Airbnb Answers: Guest profile photos

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Airbnb Answers: Guest profile photos

Update: January, 2019

 

A few months ago, we told you about some changes Airbnb was making to the way guest profile photos are displayed. You can read the original post, below.

 

Now that those changes are being introduced gradually, we want to make sure you have all the information you need. Here’s a recap of what will be changing, along with some tips.

 

 

New photo process

Moving forward, rather than displaying a potential guest’s profile photo before the booking is accepted, you’ll receive a guest’s photo after you’ve accepted the booking request. If you have Instant Book turned on, you won’t notice a change to the booking process.

 

Airbnb does not require guests to have profile photos. Although most guests provide a photo, some have told us they don’t want to share a picture of themselves when booking, and we listened.

 

At the same time, many of you told us that you value guest profile photos, and we listened to you, too. That’s why we’ve introduced a new option for hosts to be able to customize their own booking requirements.

 

New host control

You now have the option to require that your guests provide a profile photo. Again, the photo will be visible to you only after you accept the booking request. If you’d like to require your guests to provide a profile photo, you’ll need to turn on the control option in your settings for each of your listings, either on mobile or on web. Specifically:

 

On mobile:

  1. Go to the listing you’d like to require profile photos for
  2. Tap Booking settings
  3. Tap Guest requirements
  4. Look for the Profile photo section and tap Edit
  5. Tap Require a profile photo
  6. Tap Save


On web:

  1. From your host dashboard, click Listings
  2. Click Booking settings
  3. Next to Guest requirements, click Edit
  4. Check the box next to Profile photo
  5. Click Save

 

If you take this step and a potential guest doesn’t already have a profile photo, they’ll be prompted to upload one before they can request to book your space. A guest’s profile photo will not be available to you until after you accept the booking request. If the guest doesn’t want to provide a photo, then they won’t be able to book your space. 

 

Additional support

If you choose to require that your guests have a profile photo and one of your potential guests uploads an image that doesn’t show their face—a photo of a sunset or their dog, for instance—then you can call Airbnb’s Community Support. They’ll work with you to address the issue, and if you feel uncomfortable hosting someone without a photo that shows their face, you can request to cancel the reservation penalty-free.

 

As a reminder, Airbnb’s nondiscrimination policy prohibits hosts from making booking decisions or canceling reservations based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. 

 

As an extra step, as always, you can require guests to provide a government ID to Airbnb in order to be able to book your space. You can read more about that process here.

 

Why these changes are important

We talked with lots of hosts and guests about profile photos, and we think these changes satisfy the core concerns and feedback we heard. We’ll be paying close attention to how these changes to profile photos affect our community, and will continue working to improve and simplify the process to ensure you feel comfortable hosting. We hope you’ll share your feedback with us so we can continue to build a community where everyone can belong. Thank you for hosting.

 

 

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October, 2018

 

You've been asking a lot about guest profile photos, and Airbnb has been working on new policies to address your concerns. Here is an update from Airbnb:

 

Today, we’re announcing some changes we will be making to the way we display guest profile photos.

 

Moving forward, rather than displaying a potential guest’s profile photo before the booking is accepted, hosts will receive a guest’s photo in the booking process only after they’ve accepted the booking request. Airbnb does not require all guests to provide a photo. Instead, we’ll be giving hosts the option to ask their guests to provide a profile photo, which will only be presented to hosts after they accept the booking. We have discussed some of this work in the past and we want you to know more about the changes we will be making in the coming months.

 

We have participated in a number of conversations with hosts and guests regarding this topic. We have listened to our community, and while most guests provide a photo, some guests told us they don’t want to share a picture of themselves when booking. We also recognize that concerns have been raised about the potential for photos to be misused in a way that violates our nondiscrimination policy.

 

At the same time, hosts have told us that they value profile photos because they can help hosts and guests get to know one another before a trip begins and help hosts recognize guests when they check in. Additionally, we’ve seen how photos can be a useful tool for enhancing trust and promoting community.

 

We want to balance these concerns. Airbnb does not require guests to provide a profile photo when booking a listing and, as we discussed earlier this summer with our hosts, we will be implementing a series of changes in the months ahead:

 

  • If a guest chooses to provide a profile photo, that profile photo won’t be displayed to the host as part of the booking process until after the booking is confirmed.
  • Because some hosts value profile photos and want to be able to know who they can expect at their front door, we will give hosts the option to ask that guests provide a profile photo prior to booking, which will only be presented to the host after the host accepts the booking request. This new option comes with important safeguards that are designed to ensure our community is fair and open to everyone:
    • Hosts must turn on this feature for each of their listings proactively, before they receive a reservation request.
    • If a host asks for a profile photo, we’ll prompt guests to upload one to their Airbnb profile before they can request to book that host’s particular listing; however, the photo will not be presented to the host until after the booking is confirmed.

 

If a host cancels a reservation after they see a guest’s photo, the guest will have an easy way to contact Airbnb and report any concerns about potential discrimination by the host in violation of our nondiscrimination policy and Community Commitment. If any guest believes he or she has been discriminated against and notifies our team, we’ll immediately help them book an alternative listing consistent with our Open Doors Policy, investigate the report, and take appropriate action. Any host who violates our nondiscrimination policy may be permanently banned from using Airbnb.

 

This announcement follows the commitment we made in 2016 to evaluate how we display guest profile photos in the booking process. As we implement these changes in the coming months, we hope you’ll share your feedback with us so we can continue to make thoughtful changes that make the Airbnb community a place where everyone can belong.

 

1,229 Replies 1,229

You can’t be serious Airbnb, virtually nothing has changed, it’s actually worse for hosts, given the easy discrimination claim process you’ve implemented for guests! 

What are you? An accommodation booking site or an equal opportunity do-gooder business trying to pat yorselves onthe back for your “community of trust”

 

I pay your ever  increasing admin fees and MY terms of my business are that I choose who enters my property and who does not.  I will not allow instant book, I am surely entitled to see a profile BEFORE I accept a booking and most  importantly I WANT TO READ THEIR REVIEWS!!!  

 

MY host reviews are the second thing potential guests see on our site, and MY profile photo is also there. Maybe they won’t book my house if they see my nationality, or colour of my skin, or maybe I didn’t provide coco pops!.......oh come on.......you are simply not listening to your customer.

Helen790
Level 2
Snainton, United Kingdom

Hi , 

 

The photo idea is ok , but pictures dont tell  host a story about a risky guests. I have had to take the bold decision to decline guest who have no previous reviews , it may cost me my super host status but after a poor run of very very horrid guests who put lives at risk by removing safety equipment , smoked drugs in my appartment and through the smoke detectors outside puttting my family at risk ,  I have no option . When I asked why they had taken such a risk they hurled abuse at me . Not the guest anyone would want in thier home ever. This is the 2nd lot of guests who have commited the same offence in a matter of weeks that were first time booker hence  no reviews . A tad extreme some may say as not all new bookers will be the same , Photos were provided in both instance  but that didnt help me detect their lack of regard .  

Airbnb are very limited to thier support in such matters so really hosts are out there on there own with such situations .  

Henri16
Level 4
Montreal, Canada

Since this new policy I have regretably refused at 5 reservations

I have contacted AIRBNB at least 3 times with my own simple solution to the problem with AIRBNB not even giving you the courtesy of answering or acknowleging reception of my mail.

I am including below the responce I am giving my guests on why I am refusing them.

They do not even know that their picture is beeing blocked and most are actually asking me if I know where they can turn it on in their settings.

So the solution is really simple

 

GUESTS WHO ARE NOT CONFORTABLE TO HAVE THEIR PICTURE VISIBLE CAN TURN IT OFF, HOSTS WHO DO NOT MIND NO PICTURE OR INCOMPLETE PROFILES CAN ACCEPT THEM.

 

Really simple ehh

 

Here what I am sending to my guest, I really regret because they seemed really nice but I will have to stand to my pronciples, my host status is taking more and more of a beating  and I might just move away from this platform, which I will miss as I have met lots of lovely people since I started in 2011. 

 

Hello .........
Unfortunately for the moment I do not accept any more requests. Although you do have excellent reviews and you sound like a fun and reliable person and I would love to share my space and my city with you.
AIRBNB has recently started a new policy where (unknown to you) your Picture is being blocked for me to see with the argument to prevent "racism "on the hosts part. A accusation I wehemently refuse to accept. I am opening my house to a total stranger I base my acceptance on how you present yourself to me, a thorough and brief description on who you are, (which you did) your past reviews (which you have) and your picture which you have but has been blocked for me to see. You for one can have a look at my place my past reviews and my pictures and my own description in order to form an opinion and make a choice on me and my place.
I do understand that some guests feel uncomfortable and prefer to not have a visible picture , it is their choice. But so far most do not mind and think it is just common courtesy to be open as to who they are. The point is that you and me have no choice in deciding this.
I have asked AIRBNB to give Guest the opportunity to chose their settings, if they want their picture available (Transparency) and give hosts the choice on who to accept in their settings.
Thus Guests who want to offer an incomplete profile with no picture can have that setting and Host who do not mind these guests can have that setting,
On the other hand we, you and me should also have the option on how we want to be presented and not have AIRBNB decide on how we should go about this.
If you feel like it make a request to AIRBNB that you should be able to decide yourself on how you want present yourself to any hosts, I am hoping that AIRBNB will listen to me, us, as I am constantly asking them to give me a choice in my settings.
I wish you happy travels and I already regret not receiving you and your friend who seem to be two very charming Persons
Regretfully Henri

Stephen678
Level 1
Ottawa, Canada

This is an awful change for both hosts and guests level of comfort when booking. 

Liz266
Level 2
Arlington Heights, IL

ON REMOVING THE ABILITY TO SEE POTENTIAL GUEST PHOTOS:

I find your new policy of not showing guest photos prior to booking to be a detriment to my safety. Airbnb depends on hosts to earn their money AND reputation. Therefore, it is neglectful to be more guest centric than host centric. Airbnb’s success is due to superhosts like me, who share their homes with people while striving to provide a great hosting experience in a SAFE environment. How does this new policy show concern and value to your hosts?

 

In your latest effort to increase your profits, you are completely neglecting to consider the safety of the hosts. A potential guest can see my photo, photos of my house, and will instantly know the general location of where I live prior to booking. Conversely, the only information I have about a guest (if there are no reviews) is that their facebook or google account, phone number, and government ID have been verified. Without a photo there is little to provide a window into a person's character. Now that you have taken that away from hosts, we are left more at risk. The photos of potential guests who are new users help me to gain insight in many ways:

~Since I share 3 properties in the same home and also live in that home, my security and my guest's security are critical. A requesting guest’s photo helps me to determine if that person seems safe.

~The photo a guest uploads reveals a person’s character to the host. When photos are overly sexually suggestive, do not reveal a view of the person's face, look disheveled-unclean, are scowling, etc; I am not going to feel safe.

~When guests are not willing to upload a photo, it could be an indication that they may not respect their host. I realize it could also be that they were in a hurry, but when I have asked a new user to provide a photo and they do so willingly, it shows cooperation and respect.

~Sometimes a person's name is not gender specific and their photos help me to know a person's gender without having to ask that awkward question. This is important when I have a young intern sharing a bathroom as I avoid putting men into the adjacent bedroom and sharing a bath with a young college co-ed, who may have indicated this preference.

 

Please show some respect to your hosts and make on options for hosts to require that  guests put their photos up and allow those photos to be seen. I have never discriminated against any person. If you check my hosting history, you will find that to be the case. I view this latest action to be more motivated by corporate greed than making the guests happy.  Please stop putting corporate profits ahead of the safety of your sales force. It is really ugly.

Gianni105
Level 1
Copenhagen, Denmark

I feel very uncomfortable in not being able to have any idea of who's booking. Most of the times there's no info about age, and now no picture either. worse csae scenario, not even a review. As many before me pointed out, I am opening my home to a stranger, and, discrimination policies or not, I do want to know who I am going to host. I do hope at least that the booking process will enforce guests to provide their age.
In any case, this is a big tur off for hosts, which should be supported by the platform. I really hope you guys will rethink about this change.

Debbie422
Level 2
Long Beach, CA

I am so happy to see that I am not the only (super) or any host that feels the same way as I do. I only had one room listed in my home last September/October and I could see his picture when he booked. He booked for 2 months, so I was unaware of the new change until I started listing another room in my home in January and no picture! Of course I complained. Obviously, nothing has changed. NOW, no profile information WHATSOEVER for a guest that wants to stay a MONTH! Are you kidding me? NO! 

 

I've been thinking that ABB has gotten too big for their britches! I'd be happy to switch to a more host friendly platform! 

Kathy159
Level 2
St. Augustine, FL

I agree with everything said. I have been a host for 3 years now and want to see my guests face and know their review history to feel comfortable with them. I have never discriminated anyone in my life, I just want to feel comfortable knowing who is coming into my house. My only bad experience was with a guests' boyfriend who was late to leave, bullied my cleaning lady and demanded a full refund. From then on, I insist on reviews before I book and not seeing them is a concern. If guests can see the information about me, then I should be able to see it about them. Why does it appear guest rights and privacy are more important then hosts? If they can choose not to connect with me (for whatever reason), I should have the same choice. trust has to work both ways and hosts don't have that option if we don't have all the information up front.

Elisha27
Level 2
San Diego, CA

Dear AirBnb representative,

 

Your relatively new rule that does not allow me, as a host, to see who is the person that’s requesting to stay in my home, is not acceptable. I understand that your company wants to appear unprejudiced. However, you are not operating in a vacuum; we are a community of hosts that open our homes to strangers. We have the right to SEE who we are opening our homes to.

Even before this rule went into affect, I have hosted to young and old, black, white, Indian, Hispanic, man and women. I do reserve the right not to accept a guest who has, for instance, a swastika tattooed on their forehead. As a host, I need to know if my guest is male or female, young or old, etc. as he or she may have different habits and different needs.

 

As long as you do not allow me to see the guests' profiles in their entirety (*), I won't be able to accept any requests for reservation. 

 

(* it is understood that I don't expect to see any contact info such as phone number, email etc.)

 

Respectfully,

 

Elisha

 

P.S. I noticed that guests can see MY profile photo within my listing...

 

This is the message I now send to all guest requests:

"Unfortunately, due to a new rule of Airbnb, which does not allow me to see who the person I'm opening my house to is, I am unable to accept any requests.

Even before this rule went into affect, I have hosted to young and old, black, white, Indian, Hispanic, man and women.

I do reserve the right not to accept a guest who has, for instance, a swastika tattooed on their forehead.

Sincerely,
Elisha"

The only way we can bring a change is by ACTING!

 

  1. Stop accepting requests.
  2. Let both the guests and AIRBNB know WHY you are declining.
  3. Let them know you will not accept requests until they reverse this policy.

 

AIRBNB needs their customers, the guests, but without US hosts providing the rental property they cannot rent. Without us hosts, they have no business.

 

ACT! 

Elisha

Peta7
Level 10
Johannesburg, South Africa

It is believed that the all popular and unique Uber with Driver / Cab visuals omitted will be viewed as just another metered Taxi service, and now we have our platform of choice offering us "lucky packet" guests with obscured profiles just like the multitude of booking platforms out there.
The irony is that we are led to believe that this entire fiasco was instituted in the name of discrimination, and so we receive requests from a Bradley, Mohamed, Nqabomzi and Fatima......
Perhaps the platform administrators should consider obscuring the guests name as well as it is blatantly clear to us which gender and race group these actual requests came from or alternatively a substitute logical reason for Discrimination / Racism is much needed?

Scott474
Level 2
England, United Kingdom

What an excellent point Peta. My very first guest was from African origin. So what! I've hosted people from many countries. Guess what ...airbnb will probably now take on board your final para! No name...no pack drill... etc etc

Kelly752
Level 2
Greenville, NC

I enabled the “require guests to have a profile photo” immediately upon setting up my listings and so far I’ve approved 4 guests who were revealed to have no profile picture at all! If I’m supposed to be trusting AirBnB to confirm the pictures before I approve then I would really appreciate the filter actually working!!

Herman-And-Tandy0
Level 2
Bristol, United Kingdom

We have written to Abnb telling them that we will not accept any new bookings until they  reinstate policy of Hosts seeing guest profile photo before booking!!   I have blocked out the calendar, and will only accept repeat guests!!

We had an interesting guest who booked. His photo was the back of a head died yellow and shaved like a pineapple with green leaves on top. When we asked him to send a photo of himself he sent one of his whole family, nice as they were staying too but not what we had asked.

An hour after check out time I messaged him to ask where he was. "Shopping" he replied but returned promptly when I mentioned our next guests were due in 3 hours so I was going to enter the flat to clean and put his stuff in garbage bags. Then he said in his report he had been kind to us by stripping the beds, washing up, emptying the bins and recycling! These are required in our house rules. 

Did his children see a kangaroo or quokka on their first trip to Australia? No. Is was interesting writing his report.