You don’t get a copy of their ID. Airbnb receives it and includes it as a verification on their profile page.
She’s replying to River Rock Retreat who does get a copy of the ID when the guest checks in.
Oh, whoops. I was confused.
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Yes, I require Airbnb verification for my bookings, but I don’t believe Airbnb always follows through on their own policy of that, as they don’t follow through on other policies, such as requiring a profile photo of some kind.
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I have it in my rules that the county requires I get a copy of the guest ID and collect tax. I do not give the door code until the tax is paid and guest sends a picture of ID.
RR
Haha, love it. Don’t forget the very sincere “With love, Airbnb” and the end. 
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Well that is a nail in the coffin…no photo no guest I am afraid…
Actually, I can tell what a guest is like from their photo (or lack of it). Very occasionally I get a negative gut reaction & I am always proved right. Unfortunately, as I use instant book, I do not always have the opportunity to decline the guest. As far as race is concerned, a guests’ name should provide some kind of racial indication. Secondly, if someone is racist, what are they doing on AirBnB anyway, because meeting a ton of foreigners is part of the deal.
If hosts can’t see a guests photo until after a booking is confirmed, then why don’t we as hosts take down our profile photos and provide our mugshots only after a booking has been confirmed?
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Do you mean this as some metaphysical power you have? Obviously you are quite convinced and I doubt I could convince you that it’s just not possible but I had to comment on it. It might be fun for us to post photos of someone we know well and you could tell us what that person is like.
Sadly there are quite a few of them. Several have posted here over the years. I’d say love of money trumps feelings of racial superiority. Also, it’s possible to be racist or biased in some way, yet not behave in a prejudicial way. I have a lot of biases against certain people but work hard to not let those feelings show in my hosting.
You are free to do so.
As I’ve said elsewhere on this forum multiple times I expect Airbnb to go to a “no photo” model prior to booking in the future anyway. I’m ready.
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I have done better this year with direct bookings than expected.
At the very least you have a first and last name, email, phone, all the government ID you need, and in my case an employer or grad school.
I pay to advertise on certain sites and it has paid off well during peak periods.
And instead of guests expecting perks, and to be serviced, there’s more quid pro quo in terms of supporting each other.
Naturally I will stay with Air. But naturally getting along with others without the 5 star brass ring is very pleasant.
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Yes, I do mean this as some metaphysical power I have and I am sure I am not the only one.
May I suggest you work hard to not let these biases show when you use forums like these?
What makes you think I need your permission to remove my profile photo?
Ok, I’ll play.
Sure, I’ll work on it.
I wasn’t giving permission I was giving information. Make no mistake, this will be the last time.
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KKC Do not stop giving info to the rest of us!!!
btw my guest photo showed her in a wetsuit and fins underwater,.,.
LOL. No worries. Although I have thought of giving up the forum for Lent and there would be plenty of people delighted for me to do so. 
I wonder what would happen if we all just took down our profile pictures?
I do understand them being worried about racial profiling but we are increasingly getting the short end of the stick in many ways as host from airbnb.
If anyone out there is looking for a good investment I would race over to any platform that is at least equally fair to guest and host if not host friendly. I think airbnb thinks we depend on the money so they can treat us like crap because we don’t have alternatives. I am working hard on building alternative ways to get bookings, and i do get much better guests from those alternatives, but a whole platform would be awesome.
They don’t care. Lots of hosts have no profile pictures. In fact, lots of hosts aren’t hosts at all they are investors and property managers. Here’s one I saw recently. I absolutely hate being lumped in with this kind of listing but feel there is little I can do about it.
Have you checked out Houfy? I can’t stand their name but they have a good idea and are helpful and supportive of owners … So far.
In UK the policiy of no guest photo until booking has been implemented to all hosts now. I have just found out about it when I couldn´t see a guest photo at request time. I don´t remember receiving any warnings or info about it from Airbnb. I am one of those hosts who is not very happy about this. I am a female sharing my home with common areas, I often work from home, and I like to know who is living in my home with me before I accept a booking. I understand the nondiscrimination policy, but I still want to know who´s coming to my home. Airbnb´s response to my complain has not been very helpful, just a robot repetition of their policies. I think this is #Airbnbgreed to make as much money as possible, without caring and respecting hosts, their lives and privacy.
I have taken off my profile photo.
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I have seen a good number of listings with no host photo, many successful superhosts have none. It shouldn’t be a problem for you but I’d be very curious to know if you see any noticeable change in number of bookings or type of requests you get without a picture compared to with one. Please return to update us if you notice a change.