I agree that the new no-photo policy is harming the system in it's entirety. How would it be for the guest to only see our pictures, or the picture of the listing, or the location, only after booking?
Airbnb tells host they can decide who will stay and who to deny, however the picture is a great tool to get an idea of who is staying. I am not racist and have hosted people and would host, but the decision comes per inquiry and it's based on a number of things, including the picture if available. Transparency is a key factor in deciding whether to host.
You have to consider that some host's we're hosting in the same home where we live. Possibly a single woman with two little children. It could be a decision based on a per case basis. Maybe if my husband was at home it would be different. Maybe if the guest is clearly indicating the reason for their stay and depending on the duration.
Additionally I find that Daniel has raised some important concerns.
Additionally a new concerns comes from the fact that apparently, guest are allowed to change their profile entirely, including picture, name, nationality and I assume, verified ID even after having a confirmed booking under different user details.
I even feel like I might be framed as racist for denying accommodating a different user than the one who booked. Even if the original user then changed her profile to match the actual user who wanted to stay.
Not only their conduct was against the policy, I felt scammed and that they had something to hide.
There's no way to know if I would have refused the booking for the guest if I knew his generalities since the start or not.