Any extra info on the new "guests better verified" update?

Kevin542
Level 2
Butler, IN

Any extra info on the new "guests better verified" update?

I have watched the 10 major upgrades for hosts and all are acceptable, but I found the  "guests better verified" portion very vague. So many of my guest are listed as "verified" but their profiles are blank and they have no reviews. Just exactly does better "verified" mean?

 

I would like to see every member have to a a minimum XXX number of word description about themselves and a pic. "hi I'm amy" does not cut it for me. A few simple lines is easy enough for anyone to write and the level of comfort I get from reading it is immense .

 

I also ask that any potential guest give and approx arrival and departure times and a simple reason for visit. I got a request the other day that only stated "moving from Hicksville". Hicksville is a small town 25 min from me. Nothing about arrival time, or departure,  why their move included a one night stay 25 minutes away.  I pressed for details and got 10 hours of silence before turning them down.  

7 Replies 7
Bhumika
Community Manager
Community Manager
Toronto, Canada

Hi @Kevin542 

 

There's some more information here about how you can know more about your guests. 

 

You might also want to head over to the dedicated discussion  for ground rules or review process mentioned in the recent updates with any additional thoughts or questions.  

 

Thanks!

 

Bhumika

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Please follow the Community Guidelines

Thanks for the links.  I have read through them but still do not see anything addressing that new members are allowed to have blank profiles.  I think the default is  " hi i am...." and that is it.   It would not be difficult to force new members to fill in a certain number of words about themselves for them to be have a legit profile.  

I am not asking for full names,  street address,  or anything that would be considered data someone would want to protected.   Just a sentence or two that gives me an idea of  who wants to stay.  

 

I also ask why they want to visit.  Are they passing thru,  or want a romantic getaway or something in between .  I can and allow for a wide variety of requests. But I do like to know from the get go.   

 

When I get someone with a blank profile I suggest to them to fill it out and also often ask for an approx arrival time .  A vast majority of the time I get no response even  hours later and I eventually turn them down.  I am opening my home to them and feel if they can't follow up on a simple request they are not someone I would be willing to risk opening my home to. 

 

I use Airbnb extensively all over the world.  Just this week booked stays in 4 different countries for early next year.  For each host I stated simply the purpose of my visit and mentioned the arrival time of my flight.  

 

Question for you,  In my example in the original question would you have opened a room in your home based on " moving from Hicksville" as the only info you got? 

Bhumika
Community Manager
Community Manager
Toronto, Canada

@Kevin542 Thank you for elaborating your concern, will pass on this feedback to the relevant team. Have also put forward your concern about what do we mean by ''better verified'', will try and get back to you with something concrete. Meanwhile, feel free to discuss more about the updates in the dedicated threads.

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Please follow the Community Guidelines

@Bhumika is the Superguest program that is mentioned in your linked article any closer to happening? I love that idea.

Sybe
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
Terneuzen, Netherlands

@Patti-And-Marty0 It's great to see you're excited about it! We don't currently have any more info to share on this, but if we can find out more we'll keep you posted. 😉

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Please follow the Community Guidelines // Volg de communityrichtlijnen

Bhumika
Community Manager
Community Manager
Toronto, Canada

Hello @Kevin542 ,

 

I wanted to come back to you and acknowledge that indeed your suggestion is useful and has been passed on to the product team. you can learn all about Airbnb’s guest identity verification process here. Thank you so much for your feedback.

 

Bhumika

Click start a conversation to ask the Airbnb Community! 

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Please follow the Community Guidelines

@Bhumika  that first link is from 2018 and mentions we hosts can Require ID verification, which I believe has just recently been taken away in the Winter Release.

 

Why have they renamed House Rules into "ground rules" but then kept it as "house rules" in the listing? won't this be confusing for everyone, who might think they are different things?