Unverified Guest

[Alexis146]

Hi all. I have an upcoming reservation booked from a guest who has only verified her email address and phone number. She has not provided any government I.D or a photo. She is new to the community. She included personal email addresses in her inquiry to me which were hidden by Airbnb and offered to give me her passport number. I replied expaining the situation and how to verify through Airbnb and how I would appreciate her doing so before her arrival but have had no respononse. It's possible that she hasn't set up her email to receive notifications but...

Should I be concerned?

[Barry-and-Lera0]

@Alexis146: Is it a confirmed booking? We will not book anyone that has not gone through the verification process and does not have a profile picture. If someone inquires about our place and does not have the verification or profile picture we ask that they get those things in place prior to us accepting the booking. If they do not, we decline the booking. We also do not use Instant Book for this reason. 

[Linda108]

Unless you specify government ID required for Instant Booking, @Alexis146, Air BNB accepts that the guest does not have to upload a government ID.  You can ask for it, but I have helped guests to set up profiles and uploading ID can be difficult. 

I have hosted many newbies and I ask several questions to establish a rapport with the guest.  I like to know why they are coming to the area and confirm they understand my listing, including there is a dog here.  I do require them to upload a photo and communicate that is required prior to check in.   I  do know that the newbie may not have the settings for the notification, so just call the number you have and leave a message.  Hope this helps.

[CNB0]

Hello 

I came on here to see what exactly the word verified meant under my new guests picture. She had no reviews but has been a member since 2013. Does this mean she has provided Airbnb with ID? Alexis is this how you know your guest has not provided ID? Thanks for your help in advance. I was also glad you ask all those questions as I do too but wondered if people thought I was too nosey and perhaps rude. However it is my place and I want to know who is staying there. Thanks 

Connie 

[Michelle833]

Good Morning from New Jersey. I was concerned with the request like this one. I do have instant booking on but we just have a series of things we want to know before we approve the guest. @Alexis146I dont require governemnt ID and I will explain why. It took me two weeks to be able to load my own ID onto my profile. However, the picture on the profile I do ask them to add before I approve anyone. I will tell you this and some may not agree. You know when a booking doesnt feel right just by a simple conversation with them. Trust your gut 🙂 Ask as many questions as you need. Truth is they can have an ID and all the verifications and end up being a hot mess! Ask the things you need to know and see if there are any deal breakers. Trust your gut! Happy Hosting!

[Boyd11]

How do you know if they have a photo? When I get booking requests, it says "If a guest has a profile photo, it’ll be displayed after their booking is confirmed." So I won't know if they have a photo until I already accept the booking. I have had two requests yesterday that sound perfectly normal, but both are new to Airbnb and neither are "verified". 

[Rebecca181]

@Alexis146 I recently uploaded my own Gov't issued photo ID - It took about 30 seconds. I require this via Instant Booking. If a guest doesn't have one and they send me a booking request because they can't instant book, and they are new with no reviews, I tell them I must have this for my own (commercial) insurance reasons. If it is a long-time Airbnb user with great reviews, I waive this requirement. So far, nobody has had a problem with me asking for an ID, or when I ask them to upload a profile pic - Again, this is usually always with a new user. I am already taking a risk (by choice) to host people who are new to Airbnb; I am not willing to take needless risks, however - They must have a verified ID uploaded with Airbnb or send it to me as an image on the Airbnb messaging system or I don't take them.

[Alexis146]

Thanks for your thoughts everyone. I do have instant book set up and guests are required to answer several questions and verify government I.D. I, also, have had no difficulty in uploading my info. I find the instructions clear and teh who process very quick.

This reservation is a new user and I understand how confusing and overwhelming things can be for someone using Airbnb for the first time which is why I accepted the reservation with a specific request to verify information. This was met with no reply. 

I thought, perhaps, that she had not set up her email address to receive notifications from Airbnb, but when I reached out to her again today, she answered promptly. I went through the verification process step by step as well as the necessity for a photo and the reasons for that. I received a number of excuses as to why she can't upload etc.

I have finally reached out to Airbnb support to review the message history and advise as I am getting increasingly more uncomfortable with proceeding with the reservation.

I am exceedingly careful in my bookings, but I gave the benfit of the doubt to a new user as I was one once too trying to navigate the system for the first time. Ugh. I'm thinking I will have to cancel and eat the penalty.

Thanks for all your input, everyone.

[Boyd11]

Can I ask how you reached out to Airbnb?  When I was joining as a host, there was a very helpful "chat" option, but now that I'm all listed and taking reservations, that chat option has disappeared, so other than calling them, I don't know how to reach them. Thank you!