Umphumela wokuhlola isizinda

Learn about how the background checks we perform can impact your account.

Booking delays

Background checks may delay last-minute trips booked within 48 hours of the latest possible check-in time. If the guest’s criminal record shows an offense that isn’t against our policies, the booking will be held with a Pending status while we confirm additional information. After that, we’ll let the guest know if they can book. They can also choose to cancel for free, as long they do so before the reservation is confirmed via email.

Removal

Removal depends on the severity of the criminal history:

• Lesser crimes like disorderly conduct or marijuana possession are not removable offenses.
• Other crimes may result in further review, removal, or ineligibility for some time after the offense if it happened within a certain period. These include crimes like felony burglary and felony larceny (14 years) or fraud or property damage (7 years). Cases such as murder, terrorism, rape, or child molestation may result in permanent removal.

Reinstatement

Our mission to create more belonging in the world means making space for people to demonstrate rehabilitation and live their best lives, while helping to keep our community safe.

We appreciate that there are many factors that could lead someone to have a criminal record. That’s why we have a rigorous, evidence-based approach to assess whether someone can be reinstated after removal, even if their criminal record would otherwise make them ineligible.

Criteria for eligibility

The primary factors include:

• The individual’s age at the time of conviction
• Number of prior convictions
• Time since last conviction
  

We also consider other factors correlated with a reduced risk of future criminal conduct, such as employment and other factors that show evidence of rehabilitation and desistance. Our nuanced, personalized approach is based on extensive research, including “time to redemption” studies and other literature identifying individual factors associated with reduced risk.

Offenses that generally render someone ineligible without a successful appeal include:

• Sexual violence and exploitation
• Human trafficking
• Hate crimes
• Terrorism

Appeals

If you receive a removal notice, and you’d like to appeal it, there are three ways to go about it:

1. You can respond to it directly
2. You can submit an appeal via the link that appears when you try to log in
3. Or, simply contact customer service

Our team of specialists will then review and assess your eligibility for reinstatement.