Belgian newspaper exposes Airbnb verification weakness

A Belgian newspaper, De Standaard, has revealed serious weaknesses in Airbnb’s identity verification system after successfully creating a fake host profile in the name of prime minister Bart De Wever.

As part of an investigation into Airbnb listings in Belgium, journalists created an Airbnb account using the prime minister’s name and photo. They then listed 16 Rue de la Loi (Wetstraat 16), the official residence and office address of the Belgian prime minister in Brussels, as a holiday rental for €150 per night.

The property, advertised as the “Law Street Lodge”, remained online for nearly two months and received several booking requests. The newspaper rejected all requests and did not accept any guests.

According to De Standaard, Airbnb’s verification process approved the fake profile within minutes, despite the use of a false identity and a highly recognisable government address.

After the newspaper informed Airbnb about the experiment, the company removed the listing and suspended the account. Airbnb said fake profiles are rare and confirmed it had launched an internal investigation. The company also noted that hosts only receive payment 24 hours after a guest checks in, which helps protect users from fraud.

However, Airbnb did not explain how the fake profile passed its verification checks or why the listing remained online for so long.

The investigation raises questions about the reliability of Airbnb’s identity verification system and the presence of other potentially false profiles on the platform.

^{Wetstraat 16, or 16 Rue de la Loi, the offices of the prime minister © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK}