Unwanted guest

[Jean332]

I had a booking from a person with no photograph or details on airbnb.  I cancelled this enquiry however the booking went through .What can I do now.  Do not want this person and think it might be a scam....any ideas

[Emiel1]

hello @Jean332 ,

if you did decline the inquiry, how can it be the booking went through ?

Maybe contact Airbnb, phone number in here:

Contact Airbnb - A Community Help Guide [UPDATED]

best regards, Emiel

[Donald28]

I had a guest book and she had no picture at all. I thought you HAD to post a selfie in order to use airbnb as both a hist and a guest? How she got away with not having a picture but still being able to use the site is beyond me. Anyway, I called airbnb and the CSR called the guest and walked her through how to upload a pic. It wasn't a scam at all but very well could have been. You have no idea who will arrive if they dont have a picture. 

[Matthew285]

@Donald28 in the past Airbnb did require a photograph before booking.

However, the analytics on guest behavior revealed that requiring the guest to upload a photo before being allowed to make a booking caused a large number of prospective guests to abandon the site at that point and not make a booking at all.

Airbnb's thought was that (from the host's perspective) a booking without a photo was better than no booking at all. Also, the host is free to ask the guest to upload a photo *after* the booking is made, and generally can cancel a booking penalty-free if the guest refuses to cooperate with a request for a photo.

Believe it or not, it was a change made to try to get more business for the hosts.

[Helen3]

If you don't have IB turned on, no-one should be able to book without you approving it. 

If a booking has been made that you didn't approve, call Airbnb straight away and ask them to cancel the booking.

I have it as part of my booking conditions for IB that only guests with clear photos who tell me about why they are visiting my area and why they chose my place can book.

Not having a photo or profile information is not necessarily a bad thing, for some strange reason Airbnb has changed it so it is no longer mandatory to have a photo so some new guests don't,

Review your listing to put security measures in place that make you comfortable.