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I have instant book so pictures don’t matter. I just cancelled on my first guest ever. It would have been her 4th stay and she has a very clear profile pic but I’m done with her. (In anticipation of someone asking why I did so, here’s the short answer. After telling her I’d send her the request for the pet fee, she replied saying she didn’t remember a pet fee, there wasn’t one when she booked. I don’t know what that means unless she is talking about her first stay back in 2014. She’s stayed again two more times, once since I remodeled the setup. I may not have had a pet fee in 2014 but I know I had one in January of 2016. And if I didn’t charge her then, I’m doing so now and it’s clearly in my listing. She strange and needy and I’m done hosting her.)
You can’t tell anything from her pic, which other than a bad wig, looks ordinary and clear.
Hmm. This is an interesting judgment to make. What is the relationship between maturity and photos in your mind? My most recent guest with no photo was over 65. In my brief chat with him he seemed mature but it was a brief chat.
In September 2017, I asked if Airbnb requires a photo for a guest. Below is their response. They advocate for it in the profile but it is not required.
Especially if I were renting a home in the home I lived in, I can see value for making sure the profile pic matches the person who shows up for the reservation.
I have used a variation of the wording below when I suggest to guests they add a picture.
From Airbnb CS: “I would refer you to following sentence:
“Your profile is a great way for others to learn more about you before they book your space or host you. When your profile is robust, it helps others feel that you’re reliable, authentic, and committed to the spirit of Airbnb.”
Profiles with pictures of animals etc. could be interpreted as unauthentic and unreliable and many hosts would not accept reservations by users like that.”
Anyone who posts a sexy boudoir picture like he did was, IMHO, immature. He was on his early 20’s and I’m just guessing he didn’t realize it was in bad taste considering the platform. It was a profile shot, as well, and he would not have been identifiable. He was new to the platform with no reviews. I think he thought the picture was more like an emoji, more about his personality than for identification.
Sorry I didn’t interpret your comment as limited to the specific example you gave earlier, I thought you were categorizing all non picture profiles that way. Oops
LOL. My students never guessed it either. It’s like my mama used to say “if it was a snake, it have bit ya.”
It’s looks. Lookism is the most insidious prejudice. I read an article, probably posted it previously, that it’s also one of the hardest biases to study because unattractive people don’t want to admit they are unattractive. Did you know some communities used to have so called “ugly laws?” Usually the best way to overcome this stigma is with money. But if you are poor, black, gay, and ugly you are going to suffer a lot. This is an old, old prejudice and one that seems to be present even in infants!!!
Anyway, don’t be surprised if, in addition to requiring everyone to use IB, Airbnb eventually drops the profile photos requirement.
Maybe I’m misunderstanding, but with respect, I don’t think Airbnb hosts care whether their guests are physically attractive or not. I think the considerations are just the usual ones. Will he/she/they behave? Will they leave my home intact? Stuff like that. Or perhaps I shouldn’t speak for others. I can just say that it’s never crossed my mind.
I suppose if I saw a photo that looked super scary, I might have second thoughts. But so far this hasn’t happened. And one of my NY guests actually was a little scary in person - I’m not sure if it came across in his profile pic, though.
What I’m saying is that prejudice based on people’s looks is real and very hard to do anything about. Will an Airbnb host who is screening their guests base any of their decisions in whole or in part on looks? I know some will and I’m going to pm some evidence.
I am also saying that you can’t determine anything about the issues you say are a concern like guest behavior based on their looks or their profile picture.
I know of some research in the finance literature (of all places) where they found that people that were considered to be looking more trustworthy in photos also turned out to be more trustworthy (i.e. they did a better job repaying money they borrowed than people that looked less trustworthy). On average, that is, when a lot of people rated the pictures for trustworthiness and the researchers averaged over a lot of borrowers.
Which leaves open both a) the possibility that a lot of people are not good at judging photos and b) the fact that a lot of people that look trustworthy turn out to be the opposite and vice versa.
Yes, when I first began airbnb 7 years ago profile photos could be listed as a requirement;
I don’t really care if the photo isn’t super clear, person appealing etc, it just starts the relationship in a uneven way that the host has full transparency but the guest is unwilling to share a simple photo.
I agree. I’m not sure why there needs to be so much discussion about showing a photo. I mean, you want to stay in someone’s home. Maybe a hotel won’t care, but I definitely care.
I sorry if that came across as offensive. I really have no intent to offend you, or anyone else. And clearly you’ve given a great deal of thought to this - more than I have. But I am not up to discussing this further, especially when it strays into the controversial realm of discrimination, because
a) I don’t really have the energy
and
b) I’m reluctant to stir the pot in what is clearly a controversial topic.
And I don’t really have any stake in this. I just think that everyone (hosts and guests) should provide photo as an important part of identifying themselves to others. And I don’t think one needs to bring discrimination issues into this. Though I realise others may not agree.
Airbnb doesn’t require photos because of discrimination. So no matter how you want to separate the issues, they are joined. If guests want to ignore your request to upload photo Airbnb is going to side with the guests.
Yes, I realise that. But if they refuse to upload a photo, I might refuse to accept their booking. Which is a hypothetical scenario, because it hasn’t happened yet. And in that event I don’t plan to state that as my reason to Airbnb. I’ll just say I’m not comfortable or something. I don’t see how Airbnb can force me to accept a booking that I don’t want. I’ve tried saying this different ways, but at the end of the day it’s all about the comfort level of hosts and guests with each other.
Isn’t Air the only advertising/booking site that publicizes photos of guests and hosts up-front/pre-booking? If so, it is an anomaly in the market.
I’m not surprised they have eased back on that former requirement if it is being met with increasing opposition by guests and hosts alike. I believe the word Air uses is “encourages” the parties to provide a photo because it promotes…blah-blah-blah.
Also, Air doesn’t place parameters on photos (clear facial, frontal, etc.), just that it be a photo.
Apologies for delay in replying. I’ve been busy scouring the snow-filled city for milk. I do understand what you say about self-protection. However, for me the idea that “the world is a dangerous place” doesn’t apply to having paying guests. I realise that I am in a safe area/country and my listing is not going to attract scammers or party people or anyone looking to be bad so what I say probably seems hollow. But it seems to me that the most dangerous people are those in power, not petty criminal Airbnb guests! No photo or pretty words is going to save you from a bad guest.
I have become simultaneously jaded and complacent with hosting so my words should be taken with a big pinch of salt (or pepper).
As a guest/client I always prefer to see a picture of the persons I will end up with. And I will always advice small businesses in that sense because to me personally it’s a selling point. I want to stay in small family hotels, and if their website allows me to judge that it indeed is a small ‘family’ business, I will be quicker to book.
In november I was looking for a Portuguese teacher/school in Porto. I didn’t want to end up in an internationally run meat factory, but into something small and local. In the end I took a good gamble, but I advised the director of the school to put some picture up on their website and a ‘Who are we?’ section.
Also as a host I prefer to see a picture: I think it makes the first contact easier. I agree with @faheem, it helps feel host and guests more comfortable around each other.
I don’t care if the guest is the most hideous person I’ve ever seen. I just like to know that the hideous person that booked is the same one that shows up.
