Verified Guests: does it mean something?

[Simon209]

Hello!

AirBnB seemingly gets Guests to provide Government ID, etc., to protects themselves, but does it do anything for the Host?
I have a Guest who reserved my place for this weekend and his AirBnB profile claims that he has provided, among other things, a valid email address and phone number. I decided to try to call him but the number provided by AirBnB is not in service, which makes me a little uneasy. Is there a way to get access to more of the AirBnB verification information? It seems that AirBnB should, as a minimum, share guest's Facebook info, no?

[Simon209]

So ... does  “Verified” Guest have any benefit to the Host?  This weekend’s Guest provided what AirBnB claimed was a valid government ID, address and phone number yet, when I looked into those last two things, I quickly found out they were fake. Regarding the picture provided by AirBnB, it was of such bad quality that you couldn’t decipher the most basic of physical traits (ie: the gender of the guest), hence it certainly wasn’t a “government ID”.

Regarding this same weekend Guest, he claimed, at check in, not to have any ID with him despite my listing clearly stating that Guests will have to identify themselves. Has anyone ever refused a Guest entry because he/she refused to identify themselves?  And, if so, what does AirBnB do regarding the financial payout?

[Oad0]

Verified guest means squat. Start by reading Airbnb terms & conditions. Guest screening is the sole responsibility of the host. And a successful host screens out “bad guests” that would either trash the place, bring other people, give unfair review, check out late, or all of the above. Airbnb is just a platform connecting sellers and buyers, and taking a cut. their $1m host guarantee is a joke, read other posts from hosts that tried to collect damages money... 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Oad0  is right, in the same TOS is written that Airbnb will not reveal guest's identity to anyone (except the police or by court order.... maybe) So even if the guest has his ID verified with Airbnb what does it mean to the host? Nothing.

So, @Simon209  this guest arrived, you met him, asked for iD he said he doesn't have any so  you didn't let hiim n, called Airbnb to cancel the reservation, it was canceled and the guest left? 

[Simon209]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 I was not available when the guests arrived so I asked my wife to meet him. She asked him for ID simultaneously to the keys. He took the keys and claimed that he didn't have any ID on him, so she told him to make sure to have some later in the evening when I'd be back.

By the time I arrived (a few hours later) he had sent a message saying that he was cancelling the reservation because my "rules are kinda strict i rather cancel then have a bad time or trouble with rules it will not work".

A few hours later I received an AirBnB message informing me of the cancellation while claiming that I'd be given the first night's rent plus the cleaning fees. But then, some 25 hours after that, I received a new AirBnB message saying that they (AirBnB) had decided "to fully refund our guest" because "Our hosting standards are a set of guidelines to ensure guests have a positive and consistent travel experience with each Airbnb reservation".

I've never had a reservation cancelled before (I've been very fortunate to have mostly good guests) and I'll admit to being very surprised that AirBnB can decide to reimburse a guest (who is likely "a bad apple") instead of adhering to the cancellation policy. The reservation was made 48 hours before check, and I'm wondering if it's possible that the credit card was stolen?

[Simon209]

@Oad0: Thank you for the information. I've been very fortunate with all my guests, other than the one related to this post, which may have something to do with the 900$ security deposit.

Out of curiosity, is a security deposit a "safe" method of protect oneself?  I've never had to find out, so I'm curious to know about other Hosts experience.

[Rebecca181]

I needed to call a guest once after they booked - The number was not in service. I called Airbnb and let them know, and it turned out that this guest also had not used his own credit card to book. The entire thing was so fishy that Airbnb offered to cancel the reservation after they did a bit of research on their end - I didn't even have to ask. This was over a year and a half ago, back when support was still pretty good for us super hosts. Not sure what it is like lately (this is in the U.S.). 

[Lilly28]

@Simon209 

Yes, it is good to have some amount as security deposit - I think yours is too big unless you often have guests for longer time - 20 or more days. When a bad situation happens - you can ask the guest to pay you the damage done up to the amount of the security deposit. The sad thing is - that the guest has to AGREE that he has done the damage and also agree to the amount you want him to pay. 

Too often guests are denying they have done the damage or in some good cases they agree that they have done it - but do not agree to the amount you are asking to be paid. 

[Simon209]

@Lilly28:  I can only imagine that, when a situation involving damages occurs, it must be a nightmare to settle.  In my handful of issues to date, which have almost all been related to glitches with AirBnB's platform, the telephone reps usually acknowledge that something is wrong but are somewhat useless in resolving or figuring out a workaround.

[Helen427]

@Simon209 

For peace of mind you may like to look up future guest names & locations where they are from online . 9 out of ten times the info online is accurate.

For all you know, he may have relocated from another area for work, education or simply for a lifestyle change as people have since Adam & Eve & navigators used to by sailing vessels prior to current inventions.

None of us know why a phone number may not be fully functioning.

All the best

[Marti19]

I have only been hosting since July of this year,  which overall has been a pleasant experience . I've spent a lot of time reading information from other hosts on this site, and it has been so much help to me, and answered many questions that I've encountered.  I don't think airbnb gives new hosts enough help or no help at all in avoiding problems.   I only have one property listed,  which is a house that can sleep 6 people.   Most of my bookings are for two people,  so I have a price for two people with a extra fee of $20 for each additional person.   This is all in my price listing with Airbnb.   The biggest problem I have had to date is that a guest books for one person, but the actual number is more.   If the booking is for one quest, I message them and ask to verify if this is correct.  Most of the time it's not correct, so this creates the situation that I have to message them and explain that the price will be more for the actual number.  I think this creates an unpleasant start to what I want to be a good experience for my guests.  Any suggestions as how I can handle this?  It looks like it would be so easy for Airbnb to ask the guest to verify this at the time of booking and would eliminate the need for the host to have to do this.