One of the most important things you need to do, as part of finding or renting out accommodation for the Olympics safely, is getting to know your host or guest(s). However, given the  potential distances involved, this will in most cases have to happen before you actually meet. We've been looking into how we can improve the ways we keep our members safe, and one thing that stood out was a need to more details about the advertiser. So today, we're happy announce the release of our community profiles functionality.

The overall thinking behind the profiles is two-fold. First of all, the process of finding out about the other party is bound to be repetitive and not much fun. Hence the quicker the process the better, and we thought we could provide everyone with a basic starting point that will hopefully cut out a bit of work. Secondly, it allows members to get personal, identify themselves and basically provide an impression. This builds familiarity, and with it hopefully, also trust.

You can now add a description about yourself or your company, upload a photo or logo, list the languages you can communicate in, and even show your latest Twitter updates. All your accommodation ads are also automatically displayed on your profile.

When users view your ad, they now see a smaller version of your photo or logo, together with an extract from your description and a link to your profile. Below is an example of what a link to our profile looks like.

As of today registered members have a profile, regardless of whether you're a visitor or advertising Olympics accommodation. No account or other private information is displayed, and you can choose just how much detail you wish to add.

If you're using the Olympics Accommodation Site to find rentals, we recommend registering and completing your profile. Doing so will allow you to quickly refer advertisers to it when sending inquiries. That can save you both a lot of time.

Next time you login, you will be taken to your profile automatically. Have a look and make sure your profile is complete and makes a good impression!

As always, should you have any questions or feedback, please comment here or get in touch.

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