Hello everyone,
Based on our experience, we have disabled instant booking. We expect guests who wish to stay at our property to briefly introduce themselves before booking. This includes information such as who they are, where they are from and what they plan to do during their stay. As hosts, we like to know what kind of guest we can expect. Requests such as "Is the room available?" are generally ignored.
However, it happens that newly registered users make requests without first having verified themselves with Airbnb. Unfortunately, we cannot set it so that only verified users can make requests. Since we could not find this option, we have created a profile picture as a default. This makes less sense than verification, but it is better than nothing.
Even for verified users, the Airbnb app points out that verification does not provide absolute security: "...While this process provides assurances, it is not a guarantee that a person is who they claim to be."
How do you verify your guests? Damage, arguments or even criminal incidents can occur. It cannot be that when the police ask me which people were staying with us at the time, without the guest's ID, I can only say that it was Hans, Kunz and Franz from Airbnb, without any further verification information!
Can you please tell me Airbnb's policies regarding guest verification?
PS: When I book a hotel, I also have to provide my details and ID. Try checking into a hotel without verifying yourself by showing an ID or passport.
