Hospitable offers hosts the ability to verify any guest, anytime.
Requesting ad-hoc guest verification is available for any accepted reservation across all platforms. The only exception is Direct Premium reservations, which already include guest verification by default.
In some cases, Direct Premium bookings may still require manual review if automated checks detect irregularities. This helps ensure thorough and consistent protection.
When you request verification, you must select at least one of the following checks:
Identity Verification
If you've purchased this check, the guest will be required to upload a photo of their government-issued ID, and take a selfie. Hospitable runs checks on the photo of the ID document to:
ensure its validity,
confirm that the image on the ID matches the selfie,
and to match the information on the ID with the guest's information on the reservation.
If there’s a cause for concern—such as a name mismatch or an ID that can’t be verified—the guest will be flagged for manual review.
Common triggers include issues like spoofed IDs, cropped photos, unreadable details, or cases where the system can’t confidently match the ID name or address. In these situations, the guest may be asked to resubmit their ID for verification.
Full Guest Verification
Includes:
Identity Verification
Sex Offender Check (USA only)*
Risk factors
Sex Offender Check
If you've purchased this check, For USA guests, Hospitable will check public sex offender registries for names that match your guest's.
If you've also purchased the Identity verification check, the name on the government-issued ID is used.
If you have not purchased the Identity verification check, the name given by the guest on the reservation is used.
Risk Factors
In addition to the checks you've purchased, we also run the following checks on every reservation where verification is requested, for no additional cost.
Fraud detection - examining the guest's location, browser configuration, internet connection type, and more to surface fraud signals.
Screening assistant - taking into account reservation and property information to highlight potential concerns related to the booking lead time, length of stay and number of guests in relation to the property.
It's important to note that the any risks or failures highlighted should be considered in the context of the results as a whole.
Understanding Flagged Reservations and Host Actions
Flagged reservations may occur due to discrepancies during guest verification processes. Notifications are promptly sent to hosts via email when manual action is required to address these flagged scenarios. Common triggers include repeat guest bookings directly through the website initiating a new verification process and Direct Premium bookings detecting potential irregularities. To resolve flagged reservations:
Guests may be asked to resubmit necessary documents (e.g., proper ID).
Hosts have the option to review manually and approve reservations if urgent, using their discretion. For previously vetted guests, bypassing vetting can only occur via a Direct custom quote.
More details are available in our help article discussing guest verification as part of Direct Premium