps you suggested.  Thank you for outlining the alternatives, not everyone knows about them.  Fortunately, I don't believe losing SH status has hurt our bookings, but I'm all about the principle of things.  🙂  We continue to treat all our guests as Superguests, we don't just do it for the status.  Thank you for your kind and informative post.  Jax & Jenn

[Rachael26]

@Momi0

Great post and comprehensive about several issues - thanks Momi.

So I wondered what your views are about the post question - (and accepting totally that we hosts should take full repsonsibility for safeguarding our own property and families by being careful in our selection/approval processes).... How do you feel that Airbnb demand (politely of course) that all guests booking an 'experience' confirm their gov ID with a selfie? But not for listing bookings?

Best Wishes.

[Christine1]

@Momi0, 

This is one of the best replies and most comprehensive replies I have ever read to these particular issues on the Community Forums. @Momi0,

Thank-you Momi,

I too do my own checks, they are not exactly the same as yours, but they work for me. Thus far, after 4 years of hosting no real problems.

Additionally, I too am sometimes disappointed and slightly frustrated at the inaccurate advice, assumptions and misconceptions that float around on the community forums. 

I cannot recommend highly enough reading the FAQ's and help Centre information on a regular basis in order to better understand how to manage your Airbnb listing and your interactions with guests.

Reading a wide range of Community Forum posts over the years has given me the impression that many contributers [not all] have neglected this basic responsibility.  Sadly, too many Hosting difficulties can be traced back to this particular deficiency. It risks misunderstandings and disagreements between Hosts and Guests and leads to a great deal of effort in resolving issues which could frequently have been avoided.

I admit now that I have written this, I am afraid of the potential backlash. 

Hopefully any replies will be constructive a respectful.

Regards, Christine.