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The hotel isn’t the important part. I could have inserted STR of a Yurt, Houseboat, or a Dubai Highrise. The emphasis is on the concept of privacy and anonymity (aka Freedom and escape) historically attached to travel and lodgings.
For many people, its an invasive and, in this case, useless annoyance. And i
t can really turn a mood when you are 'parented, or distrusted, especially at the beginning of a holiday.
Not sure how you see asking for the names of the guests staying in one’s home as having anything to do with “parenting” or being distrusted. Sounds like a reaction a teenager would have.
In my opinion, I see the biggest advantage of knowing the names of guests, being able to review the entire group. I had a situation recently where the booker was wonderful, his friend were not. I was able to explain in the review about this particular group and now other hosts will be able to decide it they would or would not like to host these guys. Without their names, they possibly could go on destroying other property.
In addition knowing the number of guest helps you to set up the home and beds appropriately.
As a guest I always include the names in my party, I think it makes the host more comfortable to know we are responsible and plan to take good care of the property.
I’m not a teenager but I could definitely see myself having that reaction. Some hosts on here seem really controlling. I read their posts and think “Ugh, I’d never stay with them.” But I don’t say it because, who cares? I’m one person. They may have a good reason, they may not. My task as a guest is to find the right fit for my trip.
I have a group that I travel with in the summer (well, used to pre pandemic) and twice we have rented entire homes. Neither host asked for all the names but I voluntarily provided it for the host in Boston but not in Costa Rica. I think for me the difference was that the Boston host only rents his home and isn’t a corporate manager. The CR home was run by a property manager. It felt less personal.
Hopefully every owner discloses the need for all guest names in the listing so the person booking can decide in advance how they feel about it. If, after reading a listing a host seems like they are more interested in me catering to them than them catering to me I will probably move on to another listing.
I think the reaction depends partly on where you’re from. I’ve stayed many places in Europe where your identification information is copied or recorded as a matter of course (not sure if that is applied equally to citizens vs foreign visitors). There is a different approach in the U.S. – although we’re happy to give away all our privacy on the internet and on our mobile phones, it seems!
You can validate someone wanting to ask you for your name and ID all you want. This is what most people were talking about, asking a name and an ID. Both are ridiculous. I am guessing you have never been so disadvantaged as to have lived a past in a geographical consistent hotbed of serious political conflict and devastation for families, and where producing your ID or asked your name is devastatingly stressful.
But you don’t even need that reason! I am not the petulant teenager. I don’t like to waste time, and I don’t see the need for someone to ask for my full name, or address or ID at the outset. It puts me and a great many others off staying with people that are that invasive.
Like everyone else on the planet, if something really goes wrong, call the police. They don’t need your help to find that information out.
What good would even a name do for you? Please tell me. What are you going to do or prevent knowing that persons name? What is the end result? T
he guests of guests are not legally responsible for any damages. I am sure an ethical person would stand up most of the time and offer to cover anything they did. And this happens 90% of the time, that people are good people. To put that much effort into mistrusting people at the outset, or be so nervous and on guard, indicates to me that this is probably not the right business for that person to be in.
All of my guests’ first and last names have been on their reservation, so it’s never been an issue for me, nor do I ask to see ID.
A guest has the option to not book a listing if a host is asking for those things and they don’t want to provide it.
But if a host feels more secure having that info, it’s not for me to judge their reasons, which may be quite legitimate, it certainly doesn’t indicate they are mistrusting or nervous, nor that they are in the wrong business.
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True, you are just one person but with @Icklemiss and me feeling the same way, that’s three of us. So if there are three people in this thread who think that way then there are thousands of potential guests out there who feel exactly the same.
It’s different, of course, if local government requires all names and IDs but it’s honestly beyond me why others want it. I’ve banged on about it often enough here but in ‘the olden days’ we didn’t know if Mr Smith was using an alias and knew nothing whatsoever about him until he landed on the doorstep. It surprises me that some hosts talk about entitled guests yet behave in a pretty entitled way themselves.
When we travel, my husband loves doing all that planning and booking stuff. I hate it. So bookings are almost always in his name. In the US and in the UK, I can’t remember being asked for my ID or name - ever.
I stayed in a lot of B&Bs in the UK in the 70s and 80s, and in pensiones in France, and never felt (not wanted to be) anonymous. Nor are my guests anonymous or all the same. If they want anonymity they can go to a hotel. They get all the privacy they want here, far more than they would get at a hotel.
You’re comparing apples and oranges. My guests are NOT looking for anonymity.
If there is a fire or emergency, I want their name. If they’re smart, they will also tell me who to call in an emergency. I want to know the names of everyone staying here just in case that happens.
But then many of my guests come here to go hiking in back country. I want to know the time they left, which trail, and when they expect to be back. I discourage folks from hiking alone (a friend did CPR on her brother for 20 mins last week waiting for the helicopter with medics to arrive, and if she hadn’t been with him he’d be dead).
So yes, you can go somewhere else and be anonymous. And no one will know where to look for you or who to call when you go hiking and disappear, or when there’s a fire, or you have a seizure. If you’re staying in MY house, sleeping above me, I want to know (and I have the right to know) who you are.
If I want anonymity (or at least privacy) I can also find an Airbnb that meet my needs. All guests aren’t alike and neither are hosts.
Does someone have an example of wording for a welcome message that requests the names of all the guests? I saw one in a different thread, but I don’t remember where.
Here’s another reason to have all the names, not so serious as fires and other emergencies: My rental is a separate apartment, and I live in the building so I often bump into my guests in the courtyard. They may have introduced themselves when they arrived, but I usually don’t remember their names!
I just say something after thanking them along the lines of “when you have a moment, please add guests to the reservation or you can just message us their full names.” No one has had an issue with that approach so far
This has not been the case for me, even when all the guests in the reservation are listed in the reservation with their verified accounts.
That’s when it IS a problem, and then it’s too late…
Selective use of the quote facility alert…
What I actually said was:
JF
I like to get guests full names as I think it gives accountability.
Fair enough. You are correct there! I was too tired I guess. Thanx fir the clarification.
You
I am not sure how you would know what your guests wanted in this regard. I value my guests privacy so have never asked them. 
My presumption regarding guests who book with me is that guests who book a private room home-share are not concerned with anonymity. And if they are, they shouldn’t be booking a home-share listing.
And expecting guests to be forthcoming with their names has nothing to do with respecting their privacy. Peoples’ names are not private, protected information.
Think anyone could enroll in university, apply for a job, get a driver’s license or a passport, rent a car, a kayak, or even book a hotel room if they refused to give their name, maintaining that it was private information they weren’t willing to share?