Profile Photo No Longer Required To Book

[Susan17]

Latest news on profile photos. 

"Today, we’re announcing some changes we will be making to the way we display guest profile photos.

Moving forward, rather than displaying a potential guest’s profile photo before the booking is accepted, hosts will receive a guest’s photo in the booking process only after they’ve accepted the booking request. Airbnb does not require all guests to provide a photo. Instead, we’ll be giving hosts the option to ask their guests to provide a profile photo, which will only be presented to hosts after they accept the booking" 

https://press.airbnb.com/update-on-profile-photos/

[Suzanne302]

Thanks for highlighting this @Susan17. As a host who shares my home with guests this makes me very uncomfortable, however I understand the reasoning behind it.

I already require ID at check-in, but rarely enforce it as long as the profile picture matches the guest who shows up at my door. I guess I'll be more vigilant about this in the future.

@Mel101 and that's screwed up about the third party bookings. ABB just randomly chooses what policies to enforce but hosts MUST comply with whatever they say? Ugh.

[Mel101]

@Suzanne0 I think it's more likely to be which rep you speak to at the time. There doesn't seem to be a single rule book they all work from. 

Actually, something just occurred to me - perhaps they're on targets to rescue bookings, and so some will say anything to hit their quotas?  I don't have any evidence of this, but it would make sense, given the wildly different range of answers we see on here.

[Steven65]

I  had one guest who refused to offer a  public photo due to privacy and identity risks, but did offer a private email photo or identification on arrival. So, for some people it is an issue and not just about racial discrimination. 

However, not having a photo is a security risk for hosts.  I am relaxed about not having a photo prior to booking, but will definitely ask guests  (after booking) to provide one. 

[Kenneth12]

Obviously,  anyone committing fraud,  using anothers' account,  or otherwise up to no good,   can send you any photo they want and it doesn't have to match the verified ID.

The profile photo must match verified ID-- though ABB is probably not doing much to enforce that,  having a random photo escapes that value,  as you don't know that it is the person.

[Pam67]

You must not host in your own home or have young children, elderly neighbors, or safety concerns. Wow. With all that is happening today, this concerns me. 

[Mark116]

How ridiculous.  

I don't see where the host can turn on the request for a photo, unless this is something that is only available for Instant Book.

Just another reason to stop putting off listing on other platforms.

[Mark116]

• Hosts must turn on this feature for each of their listings proactively, before they receive a reservation request.

'How?  Where is this I can't find it?  

[Lorie7]

I couldn't find it either, Mark, but now see it under Booking Settings.  Unfortunately I was not ble to turn it on in time for a request this morning.  Until now I had been able to ee profile pics.  This peron who is trying to book only has 1 verification (phone) and lists location as a local although their one sentence request said they're "looking for a weekend in my town."  As no profile pic is posted I can't see if it's just a high school or college kid looking for a party house.  He has no reviews so it is throwing up lots of red flags.  I sent him a message asking for some more information, but I feel VERY uncomfortable now without at least a photo to look at.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

Why is it that Hosts MUST provide a photo but guests do not?  Does this strike anyone else as discriminatory? 

Does anyone know how to turn this feature on? 

[Andrew216]

your property, your choice..... tell them to put up a photo or they get cancelled. I get this a lot with people sub-letting my room via tour operators. 

[Salem2]

I don’t think is mandatory for hosts to have a profile photo, is it? there are plently of hosts in this forum with flower or landscape pictures...

However I do think that its in everyones best interest to have a profile photo, host or guest, as it adds a sense of security and I would even say it encourages bookings.

[Laura1651]

Alice absolutely Jeff that is exactly what I told the representative today you discriminated us as host, because host are also different races, also some host are prettier than other and they can choose base on that and is not fair hide all the picture to see ignore ppl are

confortable to be in a house when they don’t know how they host looks, thanks for mention that hopefully ppl start to realized they it should be both sides happy, the representatives told me that they took base in the complaints

or guests of color or some other ppl because how they look and he said we never hear about host saying that but if the are racist you not going to know because they don’t tell you they check your profile and you not sure until you hide also the host pictures 

[Werner-and-Eileen0]

I responded to Airbnb as well with the following:

I'm extremely concerned that you no longer supply a guest’s photo when they make a booking inquiry.  We are letting total strangers into our personal homes and private space, I believe we should be allowed to view who is staying with us by the form of a photo. I know people shouldn't pre-judge but that's our choice to make and not Airbnb's.

People make decisions based on information given, but you are taking a portion of this info away!! I think Airbnb's comment's ( ""We hope you understand that this new booking process is to make sure an unbiased decision making towards a reservation request"") is more based on Airbnb increasing their income, rather than our wellbeing.

Guests are pre-judging 'us' ( Hosts) and our properties by looking at the photos. What if we took all the photos away and just gave a description of our properties without photos?? So is the guests decision 'biased' or 'unbiased'??

[Taitu0]

Thank you for your response, I agree 100%, why guests can choose, and maybe discriminate the hosts on their pictures, and hosts are no allowed to do the same?

[Matteo340]

It is totally discriminatory for hosts that clearly don't agree with this. And there's many of us. If we wanted something similar we couldve activated Instant Booking on our profiles, but if that'isn't a popular option there must be a reason and what is Airbnb response to that? Forcing to have a less transparent communication instead and having Airbnb decide for us who should or should not share our spaces. Pretty much we are going back to Craiglsist here. Congratulations.

I personally letting guests know I require a photo BEFORE they get approved and since I no lonegr able to do that I'm declining every sigle one until this idiotic policy hasn't been removed.