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Post by High Priestess on Dec 31, 2016 16:12:40 GMT
I heard this from a host who talked to Airbnb about it...so I am not absolutely sure this is the case, as it could be that it was just one Airbnb customer service person who was not well informed.
But..what the host found out from the Customer service person when he checked into this, was that AIrbnb no longer uses Government ID to do their verification. THey apparently only check social security number and phone number. And since social security number is only for people in the USA, I wonder if they check anything comparable for those from other countries. It's possible that they don't, and since people can get a phone number (or use a phone) that is not under their real name -- the upshot would seem to be that Airbnb has no effective means to verify user ID. THey do perform background checks on all users though -- criminal background checks. So it's not clear to me how they perform these checks without having sufficient means of verification.
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Post by Mabel on Dec 31, 2016 17:06:30 GMT
Hi Deborah, no Airbnb does not require a government issued ID from guests. The only information Airbnb requires for booking is 1) confirmed email address, 2) confirmed phone number, 3) profile photo and 4) payment verification. The government issued ID request requirement is left up to the host, along with an existing review of that guest, as optional requirements for Instant Booking. This can all be seen under "booking" in the listing settings. But it should also be known that if hosts do select either/or the requirements for government issued ID or an existing review, their listing will not be included in the search for Instant Book. I have tested this out numerous times always with the same result. I tested out recently during the down season when there is not much risk. It would appear to be a little trick Airbnb uses to convey the image that those using Instant Book are provided an extra measure of safety, but which of course secretly comes at a price in the search rankings. I don't know if these setting features are the same for all, or if it's just in my region.
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Post by High Priestess on Dec 31, 2016 17:21:16 GMT
I think the thing that the host I spoke with was surprised to find out, was that even if the host selects the option to require guests to have verified ID, including government ID, that Airbnb can't verify Government ID. So it's something of a misleading option to even select that, was the impression I was getting.
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Post by helgaparis on Jan 2, 2017 18:54:56 GMT
When I talked about it with CS in a problem case, the staffer told me that they send the info on to a company who verifies, but he had no access to it on his computer.a year ago, in November, just after the terror attack , a guest with an Arab name living in Britain told me, the procedure to scan his passport with his phone was the same as he had to use to create his boarding card. - I do not require it, but airbnb did for gis booking.
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