Guests using fake/nicknames- serious security issue for Hosts- airbnb turning a blind eye

[Simon3615]

Hi all

i wanted to alert the airbnb hosting communuty of an alarming conversation i had with airbnb support- that a new change in recent policy now allows for guests to make up any profile name they wish and post a fake profile picture- effectively hiding their identity from hosts who have to decide to accept a booking or not

i had a man named Dominic but with a profile named Niki, a womans name that I believe is using the name Nikinas a means to misrepresent his gender as a woman

the moment i realised niki was not a woman and in fact a male called Dominic i cancelled their booking -15 minutes after accepting it- advising as a live in host I did not want to host to people not being honest who they are

airbnb is insisting, as a superhost i should get a penalty

there seems so little protections afforded hosts. So little protections  for hosts, particularly live in hosts, where airbnb are already refusing to provide age and gender of guests wanting to book 

[Jane3076]

Hi,

I am finding this too, people with a profile name that has nothing to do with their name. I had one recently that I think may be a sex worker meeting clients in my airbnb studio. I also have had a booking from one guests who as named themselves after some kind of alcohol. This needs to be looked and and acted upon. How do we make that happen?

[Joan2709]

Hi @Simon3615 

You are allowed to restrict gender in a home-sharing listing. You should list that in your House Rules and also probably under Other Details to Note. Were you able to determine their gender from the profile photo? If not, you could have contacted Airbnb to cancel penalty-free:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2377

It's best in these situations to contact Airbnb and express your concerns and have them cancel the booking for you. Otherwise, you will be dealing with a cancellation penalty that may be difficult to resolve. Unfortunately, once a guest creates a profile, they can change their name to anything they want. 

[Marie8425]

@Simon3615 

The way I have found that follows Airbnb Rules is I note a legal Id viewing for all guests named on the reservation and legal ID must match reservation name.  I  have only gotten 1 request since I disclosed that and he was upfront his middle name which he liked better but his Legal ID showed both names so I accepted and it did, he was a very  nice guest.