We are Hopefully “soon to be hosts.”
I am curious what hosts see if a guest goes through verification vs not doing it. And does it make any difference to you, as the host, if the guest has done the full ID verification step? Can you even tell if they have?
You can set your booking preferences to only accept verified guests… do you really want a non ID Mickey Mouse / Donald Duck trashing your place?
What Airbnb considers to be “verified” is no assurance of anything. They won’t release a guest’s full name to you, so you really have no idea if the person who booked is the same person who shows up, unless the guest has a clear face photo (which you can request, as well as requesting ID from the guest when they show up, but that requirement needs to be stated in your listing).
Personally, I don’t put much stock in Airbnb’s verifications, but it does indicate that a guest is at least normal enough to have a driver’s license or other form of official ID.
No, not for me. I accept everyone. Insta book on and I have no requirements other than a valid credit card and a pulse. I do not “vet” guests,.
So far so good, my guests see me around for the most part and I have never had an issue with a guest that required me to ask for money or involve air. Heads in beds.
RR
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I don’t verify people booking through Airbnb. It is a whole home rental containing nothing personal. Airbnb verification is enough.
If I do a private booking I will ask for copies of legal IDs.
I don’t pay attention to the AIrbnb process since I don’t have faith in it. I have Googled a few guests to see if their online presence matches the details in their inquiry or reservation. That can be gamed to but so far so good.
I never even look to see if the guest is verified. That’s mostly because a) I don’t care and b) because if someone is up to no good they would fake it anyway.
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It depends on your situation. We rent our main home and go to our holiday home 200 miles away so for us it’s good to know that at least Airbnb have verified them, if you beleive they do or not is up to you believe.
The wife and I will only accept verified ID etc… because it makes more sense, someone has gone to the effort of uploading it, I have asked people to do it when they have made an enquiry too which everyone has been happy to do.
Exactly. Airbnb are the only OTA that lure hosts in with this nonsense, and like the Host Guarantee, it can create a false feeling of security for new hosts.
With BDC I get the full name, address and telephone number, the same with VRBO. When checking guests in, we require valid ID (it’s the law here) and we know they have a valid credit card as the accommodation is essentially pre paid. That’s all we need.
We only require the pulse at check in. The bushes in our plaza await those who don’t have one post check in, and yes, I have a sturdy wheelbarrow.
JF
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I do require that guests have verified their ID with Airbnb. It’s not because I’m going to check their IDs (or even see them at all these days) but because I think it is an act of cooperation on their part and I find that people with cooperative natures are easier to deal with.
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I required the verified ID and while I don’t have any proof, I believe it at least helped eliminate some bad guests. Literally ALL of the sketchy reservation requests that I received were from guests that did not have a verified ID and of course, if you accept the request, you allow the guest to book without having a verified ID.
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Does anyone insist that names of all guests be entered in reservation? How do you do this?
I ask the guests to upload their ID to AirBnb. It weeds out dodgy people especially if they have no reviews. I feel it makes the guest accountable and supports the idea of trust in the AirBnb Community.