Airbnb when can we get mandatory completion of guests profiles including images of them and not their dogs or children? After all we are welcoming them into our homes, they know all about us and often all we get to make a decision is the date they joined and maybe a photograph - of someone or something! I’ve now begun posting on my listings that preference is given to those with a completed profile. What do you do?
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Most of my guests have images of themselves but I have instant book so it doesn’t matter to me.
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My IB preference is to only accept guests with a positive review, which makes it more likely they have a completed profile. I am still iffy on IB. I have only been using for a few months after six years or renting, but the new controls make it a bit less worrisome.
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Me too. I’ve had several guests with either non-personal images or ones that make them look like scary people. No problems so far. Truly, I don’t see what difference it makes.
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Most of my guests have had decent photos so far. But there was a couple that weren’t too great. Like one person was wearing sun glasses and they were standing like 20 metres from the camera so they were tiny in the photo. Unrecognisable.
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Well it makes a difference if you are trying to keep older people or black people or fill in the blank people out of your listing. I’m not saying Glad is doing that but since ABB is under the gun to try to prevent discrimination I could see them taking the stance that no personal picture is required.
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True, and I welcome older people and black people 
Any people in fact. People can lie so much on their profile pics. I’ve seen so many real estate agents’ business cards where the photograph was taken at least twenty years ago! I have several FB friends whose photographs are so old and not at all what they look like now.
A personal photograph is fantastic though. But they so rarely reflect the real person - just in my experience
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You can always ask members who send an inquiry to complete their profile. That’s what I do.
Even if I don’t mind their age or color.
As long as they are sexy 
I tell them to follow Airbnb guidelines and complete their profile with a face photo, a presentation and an offline verification before I answer their questions. If they don’t, they’re not really interested in booking my listing.
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A photo is a must to have an idea of who is going to be showing up. I’ve never used it as a deciding factor, but I wouldn’t accept anyone without a photo. To me, it says they take ownership of their actions.
As much as someone can lie in their photo, they can do the same in their profile description. @konacoconutz can tell you a thing or two about bogus profile descriptions, such as the “easygoing couple” that was anything but that.
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Both of my worst guests ever had real photos with descriptions. The party barfly had a regular picture and described herself as " a quiet professional From Portland looking for sun." She even sent the link to her dog collar business, and she seemed very legit! Yet we know how that ended.
I had another guest use a real photo and describe themselves as an adventurous couple from Alberta up for island fun, and we know how that turned out.
Yet I accepted a mysterious guest who used a cartoon which claimed he was “defragging King” and this was someone who had no reviews and did not communicate at all. Turned out he worked at Amazon and is originally from Chile, and was sweet, non demanding and grateful.
moral: You just never can tell about guests!!!
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No you just never can tell with a guest, I’ve taken many with only profile pic and zilch about themselves and the picture of their kids or dogs and also nothing in their profile but most send nice emails to introduce themselves. And I’ve still to have a rubbish guest!
It makes all the difference to a single host for instance, nothing to do with race, colour or anything else. I welcome anyone into my home. And that’s just it, they know all about us so it’s only fair that before you accept a guest you have at least an idea of who you’re welcoming into your home.
A bit different if it’s a separate listing I guess.
And totally as @felixcat says, you need to know that who is booking, is who is actually staying. There have been several issues on this forum with that also. I ask everyone now to complete their profile, especially if they’ve not told me anything about themselves in their email. These are all intuitive pointers to me.
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My friend in New Orleans is exactly the same way. She has to be. Too many weirdos. I’ve been a bit more flexible depending on other factors. I also had a couple quasi-famous people who didn’t use face photos, not that I would know who they are from them anyway.
My experience has been the same as other hosts have said - the lack of photo or presence of photo has not predicted how the experience went AT ALL. My first booking request has a picture of a pineapple with sunglasses. I did request a photo. Best guest ever. The other experience was a photo that made the guest look a little ‘off’. I was very nervous. Second best guest ever.
What I would like are guests that can inquire or use IB only after their profile is complete as to payment and ID verification, including online presence.
you can always say “I don’t mind your booking without a good photo, but profile and verifications are a must. And, you MUST put up your photo when I accept your reservation”
Well I just received an inquiry and the potential guest did not leave much out. And a real photo too. I don’t know that I can meet her expectations…but it is only an inquiry. This is the bio:
I’m a stay at home mom with an education background. I was a teacher and a school counselor before I had my babies. So, I like to learn, especially when I travel and I really love to travel and explore new places. I like to take my children to places they learn about and I like to travel with my husband without our children on occasion too. Occasionally, I am even looking for a place to travel to with friends. We like places on the water and in the mountains to escape from our busy lives but we also like places in the thick of a city to get a taste for the locals too. When I travel, I like a combination of relaxation and adventure but wherever I stay, it has to have a sense of quiet. If I can hear through the walls next door, I’m not happy. That means people are in my space.
We travel a lot and like to stay in nice hotels with modern amenities, high quality bedding, very clean and dust free with luxurious extras. I’m not talking lifestyles of the rich and famous but probably nicer than what most of my friends and family deem nice. I like a place that is spacey and airy and typically with a nice view. My favorite travel destinations so far have been Maui, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Venice, Florence, Italian Riviera, Austria, Vancouver, Seattle, Sonoma, Sante Fe, Savannah, Park City, Sedona. I have a lot more places I would like to travel to and experience in the United States and abroad. Greece, Croatia, and Nashville are at the top of my list right now.
I’m kind of a foodie and detest chain restaurants. When I am in a new place, I like to go where the locals go and really experience a place. I like to try the foods that are unique to an area when I travel there but there are some foods that are just too exotic. I like fresh food and eat fairly healthy and even as a family, we dine at nice restaurants. I’m not a big fan of touristy areas or really crowded areas or spaces.
My book tastes are rather eclectic but I really enjoy historical fiction and character driven books - The Other Boleyn Girl, Water for Elephants, Silver Linings Playbook, Wild, and riveting books - Gone Girl, Defending Jacob and even some YA books since I taught high school English - Fault in our Stars, Eleanor and Park, Blood Red Road, Hunger Games, Divergent, Beautiful Disaster.
My favorite TV shows are Outlander, Game of Thrones, Meet the Goldbergs, Nashville, Girls, The Mindy Project, Glee, American Idol.
I also have eclectic taste in music. I like alternative music, pop music, a little bit of country, dance, acoustic no name people singing at a bar. I just really like music. Not a big fan of rap or hip hop and though I appreciate classical music, I like songs with lyrics.
Five things I can’t live without: my family (husband and kids included), my daily walks with my dog, my morning cup of green tea, my straightening iron, lip gloss and mascara and eye cream.
My life motto is to live, really live and experience and look around at the world and try not to caught up in the day to day. Enjoy the little things in life, the details. It drives me crazy when people fly through everything. Be grateful for what you have and recognize that it could always be worst. Put things in perspective regularly and reflect on what is happening in your life and what you can do differently to be happy and healthy. Talk to people, even the person standing next to you in line. Have a good sense of humor about things but be a little quirky. It’s more interesting. And, don’t be boring. Good God, that’s the worst. Break the rules and routine sometimes.
Reads like a dating profile. Not my cup of tea I’m afraid. You’d better get some linens advice from the resident linens expert (can’t remember who it is…Sandy/anonymous?)
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Very interesting person, but probably a royal handful. That is a lot of information to include, in a ~booking agency~ profile?
Addendum: Was thinking of same thing K9, perfect for a dating service, except for the husband part.
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I’m sorry that is just a little bit too weird for me. Decline.
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While the bedding is somewhat considered high quality…the linens will not be ironed, and the pillow cases may not exactly match. I sure wouldn’t want to disappoint! I don’t know that I could meet the cleanliness expectations. I do have 5 stars for cleanliness, but there is no way I can assure the entire home is dust free. Just cannot do it. I do not wash all of my blinds in between every guest. I definitely do not pull out everything from against the wall in between guests, etc.
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It’s too much to read!!
…
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