Screening Guests who have 0 reviews and No Identity Verified Badge

[Dani11414]

Hello Everyone! I'm still fairly new to hosting and I'm curious how many of you go about screening potential guest when they have no reviews and  little profile information. I recently received a booking request from someone with no reviews and only a phone number on their profile. Their request comment was quite vague and although I don't want to be too intrusive about the reason for this guests stay I also want to make sure I'm doing my due diligence when deciding who to let into my home.  I reached out to a Super Host for advice on this issue and her suggestion was to ask the guest to send a picture of their photo ID and possibly have a quick phone conversation with guest in-order to get a feel for them. The problem with this is that you cannot exchange any personal information until you have a confirmed booking. Please let me know what has worked for you all. I'd greatly appreciate it.

[Andrea-and-Glenn0]

@Dani11414  I looked at your awesome listing, well done!

At the same time I was looking at your AirBnb, I see that you have submitted Identification, Email and Phone number, and a super nice photo all in your identity.

When we have a request to book or an inquiry from a potential guest with an incomplete profile, we simply send them the link and ask that they update their profile to include everything you have included in your profile. 

https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/280

We also always keep all communication on the AirBnb platform and it is important that you do so. Not only is it a record of your requests or questions to potential guests, if the potential guests don’t answer you back or perform the updates you are requiring, then declining a potential guest is simple as it would make me “very uncomfortable”hosting any potential guest that already displays poor communication. 

Cheers/Glenn

[Dani11414]

This is super helpful, I'm definitely going to implement this. Thank you so much Glenn!

Best,

Dani

[Helen744]

Dani11414 make sure that you have clicked all the boxes with Airbnb about identity, government id, full face , no sunglasses , avatars etcetera and then message the guest, ask if they have read the house rules and agreed to them , ask if the number of guests including themselves is correct ,. introduce yourself and ask if they have stayed in the area before. Remember to meet them 

as first time guests are always met' to show them any little issues with the house, or simply say 'we look forward to meeting you , remind them ,no parties and no visitors unless agreed to between you and them and generally ask for id from all guests either on arrival or sent after the booking is made. Its not necessarily a problem , ask if they have ever used Airbnb or if this is the first time . Be friendly but ask the questions  . Tell them that you hope they will love the house and for them to ask if there is anything else about the house they would like to know .... H

[Huma0]

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@Helen744 wrote:

Dani11414 make sure that you have clicked all the boxes with Airbnb about identity, government id, full face , no sunglasses , avatars etcetera 

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@Helen744 Where are these options? Is this something new? If so, please let us know where to find them.

I know that hosts can choose to only host guests who have uploaded a profile photo, but I've never seen any options you can select about full face, no sunglasses, no avatars etc. And, as we can't see the profile photo until the booking is made, how would we know?

Also, I think Airbnb has made it no longer possible for a host to stipulate the guest has verified government ID. That doesn't even show up on guest profiles anymore, even if they have verified their government ID. Now it's just 'verified identity' which, if you read the fine print on Airbnb's verification process, is pretty meaningless. It can be as little as the guest stating their full name and address without having to provide evidence of either.

[Helen744]

Huma0 partly it is built into my house rules but there was a box for additional Id info , maybe its only Australia , but all my guests always had full face , although I did notice others simply with blank guest faces. I have some face blindness and after one or two people turned up who I could not verify simply by looking at them I  added a few extras . If someone wore full on makeup or had sunglasses on or a picture of their back or were a hippopotamus or a word or a letter , then I would ask for extra ID but after that I asked for government ID and always got it . I cannot tell for sure if this is because its in my rules and people complied or for some other reason . I was super strict about id including asking for every guests as I simply assumed others also did,but unlike yourself i could not actually be in the house with these people , so before they turn up is the only way to monitor..as I have said before it maybe overkill,but after getting a few  bad guests it becomes super important.... H

[Huma0]

@Helen744 

Ah, okay, I thought you meant there was some kind of Airbnb setting for this, rather than it being something you specifically require.

Yes, I am on you with this one. There is no point requiring a profile picture if it turns out to be a photo of someone's foot!

[Dani11414]

Yes, I was doing some research in the Help Center and there is some conflicting information. One article states that you can go into "Reservation Requirements" and click the box "Requires Guest to go through verification". This is NOT an option in my profile settings. The only option I have is "Profile Photo Required". Which doesn't do a whole lot of good since you can't even see the photo until after a booking is confirmed.  Airbnb states that all they require to verify someone's identity is Name and Address.  I sure wish bnb would require more proof of identity so hosts might have a little peace of mind that the guest is who they say they are. I guess I'll have to just include in my house rules that if they are not Identity Verified I will require a photo ID after booking. Hopefully bnb dose not penalize me if I cancel on guests who don't comply.

[Luke187]

Hello, we send this message to the guest and they have all replied with info. 

Hello, we see your new to airbnb and currently don’t have previous travel reviews. We typically don’t accept guest without travel review history but understand your new to airbnb and will consider. Could you tell us a little more about yourself and what brings you to the area so we feel comfortable. Thank you for understanding!