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I was wondering if anybody can help or knows if I should take steps against Airbnb.
I have been a host for 1.5y in Barcelona and 2 weeks ago i received a message from support that all my payouts were put on hold because they needed extra verification of my identity. On the platform it said please blur your social security number for privacy reasons.
As requested i submit my ID and blurred the social security number, after 5 minutes received a message stating it was declined. After trying a few times got in touch with support.
Find the conversation below:
ME 12:39 PM: My social security number is blurred. When i upload the picture it says - make sure your social security number is blurred because of privacy reasons
Airbnb Support 12:40 PM: Yes, but it is recommended to apply a piece of tape/paper on it. The system recognises if the picture was edited.
Airbnb Support 1:10 PM: Given the fact that in the email you received it says âweâll need a photo that clearly shows all of the information on your ID so we can confirm that itâs valid.â I think it needs to be added without the social covered. You shouldnât have safety concerns, no one will have access to it.
Given the fact the support told me this, 3 days ago i received the following e-mail: Hi Thomas,
Weâve provided your listingâs registration details to Catalonia â they periodically review this information to confirm the status of your registration. Because of this, youâll no longer be able to make changes to this information on your listing page.
If you still need to edit your registration details, youâll need to get in touch with our
Thanks, The Airbnb Team
I was wondering if anybody knows if there is a possibility to take legal steps against Airbnb in this case. They never informed me about this upfront, their support team told me no one would have access to my information. While on the other end they just share my information with a third party without asking my permission.
They did not share information with a 3rd party.
They gave it to the Catalan government, as they are legally required to.
There are no obligations for them to inform you about this.
Do you have a touristic license? If not, you know exactly what the rules and consequences are, and decided to host anyway. Air BNB has been saying for monthes they would sharing personal details with city hall to cross check licenses.
I do have a touristic license yes, thats not my concern. My concern is that Airbnb is sharing my details while their promised not to. And yes even the Catalan government is a third party, if they would share my details with anyone while promise not to they need to inform me upfront and not write to me in a message my details are private and no one has access to it.
Certain cities such as Barcelona, require AIr BNB and other STR platforms to provide them with host information so the city can make sure the Air BNB is operating legally.
I personally think this is a really silly thing to be upset about, considering the battle we have had in Barcelona with Air BNB. I had my listing accidentally âhideâ bc Air BNB did not think my permit was valid, it is, but it was annoying. However, less annoying then the 1000s of illegal rentals that our taking long term rental stock from our community.
I definitely get what you are saying @Chris however i do not appreciate when a company shares my private information. Especially after the message I received from support.
Never the less i´ll just have to deal with it and might need to think of other solutions to continue with my listing.
@azreala I agree with you it´s been a rollercoaster so far. I have been thinking of getting rid of my apartments and start elsewhere because of these issuesâŚ
