Profile hidden before accepting a booking

[Danny253]

What do you think about this new system where a profile of a person wont show before a booking is confirmed? 

[Yvonne353]

I don't mind that the photo doesn't upload until after the reservation is confirmed; however, I don't like that airbnb allows photos of cats, landscapes, emojis, etc, as the profile photo.  How am I to know that the person who made the reservation is the person who shows up at my door!

[Denice0]

I don't like that a profile of the guest is no longer available before accepting a request.  I had a couple of young ladies (18 yrs) ask to stay and it would have helped to know where they were traveling from; were they locals looking for a party house?  We had to have a few more conversations to get all the information I needed before renting my property.  Why is the profile no longer available to hosts?

[Yvonne353]

I have some suspicions about why the change in policy (minimizes unconscious (or is it subconscious) bias, removes obstacles from a guest booking, perhaps), but in my on-line conversation with airbnb about this, I was told that airbnb asks for one, but it is not a requirement.  I did find this tidbit in their Help database about photos, if it helps at all:

We ask guests to add a profile photo when they sign up, and again, when they request or book a reservation. Although guests can book a place without having a profile photo, we strongly encourage them to upload one before they check in. [Huh, why would they if they don't HAVE to]

You can also require guests to have a profile photo, but that photo won't be displayed until a booking is confirmed.

If a guest's profile photo doesn't contain the guest's face and, for example, contains only a cartoon, an avatar, or a picture of something other than a person, you cancel penalty-free by contacting Airbnb. [This last bit I just learned today.  It's good to know that I have the option to say, if you can't be bothered to upload a photo, I can't be bothered to host whoever you are]

[Orysia0]

I've been struggling to get information from airbnb about the change in guest profile photos. I asked why have they done this and can't get an answer. The answer airbnb posts is: "You can also require guests to have a profile photo, but that photo won't be displayed until a booking is confirmed." Airbnb doesn't say why they have done this and even if the guest has a profile photo, airbnb won't display it until a booking is made. Why don't they do this for hosts. Why do hosts have to have their profile photos displayed for all inquiries?