Tag Archives: airbnb verification nightmare

Validation Required by Airbnb – National ID Card not Accepted

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All of a sudden, in the middle of the busy tourist season, Airbnb decided to force me to validate myself, again, by asking me several personal questions, again, and submitting a form of ID. I tried to comply, by submitting high quality, high resolution color scans of my national ID card, the only form of ID I have. I do not have a passport, and I do not have a driver’s license.

However, the automated system on Airbnb does not seem to accept my government-issued, national ID card. Their automated system keeps rejecting both my scans or the Airbnb app scans of the ID they asked me to provide. Today I went to my local police station and obtained a newer version of my ID that includes all information printed in both Greek and English, as well as a brand new photo of myself. I tried again submitting my new ID this time, but the automated Airbnb system keeps rejecting that one as well.

Airbnb has suspended my payments because I have not validated myself using their automated system, and all the representatives I’ve talked to keep telling me there is nothing they can do. I have more guests coming in the next few days to stay at my properties and know I won’t receive any funds owned to me by Airbnb for these reservations. I am at my wit’s end, and don’t know what to do.

Technical Problems Keep me Signed out of Airbnb

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My problems started with my first attempt to set up an account with Airbnb a year or so ago. I started with the email I normally use. They somehow got it misspelled and started setting it up. I don’t remember why now but I was not able to complete the setup either under my correct email or the email they had on record.

Eventually I got them on the phone and tried all their suggestions. They could not make it work so I asked them to delete everything, email address and all, and I would start over. They said they had done so but anytime I entered my email it went to the incorrect address but wouldn’t let me set up under either account, as it had done before. I got a new email address and eventually got set up.

Now I want to get back into it and it says my password is wrong. I tried options to reset the password but it just keeps rejecting it or saying: “Something went wrong. Try again”. I made contact with Airbnb help via chat. They asked me to wait a moment. Before they came back it timed me out. They emailed and asked if I still needed help with a link to get back to them but it required my password to get in. Again, the reason I was trying to contact them was my password would not work.

I got in the first time through a link that said something about signing in instantly. I have not gotten that to work since. I had given Airbnb my phone number and said I would prefer to talk but they did not call me or make any attempt to get back with me, other than the one email link. I have two reservations set up through Airbnb but wanted to get back and get a phone number to confirm them and will soon want to make another if I can sign in.

From all the other complaints I see, it looks like they may have a poorly functioning website and are not trying to do anything about it. I have probably spent 20 or more hours altogether trying to deal with Airbnb. Total frustration.

I Just Want to Talk to a Human at Airbnb Customer Service

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I feel that all this is related and I have not been able to get anyone to confirm that my account is secure. I am going to post this here and also follow up with the suggestions above. About ten months ago I was told that my app and account were not working correctly because I had multiple email accounts; probably because I accidentally signed in by phone or Facebook or both so this support person had combined the accounts into one and closed the others. I have never been able to use the app the same since.

I have received multiple emails requesting me to verify my personal information and download my identification and forward them to Airbnb only to be told that they were not clear so I needed to send them again (this was done after I had used Airbnb several times and paid through Airbnb several times). Then I was told that none of this actually happened and “I was confused”… yes, those were the words of a support person. Another one said that they assured me that the accounts were closed and the history that was supposed to be merged was just lost.

I stayed at another host’s home, though it was quite difficult to reserve because Airbnb kept saying to try again later. Finally it worked and everything was great. It was their first Airbnb and I was happy to help them out by cleaning up a few things and such. We had made arrangements to stay with them again in a few months. After about a month, I received an email from Airbnb stating that they weren’t happy with our stay and asked what I could do to make it better in the future. I immediately went to text them to see what the problem was and it said that the host was not accepting messages right now.

That was over a month ago. I have tried everything to get ahold of them and every support person has given me every excuse in the book. Keep in mind that the host has not left us anything negative, only positive reviews, and there is no reason for them not to want to explain even if they didn’t want us to stay there again. I have not been able to get anywhere with Airbnb and even requested a full refund for our stay there because we had to clean up from the people before us.

I didn’t mind before all this mess but I still have heard nothing. Some of the support message simply say “this support case has been closed” without any other response. I just want to know why without guessing, someone to confirm that my account is secure, and all of this is actually being done by Airbnb even if it is very unprofessional.

Epic $4000 Communication Fail in Deactivated Superhost Account

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It’s summer in Oklahoma and very hot. My partner and I have traveled here from Louisville to say goodbye to his 91-year-old grandma and to clean out 91 years’ worth of stuff from her home… so many things. Also, so many tiny rodent roommates.

As a Superhost, I wanted to make sure my Airbnb listing was maintained to my standards while we were away, so I blocked all the dates out on our Airbnb calendar for the time we were away and made sure to have my phone around, Airbnb notifications on, in case I was needed by upcoming guests or had a reservation request. I checked in on the app daily for messages just to make sure that things were fine. No new news, just two pending reviews that I would take care of on the long car ride home.

Then, from out of nowhere, there was a message from a guest asking why we had canceled her upcoming stay? “That’s weird,” I thought, “the only guests I want to cancel are the mice who had been illegally staying with grandma.”

I quickly sent my guest a response letting her know that I was on the road but I would look into it as soon as I got back, which by this time was only a day away. I got home and sat down in front of my computer where I still had no new messages from Airbnb. There were no notifications, but I couldn’t seem to view my reservations.

“Huh, so weird,” I think… “what is going on?” I looked at my upcoming earnings… and there were none. Nothing. Then the next guest I was preparing for was also suddenly gone. Something was terribly wrong. I frantically searched my email for clues, and there it was: an email that my account will be deactivated within 24 hours if I do not confirm my account sent less than a week ago.

Are you kidding me? 24 hours? An email! In my whole life as a host I have never communicated with Airbnb via email. Never. We have apps and online accounts. My partner’s number is signed up to get a text for every message, request, and inquiry. Yet they decided to contact us about something so incredibly important through an email?

There should have been a massive red bar on my account that says “Check your email for account verification or you will be deactivated in 24 hours.” There should have been a phone call. There should have been a text. Literally any additional way of getting in touch with us besides an email. To be honest had I seen the email, I may not have even trusted it because they were asking for confirmation of payment details, which seemed suspicious in and of itself.

So now I wait. No one could answer exactly why my account had been chosen for confirmation/deactivation in the first place but it’s been “passed along” to the technical people and they’ll get back to me. Eight hours and two more phone calls later, I’ve been assured it’s underway at the technical department with the highest priority.

Meanwhile, I have an apartment sitting empty and unbookable during the busiest time of the year, $4000 of cancelled reservations from Airbnb and countless lost hours of labor sending correspondence with those who had booked. I wish I could send all that mouse poop I cleaned out of grandma’s house priority freaking mail directly to Airbnb right now.

I wish I were still 10 years younger for verification

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Hello, I am a 65 year old French citizen traveling extensively in Southeast Asia. I have been a user of Airbnb for three or four years, a guest about 20 times with 5 to 10 reviews from hosts, all positive. My ID has been checked (photos, passport copy, email address and phone numbers) many times. Airbnb still continues to ask me to send them photos and I could not book any new rentals for the last six months; they kept telling me :”It’s difficult to see you in the photo you took of yourself”; “to help us make sure it’s you, the photo of your face needs to match the photo that’s on your ID.”

I wish my face now would be the same as the one ten years ago. Passports are valid for up to ten years in France. I tried to change my profile photo (not sure which one they check anyway). I suspect their facial recognition is just automatic and crap, not done by humans. Anyway I quit. I write this because I would like hosts to know that because of Airbnb’s weak support (no way to reach them with a specific problem), they probably lose many opportunities.

As for me, either I use other providers now, or I contact hosts directly that I found on Airbnb (but now Airbnb does not get a commission anymore, which is fair enough given their weak customer experience). Only the selection is better on their site, but it is of no use as I cannot rent there anyway. Thank you for reading.

Driver’s License Photo Looks Different Than I Do Today

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I only wanted to make some reservations for our first family vacation to Hawaii this coming June. I was so excited. I made the first reservation with no problem – a fabulous little condo in Maui for a week. We also needed some accommodations for the Big Island, so I proceeded. When I clicked to book them, I was told that I needed to submit a photo of my driver’s license and then a selfie to verify my identification. Sounded reasonable.

It’s not an exaggeration when I say that I must have submitted those photos 17 times – I lost count. My license photo was taken either years ago – I’m pushing 50 now and have aged… well, normally, but I’ve aged. I had a significantly different hair style and color back then, in addition to the age difference. No matter how many times I took that selfie using different lighting, taking my glasses off (even though it made it so that I couldn’t see the phone), putting my hair up, leaving it down, smiling, not smiling – oh my goodness. I could not get it to match my license.

My reservations were cancelled and my money was refunded. So, I found the customer service number (no small feat) and called. I spoke with a polite and helpful rep, but his ultimate answer to my concern was that I needed another driver’s license. Well, no kidding. It happens to be up for renewal this year and of course that will happen. Even if I could get to DMV today, there’s no way it will be in my hands for two to four weeks, and time is of the essence in making these reservations.

The rep told me that he couldn’t get a person to look at the difference between the two photos, that it was all done by algorithm. He is going to escalate the issue, but I don’t have a lot of confidence at this point. Keep in mind that I get through airport security with this identification. The photo doesn’t look dissimilar; it just may take a second glance. Honestly, what does a person have to do to give Airbnb money? I’ve already started looking at other sites, such as VRBO, but I was really happy with the selections that we made with Airbnb. I am so frustrated and discouraged.

First-Time Airbnber Realizes Customer Support Doesn’t Care

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Last week we decided to use Airbnb due to the size of our group and the need to have our dogs go with us. After I tried contacting potential hosts who never bothered to reply, We finally found a great host in Miami, accommodating and flexible.

On to sign up and verification. I went through the process as required, submitted everything via their app, even more than once for the ID after I received a message saying that it was a blurry pic. I paid, got back a confirmation and I said to my family, “That was easy!”

…not so fast. After about thirty minutes I got a refund to my card. I called, and they could not tell me why, but said they would look into it. The agent said I couldn’t reserve anything until the verification process was complete. Why did the system allow me to? I waited for verification with the clock ticking, and… nothing.

I called Airbnb and a representative answered after a +25 minute wait. I explained multiple times what I was trying to accomplish, that the reservation had been made and I was waiting for verification. The phone connection was bad and not easy to understand. Once he understood what was going on, he said “I will put you on hold and reach out to the verification group.” He asked for a contact number and promised to call me back if we got disconnected.

As feared, I got disconnected. I waited almost an hour for a call back. After a long wait, nothing. The clock was ticking and I feared the potential loss of my reservation. I called again: long wait, same terrible connection. I explained to Airbnb the exact same things I had already said plus the connection issue and the additional hour – now taking over 2.5 hours to wait for verification. The answer to this was that I needed to wait for the first representative to call me back because the resolution is in their hands.

So I did. I hung up and waited for another 45 minutes. This went on for the next three hours after calling back, getting disconnected multiple times, and so on. Everyone had the same answer: nobody wanted or could escalate the matter; I simply had to wait for that first representative. No one could tell me what the issue was or how long their resolution time was supposed to be. What if his shift ended? Or went on break? Or worse, just did not care?

Over 3 hours late, and I still had not heard back. In the meantime I received a message from tech support that “someone will be calling me in about 10~15 minutes”… I was not about to hold my breath for that one. I had already lost confidence.

During this time I had communicated several times with the host explaining the nightmare. He kindly said to not worry, he would wait. I continued waiting for that call back, so I called back. Another wait, another explanation, and again – I have to wait until the original representative resolves it, from whom I still have not heard. Wait, call again… another wait, another voice.

Then I was told that the picture I had submitted was blurry and they could not tell who I am, which is really not true; it was perfect clear. I was told to resubmit. This was fine with me, except there was no way to do it. When I tried to resubmit, on the app or the website, the system said “OK you are all set” because I had already done this step. I explained this to the agent who did not have an answer or solution. No escalation, no other person to talk to… simply wait for that first guy. What kind of policy is this?

After I called back in the fifth hour, the representative was a bit more helpful, suggesting to try to make the reservation again because sometimes it works. I tried, but was not so lucky. I was told that I could not reserve anything because I was missing a step. I’m so tired and pissed at this point, ready to give up.

After almost six hours of this, I was finally verified using the last picture. I was able to finally pay again and got another confirmation. I waited before calling victory just in case. Finally the host contacted me a said he got the reservation also. I only hung in there because the host was accommodating and the place was what we needed. Over six hours of an Airbnb nightmare to verify and reserve. That’s it. There may be some bits of missing details, but that’s the core of the issue.

Airbnb Account Confirmation: An Exercise in Frustration

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Using Airbnb has been an exercise in frustration from the very beginning. Just signing up with them involved multiple headaches: confirm this, give us this ID, confirm that, wait for two deposits to arrive in the bank (I don’t remember if the deposits ever arrived). Finally my account was set up with them, so now I could book, right?

Today I tried to book my third Airbnb trip, and what do you know: “We have to confirm your account, so we’ll deposit two small amounts in your account. They should arrive immediately, but it may take two or three days.”

Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this website supposed to provide service to travelers? If I need to book a room and have to wait 2-3 days (or longer, or forever) to confirm my account (which has already been confirmed) before I can book a room, what’s the point? By the time my confirmed account is again confirmed, what if the room is no longer available? Seriously, the concept of people renting out rooms in the homes is great, but Airbnb’s execution is awful.

For a company valued at over $30 billion, can they really not find an efficient and effective way to let their customers book when they need to without running into roadblocks (server error, confirmation messages, etc)? Maybe have customers enter their password – wow, what a concept – to confirm who they are, or the last four digits of their credit card number. Do you really need to confirm an account that’s already been confirmed, or see my bank statement (the other option, which is even more intrusive)?

When I tried to contact the company about this, I got sent into an endless loop. After hitting the “Contact Us” button, it took me to my last booking, as though that must be my problem. Is there really not a customer service team member that I can contact? You’d think for the 15% commission Airbnb takes from the hosts and customers (which is robbery, by the way), they would be able to hire a customer service team that could be available to personally address customer issues. I don’t know who is making the big bucks at the top, but I’m fed up with the “server errors,” confirmation messages, and very poor customer “service” this company provides. If you’re going to charge such high commissions to both hosts and users, could you at least provide a system that is effective, efficient, and consistently functional, and a little customer “service” when it isn’t?