Bookably has always verified its hosts. From this week, we verify our guests too.
That’s Bookably Verified, and it closes the loop. Every booking on the platform now runs between two identity-checked parties. We’ve partnered with Stripe for KYC and identity checks across the platform.
Why this matters
Short-term rentals are about strangers trusting strangers. We’ve long required hosts to prove who they are at payout setup. It was overdue that guests did the same.
Most platforms gesture at guest identity with a verified email or a profile photo. Bookably Verified goes further: a government-issued document plus a live selfie, biometrically matched, once, before a guest’s first booking.
On privacy
Documents, selfies, and personal details are handled by our verification partner. Bookably never stores any of it. We keep the outcome of the check, and the date it happened, and nothing else. Less data on our side means less risk for you.
For hosts
Nothing to do. Host verification has been in place since day one and hasn’t changed.
What’s new is the signal on every booking. Each one now shows whether the guest has been Bookably Verified, so you can factor it in when you approve.
A safer marketplace
Bookably’s goal is to be the safest, cleanest marketplace for short-term rentals in New Zealand. Bookably Verified is a foundation, not a finish line. More to come.