How can I screen guests on Airbnb?

On Airbnb, screening means reading what the platform shows you, setting the requirements it allows and asking about the stay itself. It doesn't mean collecting documents or judging who the guest is. This page lays out what Airbnb lets you see, require and ask, based on its help center pages read on Nov 4, 2026, and where its nondiscrimination rules draw the line. HostCalmly is not affiliated with Airbnb.

What you can see before you accept

Airbnb's booking request article for hosts (opens in a new tab) lists what you see when a request comes in:

• The guest's first name
• Their review rating and how many reviews they have
• Whether their identity is verified
• Whether they also host on Airbnb
• When they joined
• The languages they speak
• A link to their profile
• Their most recent review

After you confirm, you also get their preferred first name, legal last name and profile photo. Airbnb says it holds some details until after acceptance to keep booking equitable. The guest-side version of the article says the profile photo is hidden before booking (opens in a new tab).

Identity verification

Airbnb's identity verification article (opens in a new tab) says every booking guest must be identity verified. Airbnb checks details such as legal name and address against third-party sources, and may ask for a photo of a government ID and a selfie. A verified user shows an "Identity verified" badge. The same article says the process doesn't guarantee someone is who they say they are, and the guest's ID is not shared with you.

Who's actually staying

Someone can book for another person. Airbnb's booking for someone else article (opens in a new tab) says the booker doesn't have to join the trip, both the guest and the booker appear in the reservation details, and the primary guest, not the booker, is responsible for damage. Read both names before you accept.

What you can require

Instant Book requirements. Airbnb's booking settings article (opens in a new tab) says you can only add guest requirements when Instant Book is on. The options it lists:

• Good track record. The guest has completed a stay without incidents or bad reviews.
• Pre-booking message. Questions guests answer when they book.

All guests must also meet Airbnb's general booking requirements and agree to your house rules. New hosts can choose to review their first few bookings by hand.

Request to Book. With Instant Book off, you accept or decline each request. Airbnb's response rate article (opens in a new tab) says a decline counts as a response, but letting a request expire doesn't. Answer within 24 hours either way.

Profile photo. Airbnb's booking requirements article (opens in a new tab) says some hosts require a profile photo, though you won't see it until the booking is confirmed.

ID at check-in. For reservations booked on or after Nov 20, 2026, Airbnb's host requirements policy (opens in a new tab) lets you check ID in person at check-in if you disclose it in your listing's requests section, but you may not keep a copy except in limited cases, such as a legal requirement or documented HOA rules.

Minimum age. Airbnb's Nondiscrimination Policy (opens in a new tab) allows US homes to set a minimum age for the booking guest of up to 25, applied to everyone.

What you can't require

The host requirements policy, for reservations booked on or after Nov 20, 2026, says you may not solicit personal data during booking or the stay. Its list includes contact details, passport or driver's license copies, photos, financial data, background checks and biometric or health data. You also generally can't require a separate rental agreement, except in cases such as a legal or HOA requirement, access to an optional amenity, a Luxe listing, or monthly stays of 28 nights or more.

What Airbnb's nondiscrimination policy rules out

The Nondiscrimination Policy (opens in a new tab) says hosts may not decline or cancel a booking, set different terms, fees or house rules, or show a preference for or against a type of guest based on protected traits. Those include race, religion, gender, gender identity, age, disability, familial status, marital status, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, sex, caste and pregnancy.

In practice, that means you can't:

• Decline because of a guest's name, language or home country, which can stand in for ethnicity or national origin
• Turn away families with children, or add rules such as "no guests under 21," outside the age limits the policy allows
• Decline or discourage a guest because of a disability, a mobility device or a service animal
• Charge a pet fee for a service animal

What the policy does allow:

• Sharing factual information about the home, such as steep stairs or no accessibility features, so guests can decide
• In a home where you share a bathroom or kitchen with guests, limiting it to guests of your own gender
• Declining where accepting would break the law, or would put you at a real, provable risk of legal liability or physical harm

Violations can lead to warnings, listing removal or account suspension. If a situation isn't clear, ask Airbnb before you decline.

Red flags based on behavior

Screen what a guest says and does about the stay, and apply the same standard to every request. Write down why you declined, in case Airbnb asks.

• Asking to pay or talk off Airbnb. Airbnb's payment policy (opens in a new tab) bans it, and warns that unexpected requests to pay by wire, bank transfer or money order may be fraud. Report it.
• Links or contact details in messages. Airbnb's paying and communicating article (opens in a new tab) says it blocks messages that appear to contain them.
• More people than your maximum, or a plan to bring visitors your rules don't allow.
• Mentions of an event, party or gathering when your rules say no events. See how to prevent parties.
• Asking you to waive a house rule before booking, such as more pets or a later quiet time.
• Past host reviews that describe broken rules or damage. The most recent review shows on the request.
• The booker isn't staying, and the guest isn't named. Ask who the primary guest is.

Airbnb's house rules policy (opens in a new tab) doesn't say whether you can cancel without fees when a guest says before check-in that they intend to break a house rule. Confirm with Airbnb before you cancel, and keep the message as proof. Airbnb's AirCover for Hosts article (opens in a new tab) also lists reservation screening among the protections Airbnb runs on its side.

Questions to ask before arrival

Put these in your Instant Book pre-booking message, or send them in Airbnb messages before you accept a request. They're about the stay, not the person, and none asks for personal data.

1. How many adults, children and pets will be staying? (It should match the booking.)
2. What brings you to the area?
3. Will anyone who isn't on the reservation visit during the stay?
4. Roughly what time do you expect to arrive?
5. Have you read the house rules, including quiet hours, the guest limit and the events rule?
6. Is there anything we should know to make the stay work, such as stairs, a crib or an early check-in?

Ask every guest the same questions in the same words. The guest message tool writes a pre-booking message you can save. After arrival, a disclosed noise monitor that doesn't record audio and a clear house rules sign back up what the guest agreed to. If a stay goes wrong, the noise complaint template and the damage claim template help with the next step.