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And I actually own that Doberman (although she is getting a little slower now that she is 12.5 years old) and I DO have cameras and alarm & sign came with the house but I don’t pay for that once I pay for the camera subscriptions).
I also have cameras at my whole house listings because I obviously can’t have a dog there. 
… and today we got a booking from 烨 姜…if he looks at least slightly asian, we will let him in 
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GutHend…have to love those. I get those every now and then also. I sit there are scratch my head… Ok when they arrive I have to play the awkward game of how do you pronounce your name. We have a welcoming white board showing our guests name and I always struggle as to what to write…aaa…guest from China/South Korea or attempt to write their name… LOL… either way it is awkward.
This is why they say 辛疾 is Xin Qiji, just call me Winn. I had Chinese exchange students whom I would try to get to teach me how to pronounce their name in Chinese. It was like the old saying about trying to teach a pig to sing except it wasn’t annoying the pig, it was annoying the person trying to teach the pig.
I wrote the Kanji once. They didn’t even mention it 
Lol. I get a lot of Chinese and S Korean guests.
I’ve found that the Chinese very often choose an English name, often quite old-fashioned ones (like Doris, June, Mabel) or whimsical ones (like Moongirl, Starfairy). I always suspected it was because it is unbearable to hear their actual name being so badly mangled by westerners (for want of a better word). After all, it’s only one mispronounced vowel and you could be calling them pigshit or something.
The S Koreans don’t do this, in my experience. They use their own name and politely tell you how to pronounce it. Korean is probably a lot easier for westerners to pronounce than Chinese as well.
Having said that, an upcoming booking is from 梁. Google translates it into English as “Beam” and the pronunciation as ‘Liang’. But he tells me his name is Bowie At least I think it’s a he… the profile photo is a drawing and it looks male-ish. I don’t really care either way, I’m sure s/he will be fine. I enjoy these new gender-free times! I’m old enough to remember Ziggy Stardust gloriously tearing away the veil over that particular issue. I’m hoping Bowie and I will get on just fine.
Just had to post this link …there is actually a bundle of money to be made with helping Chinese parents give the right English name …
Yes, I remember reading about this last year - what an enterprising young woman!
I I have read four posts here and I feel like I need to make 5 replies. First of all, there is no set of circumstances under which I would send any provider of lodging my government identification prior to arriving at the establishment. You may not have my personally identifiable information before I meet you. That would be number one.
Number two. I am on both sides of this. My daughter runs and Airbnb. I am a frequent Airbnb guest. Airbnb collected personal information from me when I first signed up for the site. In other words, just like yourself I was invaded by Airbnb. For me personally, When I arrive at your home, if you feel that the information Airbnb has is insufficient, I personally would be happy to show you my ID. YOU CERTAINLY MAY NOT COPY IT OR WRITE DOWN THE INFORMATION. If you have a trust issue with me or I’m going to trust you with my personal . So again, asking for my license in advance allows you to have a copy of my license. Not going to happen.
This kind of sort of sounds like a case of I want my cake and eat it too situation. While I may be comfortable / okay with you looking at my licence I can understand why other folks may not be.
Here’s my take on that side of the argument: when you decided to become an Airbnb host you went through a vetting process. When I decided to travel using Airbnb I went through an Airbnb vetting process. You can see my profile. You can contact me to ask me any question you want before I get there. You can read feedback about me. But in the end, I’m going to have to agree with Airbnb. You can’t compel me to provide my ID. I know some hosts May they throw their hands up in the air. You have a choice. Don’t host.
If you want to be 100% risk-free don’t host. In the end, just because you’ve seen someone’s ID doesn’t mean they’re not going to mess your place up or mess with you for that matter.
So what do you do in countries where have your ID is a legal requirement and your info is given to either the police or the tourist board?
Riverside County Ca requires that I get a copy of guests ID and keep it for 3 years. Period.
You would not be allowed in the door and you would not get a refund if you do not provide it. Section 14 of the TOS states that no laws or regulations are to be broken, it’s literally the first sentence. Air cannot tell a host in my situation I cannot collect ID
RR
What RRR said. I have had zero issues with guests compliance. The first paragraph of my listing states that the guest must send copies of all IDs within 48 hours of the reservation or it will be cancelled. Not ONE SINGLE complaint. If a guest looks over my listing, this condition is hard to miss. The ones that don’t want to send ID simply don’t book, very easy.
A question: what is the big deal about giving a copy of your DL or passport to a host? What can the host do with this? No SSN…how can this lead to ID theft? Pretty much everyone has my address and my DL isn’t used for any type of credit application. What am I missing?
In my experience, guests are less likely to behave badly when they’ve shown ID. If the host asks, you can either show ID or leave and not receive a refund. If you choose to show ID, you can’t stop the host from remembering everything on that ID.
I’m not hearing anything from you that would alarm me as a host. It seems that you have a healthy respect for privacy. I don’t think you’re the kind of guest any of us would have to worry about in the first place. Unless you feel so strongly about this ID thing that you would cause a scene. Or have other additional demands like unplugging the wifi router at night. I just can’t tell if your specific insistence on the particulars of the ID thing is because you’re quirky or actually paranoid. One can be fun and interesting and the other can be terrifying. I’m guessing its the first one.
I was curious about your statement that Riverside Co., requires a copy of the ID and that it be held for 3 years so I looked up the County ordinances…which is Ordinance 495.7 which in no where does it state you are required to get a copy and retain an ID…it says you must keep a record of all transactions…see https://www.rivcocob.org/ords/400/495.7.pdf. Of course if this falls under a difference ordinance I would be curious to read it.
It has to do with sending the information over an unsecured server such as the ABB message app. I would not want my address to be given out to just anyone over an unsecured means.
I have it in the letter they sent me when I got my STR permit. I will find it and post.
RR
If you took that attitude with us then you’d be looking for alternative accommodation as you would not be checked in. It’s the same in several countries I can think of.
As far as we’re concerned, local (Spanish) law takes precedence over whatever privacy concerns you may have.
JF
Jeepers, I can find addresses on google with just a name and state…the city helps. I offer my personal email for transmission, but the guests typically send through the app. There must be a higher risk involved than address sharing. Until someone can enlighten me on such potential security risks, my POV is: The guests gets my first and last name, my address and the keys to my house, but I’m not allowed to know who they are because…
Airbnb does little vetting. In several instances, the names and locations listed on a guests Air account do not match the IDs sent. The guests “nickname” and their profile picture of a fried egg doesn’t tell me who is sleeping in my home.
Airbnb does not release a guests ID in the case of damage, theft, etc. If they don’t vet or release ID when there are issues, it’s all smoke and mirrors; the host absorbs all liability.
Why does Airbnb discourage transparency?
@Cindy_Turner_Dodd
The requirment for ID is under section 8, Item G of county ordinance no. 927
RR
Thanks RR…I appreciate the information!!!