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Are new users now only required to enter in an email address, and provide a phone number, unless we change in our settings to require more info?
The regular phone number I call for Air says it is for urgent situations with the current reservation. If my question is not regarding the current reservation, then please visit their online help center.
Are they now getting rid of their regular customer service, and only want to help those who are having problem guests? I called 5 times yesterday and each time I was on hold, eventually I got disconnected. But today it says it is the “urgent” line.
For Instant Book locations, you can require a government ID and a recommended by another host. Guests can only Instant Book if they satisfy those standards.
I can’t turn off Instant Book to see what the requirement options are without it but it would NOT surprise me if they are lowering the bar for other reservation types in order to “encourage” owners who have a choice now, to switch over to Instant Booking.
So far, I have used twitter to send AirBNB help a message, and, then someone, slowly, gets back to me. I have found that if I make the message sound like I am concerned about the guest’s welfare and not mine, the response time is significantly faster. Even fast is if I can make it appear that I am worried about AirBNB’s reputation, especially with a new member of the “community”.
This is Labor Day weekend. I suspect that the staffing levels at the mothership are very sparse which might explain why the phone number has a new message today.
I was really hoping this would only be for Labor Day weekend. I will try next week and see if it reverts back.
Your point of view does make sense though - having the option to have verified ID, etc. but only if you use IB. The only thing is that Air would be putting themselves at more risk of chargebacks for stolen credit cards. Air does not verifiy the cardholder is the same person opening the account. So without requiring an ID, more people will try to book last minute with a stolen card.
I just turned on IB and require the max verifications. When getting a non-IB booking from a potential guest who is not fully verified (phone, email, government ID, social media), I tell them, nicely, that they need to finish the full verification before I can book them.
The company that developed the software that verifies identity - you know the part where you hold the ID up to the camera and an image is captured and analyzed? That bit was not developed by Air. It was another company and they declared bankruptcy from what I heard. I will find some references for that and get back to you.
I just went to look for the Verification feature and it’s not there anymore - do you see it? Twitter told me that it “may not be available anymore”.
I think what you’re showing me is the guests verification credentials? What I mean is the feature that hosts can check off that says guests have to go through the verification in order to book your place. It normally lives on the “manage my listings” screen (typically would show the thumbnails of all the properties you have listed). But that screen isn’t there anymore for me…it just jumps straight to my calendar when I click “manage my listings”. I can’t ask that guests be verified. I can only check off gov’t ID and host recommended under Instant Book. Hope I’m making sense! lol
Yes, that’s what I copied. No – you’re right, that has disappeared!
I just added more verbiage to my “must be verified” house rule. It now reads: Person making the reservation must be at least 25 years of age, have an actual photo of yourself, and have completed the full Airbnb verification process, including verified email address, phone number, social media link, and government issued ID (no exceptions).
… But Jumio went bankrupt. It was recently sold. I don’t really know what that means for Air, but it probably isn’t great. Bad support, little development.
I refuse to use Instant Book, for security reasons. For the same reasons I will not accept any reservation which comes to me without a real photo of the same apparent gender as the name of the inquiring guest. I may or may not google the name and location to see if I can find any further data.
Ken do you still have the Verified option under “manage my listings”? I don’t and neither does Sandy2. If you don’t, IB might be your only option to at least get a gov’t ID. Take a quick look when you have a moment!
Well, we only have one listing since we’re Home Stay type hosts, not Commercial hosts. When I select Manage Listings under the House icon, it takes me directly to my Calendar, there is no Verified option. We really don’t need Instant Book to get a government ID, since that’s not a requirement in America. Our system works just fine – if you don’t at least show a real picture we won’t let you book with us. Simple.
How do you know the “real picture” on the listing is a picture of the person making the booking? I’ve had people who had real pictures and the person who showed up looked so different I couldn’t tell it was the same person.
Obviously it’s hard to know for certain until they actually show up. But you can google search the name and location and then select Images to see if any pix come up that look remotely like the person.
Twice I’ve told inquirers "My policy is that if I can’t tell that you are a human rather than a robot, then I will not book you. Both times it was newbie’s “trying to protect themselves” who apologized abjectly and provided complete biographies.
@KenH Agreed. I google the crap out do everyone as soon as they book. I can usually find something like LinkedIn or Instagram or Facebook and see if they look like the photo they used on Air. If someone sends a very nice booking inquiry I am less likely to demand their photo be full-face, but I have asked on more than one occasion
InnClusive is not planning on revealing a guest photo until the reservation is made. But VRBO has no guest photo that I have ever seen.
I rely more on the communication I have with prospective guests than their photos (although, if they seem sketchy, I do the research after the reservation when I have their last name). I just don’t trust Air’s verification system, so the photos mean less to me than the pre-booking interaction. Innclusive seems to be aspiring to ensure a safer, better verification process, especially due to the fact that photos will not be included for the inquiry. I’m ok with that. You can still do the on-line “stalking” after the reservation, just like we do now.
Totally agree: from my so far humble experience I can say that the guests that have told something about themselves without asking in inquiries have been the nicest ones to interact in person too. When I look back the ones that gave very little information or answered in one sentence or even one word messages (“ok”) where the hardest ones to please…
