When requesting verification from a guest who booked on Airbnb, Vrbo or Booking.com, it's important to comply with those platform's policies while ensuring you're comfortable with the guest who made the reservation. In addition to familiarizing yourself with each platform's policies, we recommend these best practices to ensure transparency with prospective guests and avoid unnecessary conflict when requesting verification.
Booking.com link-sharing policy (Important: you may need to allow or whitelist links in Booking.com's extranet to ensure they're sent to the guest! Hospitable's guest portal link always starts with
https://booking.hospitable.com/guest-portal/...)
Update your listing descriptions
It's important that guests are made aware of any potential verification requirements before they book your property. Not only does this ensure guests are prepared to receive a request for more information, but it sets the tone that your property is professionally managed in order to be able to provide them with a great experience. You can write this in a tone that aligns with your brand, but here's an example to get you started.
To abide by local legal requirements, you may be asked to complete a secure verification portal by providing a copy of your official government-issued photo ID, confirming your contact information and sharing the purpose of your stay. The information is collected for screening and verification only and is not stored or used for any other purposes.
By making a reservation, you acknowledge that you may be required to provide a copy of a valid government-issued ID prior to check-in. You understand that your check-in instructions might be withheld until you have successfully completed verification steps in our guest portal.
Establish your terms of service (ToS)
The ToS will define what is considered acceptable and not acceptable guest behavior. These terms should be informed by your internal business practices and should be in adherence to local short-term rental bylaws and building/HOA requirements.
Include your ToS in your listing description.