I am really troubled by the fact that Airbnb allows people to make up any name that they want for their profile. It never occurred to me that the username did not have to match the verified documents. I didn’t realize this until a guest introduced herself as Tanya and then I saw her username was KashOut Nannie. Airbnb said that guests could use any name they want. It’s shocking to me. At the very least Airbnb should add a button that allows me to only accept guests who have usernames that match their credentials. I never, ever feel that Airbnb gives a damn about hosts.
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Hi Lauren, i personally would not have accepted that booking if the username was inappropriate or uncomfortable to me. But if you’re on instant book, you’re allowed to decline that booking with no penalties by selecting “I’m uncomfortable with the reservation”. I suggest you get on a call with the CS rep and have them remove that booking for you - its the surest way to ensure you’re not penalized for it.
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I had someone book with the name Invisible Vengeance Visits and no profile pic or reviews. They did change their name after a few days. They probably had a hard time booking places with that name.
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I’m wondering why it’s so important to know the guest’s real name when they book?
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I guess its not about whether the guest has a real name in this instance, but the fact that the made up name was uncomfortably inappropriate. I wouldn’t have minded something like “Tya23750” - something neutral.
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What’s the worst that could happen? Wait, probably this:
This happened 3 months ago at an Airbnb rental about 8 miles north of me. The guest’s name was “Jason Bourne”
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I don’t know anything about this story but I suspect the name the guest used was not the problem. I don’t know if most of my guests were using their “real” names.
Sure Airbnb could have a different policy. Also the host could say “I need your real name.” Why aren’t hosts discussing these issues with the guest?
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If KashOut Nannie were ever to wipe your place out of contents, ABB will say they can’t share the personal info on file.
But a lot of hosts say it gives them a “feeling of protection” so they like it and are afraid to deal with a direct booking where you can actually require the info. They actually admit to knowing they don’t know the real ID, but they like that “feeling” it gives them.
You can require ID and rental agreement. Airbnb can’t tell you no.
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Agree. The same thing could’ve happened if the guest had used their real name. The way Airbnb works, you would have to take the guest to court to get any compensation from them anyway. So, I don’t care if my guests use their real name or have their real photo on their profile. I might care more if I was a shared-space host, but I’m not.
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Crazy. As someone who doesn’t live with my guests, it’s even more important to be sure the person who is booking claims to be that person. It’s easier for guests in a whole home separate space to do things - than under the nose of a host who lives under the same roof.
It seems like you could just ask the guest for their real name.
Actually for hosts it’s also just a “user name”. I hadn’t really thought about it but the name I use is a nickname, not my real name.
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What good does it do you to know their “real” name? How do you know it’s real? If they show you an ID, can you spot a fake? And even if you can, it still may not be the same person whose ID was provided to Airbnb when setting up the account.
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I try to take preventative measures and most scammers don’t go through the trouble of creating fake IDs. And if they leave a trail at my place I will be sure to try my best to press any charges of defrauding an innkeeper. I also require signed rental agreement to match the ID. if you think that is hopeless, then by all means just do what your’e doing…
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But as you don’t use Airbnb why is this an issue for you? @cabinhost surely the platform you promote all the time on here allows you to specify ID requirements ?
For me, I like to have their full name so I can check their social media just to see if they’re teens. I had teens book my house and they had a party causing damage, so I don’t want teens booking my house with no adult supervision.
In my house rules it says that their name on their profile has to be their legal last name and that the photo says that it needs to be an unobstructed view of the face of the host. I imply that that may be asked to show govt. photo id upon arrival. (I never check in my guests.) but I do check the camera.
This seems to all go to show that it’s much easier for those of us hosts in jurisdictions where it’s mandatory to collect full names and passport details from all guests. Doesn’t stop them having a “false” name on their account, of course, though, perhaps naively, I can’t really see what the point is of doing that …
Cabinhost isn’t an Airbnb host. If I did direct bookings with strangers I’d also ask for ID.
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Ah, I suppose that’s different. My insurance company required that I submit my listing information from every platform that I use (currently only Airbnb), and they did not require me to have rental agreements or photocopy IDs, etc.
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