Lack of Guest Profile Information

[Julie4]

I’m concerned about how easy it is for guests to set up a ‘non-profile’ and make a booking request and how it seems increasingly more difficult to feel safe when letting a room in your home through Airbnb. When I started 6 years ago, I enjoyed it. I was able to see a profile picture, name, age, gender, location and a profile description. This helped to give a sense of who I was inviting into my home to share my living space. I am female and single. Now the majority of profiles are just blank with a name & some don’t even make the effort to use their real name. Little effort is made atall. Recently I have had Cj and Rug. I am expected to make a decision purely based on this information and nothing else. I feel pressured by Airbnb to accept these requests because they penalise you if you don’t! I have asked for help from them, I was told ‘if you don’t feel safe you can install a camera in your home’ my reply was ‘ you should not put me under the kind of pressure to make me feel so unsafe I need a camera in my home.’ Airbnb are losing more and more bookings from me because of this. I feel they are more geared up now for hotel / whole property type bookings now which is so far removed from its original intentions ie sharing a home with the host. Is anyone else experiencing the same? 

[Dennis-and-Nina0]

Nothing much has changed since your original post.....I'm always getting requests when all I have is a name to go by.  No history, nothing.  Then quite often it's an instant book.  Same thing, even after it's confirmed, just a name.  No location, no details, nothing.  Pretty scary.  Been lucky so far, but it's just not right.  

I believe Airbnb is so desperate for bookings, shortcuts are taken.  And our fees keep increasing.

Does anyone from Airbnb actually see any of our concerns from this community center?

[Julie4]

I agree, they don’t seem to care,  I have raised this with them. It doesn’t do them any favours or get them more bookings. I have happily rejected all booking requests since December because lack of guest profile information has meant I aren’t comfortable with allowing this person into my home. I aren’t that desperate enough for  the money to invite a stranger into my home I know nothing about and the consequences this may have.