Question is when will hosts go against it and stop being afraid?
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A picture of a guest and verification of a guest are two different things. What kind of verification isn’t happening that makes you concerned?
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Honestly, I would much rather host Kermit and/or Greg Fisher* than some of the horrible guests I’ve had with super duper smiley photos.
I know many hosts put a lot of store on profile photos but after hosting hundreds of guests I am now convinced it makes absolutely no difference whatsoever. 90% of the time they look nothing like their photo anyway. End of the day, you never really know who is going to show up at your front door and what they’re like.
*He’s the guy in your second photo, in case you didn’t know, very very funny man!
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That’s prett funny, I had no idea who it was, just googled ‘balding man’ and picked the first non model like image that came up he he
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Did you find the Hamlet cigar advert? Voted one of the funniest ads of all time! He’s been off the scene for many years but was a much-loved (and controversial) comedian.
edit By the way. shame on you for discriminating against bald men 
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Is this about not having a photo until booked? I started a thread on that October 10th;
This is the worst! I understand the whole “discriminating” issue but dude, any normal person who would rent his house to someone would like to SEE who he is! And I want to see the owners renting their home blindly!
What can we do? A picture could worth a thousand 1000 dollars at resolution center if having the wrong person staying at your home.
So many times I tried to go against my gut when the profile photo was a few guys/girls holding beer in their hands and cheering. 90% of the times it ended up bad. I don’t care for religion, sex, color or what have you but the photo allowed to learn about the person’s behavior and now it’s taken from us.
Another BAD decision towards the hosts.
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Unfortunately, a lot of hosts do care about religion, gender, ethnicity, whatever.
To all the hosts who believe that Airbnb should require guests to post a photo; as it has been proven that many potential guests were victims of discrimination, what measures do you recommend to counter discrimination?
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Only recommendation I can think of is self work and education which will never happen obvisouly. This is an individual issue. Some might judge, some don’t.
Let me ask you this: let’s say a host doesn’t see who’s coming but once they are on their doorstep, and he knows he doesn’t like them or what they represent - is that better? In his eyes AirBnb forced him to host someone he doesn’t like and he’s stuck with him/her now.
Airbnb is now the one who makes decisions (sorry, forcing) to counter discrimination.
Yes, of course I think it’s better to not allow business owners to discriminate. I believe that anyone with an ounce of sense realizes that the United States is a better place for desegregation.
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Would you accept a guest who had a picture of him holding a pistol or knife or surrounded by empty beer bottles or drugs paraphernalia at some party?
Who’s judgement do you trust - your own or airbnb?
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I can see Airbnb’s point about discrimination and I’m sure it does happen. I believe it’s right that they should try to counteract it, but if this means a change in requirements they should be open about this and inform hosts of what they are doing and why.
Like Magwitch, I don’t really set much store by photos. When we ran a traditional B&B we didn’t ask for them (or indeed any identification) and we didn’t have any particular problems, And after all, there’s nothing to stop Greg Fisher putting Daniel Craig’s photo up there! And just imagine how disappointed you would be when he turns up …
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There is about a .0000001% chance someone can gain any insights about a guest by the photo. Much greater chance someone is discriminated against. You could ask to see ID at check-in if you are concerned it is not the person who booked. Not sure how they were able to find your place if not for the booking.
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I cannot see guest pics in the message section but I can on the host dashboard but only after the reservation is confirmed. I don’t understand why the pic is only available on my dashboard…it strikes me as odd.
I’m not sure pics are a good reference for whether my unit is a good fit for the guest BUT I have relied on it a couple of times. The minimum age to rent my unit is 25 (this has been discussed/questioned thoroughly in another thread). If someone looks underage, I remind them of the minimum age to rent. I had a male guest request an IB for that afternoon. He was already in the area and changing his rental. His pic was of him on the beach with a large group of people, lots of beer in hand, and in full party mode. I felt uncomfortable with his last minute reservation (it felt like he was being forced out of one rental and quickly looking for another) so combined with the pic, I declined his reservation.
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People certainly do discriminate based on looks and that’s why Air won’t require pictures. I already suspect I’ve been the victim of age discrimination by an Airbnb host. As I’ve previously said I wouldn’t be surprised if they go to an all IB model with cancellations allowed but you have to give a reason and if your reason doesn’t pass their unknown test or there is a pattern they drop you from the platform.
They do the same with reservation policies. Twice, due to a “glitch,” they allowed instant book reservations shorter than the minimum I’d established. I will say though when you call them on they respond. It’s as if they are testing hosts to see what they can get away with.
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Yes, Humpty, but we cannot use said picture as one of the determining criteria in our decision to accept. Once again, this is our home, not a hotel.
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Again, this is the criteria we were promised, we are not children, these are our homes and it should be our decision. If Airbnb wants to change that, they should be up front about it and not play with our decisions and our time…
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Again, this is the criteria we were promised, we are not children, these are our homes and it should be our decision. If Airbnb wants to change that, they should be up front about it and not play with our decisions and our time… If you want Kermit, that should be your decision. You are a business owner who should be graced with all the details of what will affect not only your business but possibly your safety and certainly your comfort level.
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This comes down to trust between the hosts and Airbnb. Everyone discriminates on some shifting scale of whatever our preferences are. Sometimes based on color, most times not. My post was not to address discrimination but rather Airbnb’s business practices.
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