I think they’re mostly caught up now. This was 1999 the country has changed since then. My cousin is black and married to a Romanian which I’m very happy about. Everyone on her side of the family loves him.
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I’m not being racist here, I am genuinely concerned about letting out my apartment to people who won’t then leave when their stay is over. I don’t care where they are from. When I get a request I always try to check people out, send them a message to ask more and to highlight a few things about my apartment, and I like to see a photo of their face. My method is not foolproof but it seems to work for me. Airbnb ask people to upload a profile pic so I am not alone in wanting to see who my guests might be.
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What have people who squat properties got to do with immigrants? What evidence do you have that squatters use booking through BNB to illegally occupy properties in the UK?
If you are not being racist and are concerned about squatters why is the subject of your first post about immigrants - you don’t mention the issue of squatters at all !
I’d think most squatters in the UK are Brits to be honest.
Airbnb has:
- a setting where people must have a verified Govt ID before they can book your place
- Huge extra charges for anyone who overstays.
Like all people who live your house, there has to be a certain degree of trust involved, but is this risk of this really any greater than tenants overstaying their lease? Or just a newer risk that makes the papers more? I certainly have had more problems with (Scottish- not that nationality should be at all relevant, but it seems to be foremost in your mind) tenants than I’ve ever had with any international airbnb guests.
I totally understand why you might worry about people staying on unwantedly but how on earth does this link to immigration? Explains a lot though- I have a brilliant former Airbnb guest (now good friend) who pretty much the moment he stepped on the doorstep was full of assurances that he wasn’t an illegal immigrant, wasn’t a threat to me etc. I was horrified that any guest of mine felt the need to justify themselves to me to that extent when they first stepped in the door, but it turns out some of his experiences with fellow Scottish hosts hadn’t been that great. Why? He’s an IT professional who probably earns about 5 times what I do, but he’s from Eastern Europe. The Daily Mail has a lot to answer for.
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Aye the daily mail. Horrible how many people buy the lazy journalism in that paper.
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Then why would a photograph make a difference? Can you identify an illegal immigrant by their face??? In our area there are loads of illegals and I’ve probably hosted some of them but no-one has ever squatted. I think that the solution might be to be sure that you know how to get guests out if they overstay. This is your responsibility, after all.
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Says the person with a weed as her profile pic 
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Count me in as someone who doesn’t worry about the profile picture. If you are concerned about who stays at your listing just start a conversation with them and try to determine more about them that way.
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It’s a guilty pleasure of mine! Don’t judge!
I can honestly say some with cartoons as profile pics have been way better guests than those with normal pics.
Picture is important. I won’t accept someone without. When they contact me or reserve I go out to social media. Linked In, FB etc. I want to see that the pic on here is similar on the other sites and this is not someone spouting hate speach and appears to have good relations with others. I am a single female living alone in a house. I want to know who is coming . I don’t want to be put at risk. I have had a couple of very fishy enquiries where someone other than the person trying to book is being sent to my home. In one instance they tried to hide the fact that it wouldn’t be them that would arrive. Not acceptable. My life is important and way more important than a few dollars.
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I do this, too. It does add a sense of security to see that they are known in the business and/or social community.
You can also glean other information. Sometimes their FB will note that they like to get drunk, or are putting together a party, for example (so you know to turn them down). Then there are times when it just adds a sense of peace and security.
I’d agree with both of you- I like a photo too- it’s just nice to know who’s coming to your home. But whatever the photo was, it wouldn’t lead me to make judgements on someone’s immigration status or be afraid that “illegal immigrants” were more likely to cause problems in my home than drunk Brits at the Edinburgh Festival ( to give a real- life example.)
I guess what makes me really uncomfortable is the rhetoric- this idea that:
a) Scotland has a huge problem with “illegal immigrants” - for those of you who haven’t been here, this is one of the most homogeneous places I have ever lived- the biggest group of non-English speakers I meet are (Scottish) Gaelic speakers, and the biggest non-white group of people I come across day to day may have Asian ancestry but have broad Glaswegian accents having spent their entire lives in Scotland
b) that immigration is problematic (in fact in our remote islands, we have a huge problem with depopulation) and
c) that immigrants are de facto " a problem". As the child of a immigrant (one of those Rhodes scholars that the DM would have you believe has “nothing to offer” this country) I find this whole fear of immigrants both weird and worrying.
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Many of us do.
And it seems that the whole Brexit/Trump/authoritarianism that is in vogue has emboldened a lot of derogatory rhetoric everywhere. This forum is not an exception.
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Agreed. Canada is a huge melting pot and I love the diversity. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone just looked “on the inside”?
Ha! It’s “possible” I’ve been a drunk Brit at the Edinburgh Festival too…
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All we can do is politely call it out. Every time. So it never becomes the norm. Cause if it’s the norm, we’ve got bigger problems than Airbnb.
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When I travel with Airbnb I won’t stay anywhere without a host photo, and I don’t take guests without a photo.
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Good for you! May I ask why ?
I can put a stick picture of a nice looking girl on my profile would that be more acceptable ?
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