Do You Collect Guest ID Before Check-In?

[Malyun0]

Hi  I’ve been hosting for 8 months and would appreciate your advice. Do you collect guest ID before check-in, or do you rely on Airbnb’s verification process? Thank you.

[Elisa]

Hi @Malyun0 😊, 

Thank you for asking this here!

Have you been asking for it recently?

I’m tagging a few hosts to see what they think: @Jonathan2650, @Brenda1830, @Basil53, @Livia120, @Jeffrey726, @Mohideen0 and @Snehal1.

Thank you in advance, everyone.

[Tracy1295]

Hi @Malyun0 

I try to make the booking process as easy as possible, so I don’t not collect ID’s.  I trust Airbnb’s process and it hasn’t let me down yet in 7 yrs of hosting. I also have a large property with avg guest size of 12 or more so collecting that many ID’s would be a nightmare. I only had one small incident of damage and the guest immediately notified me and Aircover ensured I was paid.

Basil 

[Elaine701 · Accepted solution]

@Malyun0 

By law, we are required to collect guest IDs, and so we make copies on arrival during meet and greet. 

If the guest arrives late or otherwise has self check-in, then we ask them to take photos of their IDs and send them via WhatsApp. 

Airbnb "verification" is a loose ID check and should not be relied on to ensure their identity. But the vast majority of guests are completely legitimate. 

Nonetheless, in a practical sense, unless your guest is doing something wrong, their actual identity is not that important. Engaging in a confrontation over it (or anything else) can be risky; retaliatory review, fabricated claims against the host, etc.