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I can’t imagine that would happen. Not that blatantly hypocritical. What does happen is that hosts might give low ratings and say they wouldn’t host again because the guest never sees that, but leave a non-commital, non-informative written review, like “Nice guests”.
Which personally I find cowardly, and inconsiderate of fellow hosts. If reviews aren’t honest and informative, there’s no point in submitting one.
Yes, it turns out, that was it! I didn’t even realise this at first because they had other reviews and I had just assumed that they must be verified if they’d stayed at other Airbnb places. But I was wrong. I explained to him about how he’d need to do the identity verification process through Airbnb, he did that, and then I accepted his booking request.
I’m really grateful for the good advice I got here!
It’s good to have certainty about a reason. Also note that in another thread some hosts with IB on were getting inquiries. It was noted that Airbnb actually encourages guests to contact hosts even when IB is on. I never knew this.
I haven’t had a listing since April 2020, but when I did, the answer is no, I didn’t accept reservations without a verified ID. When I signed up as a host in 2018, Airbnb made a big deal of verifying my own ID, they made it seem like I wouldn’t be able to open a host account unless I did so, but I later found that wasn’t the case. My opinion is that if Airbnb said I had to do it to prove who I am, then I don’t think it’s unreasonable for guests to do the same, especially since I was not allowed to take photocopies of guests’ driver’s licenses/passports like most hotels do. I’ve seen some indications that hosts have a little more leeway now, but to be honest, I don’t think most hosts should be allowed to either view or store that type of guest information due to security and privacy concerns.
I get these all the time (I have IB on), and I wouldn’t read too much into it. The fact they are older and coming to a morose event (funeral) tells me however they are not your classic candidates to throw a party, that is good news. They are ‘just’ retired and that is another plus, young enough to still be cool.