Really trying to limit access!
2 Likes
Airbnb does not have my personal number. Guests never get my personal number. They all get my business number.
The very purpose of that number is business and Airbnb is a place that I use to advertise my business. So Airbnbās efforts are, in this case, pointless.
Also, for those who rely on Airbnb to manage disputes or whatever it is they do, note that it says that they may record conversations, not will.
Airbnb is the medium by which hosts and guests are put in touch, just like a newspaper ad, an Instagram account or a Google listing. Guests do not belong to Airbnb.
I continue to communicate with guests in whatever way they prefer. Phone, text, email, Airbnb messages, whatever they decide.
2 Likes
Ugh. More big brother stuff. That would be a serious drag for me and my guests. Guests whatsapp me when they get on the bus at the airport an hour away, and again whwn they arrive, so I can go pick them up. Most guests are international and donāt have the capability to use regular phone calls or SMS without paying their out-of-country phone provider more $. For those from Canada, that costs $15/day, even if you only make one call. With whatsapp, all they need is data, which all of them have.
And an Airbnb routed phone call means we are relying on Airbnbās often glitchy tech. Like there could be a delay in the call being routed, leaving my guests sitting at the bus station, thinking Iām just not responding. Or a host not getting a call from a guest about an emergency situation immediately.
I also use whatsapp to send my guests a location pin. When I used to send them a map via those coded email addresses Airbnb used, half the time guests would tell me they got the email, but there was no attachment.
Did you get this questionnaire by email or is it on your hosting pages?
4 Likes
Came up when leaving a review after a recent stay.
I agree with Muddy, to many issues to mention with the instability of the site, and frankly - they need to stay on their side of the fence!
3 Likes
I thought that too but additionally, how much is this āfeatureā going to cost?
Tech is glitchy, thereās nothing we can do about that, but how much is this system going to cost? And how will it increase the fees that we pay?
1 Like
What problem does this solve for the host or the guest? Or is it all part of controlling āleakageā of service fees?
2 Likes
Think you hit the nail on the head.
I guess there could be considered some positive aspects, like horrible guests not being able to threaten to extort hosts by not leaving a terrible review if the host refunds them, and being savvy enough to do so by phone rather than Airbnb message.
But I doubt that Airbnbās āideaā is based upon their love and respect for hosts and trying to protect us.
3 Likes
Well, what I can do about Airbnbās glitchy tech is use whatsapp with my guests, which has never been glitchy. I get guest whatsapp messages the moment they send them. Whereas I have had delayed notifications of Airbnb guest messages, or sometimes no notification at all of a guest message.
1 Like
The only positive I could see is that ātraditionalā phone calls (NOT VoIP, WhatsApp, Messenger etc.!!!) could be monitored to help either the host or the guest in case of a problem, since, thus far, phone conversations were not documented (unless recorded during the call by one participant on their phone directly).
In theory, this would help Airbnb strengthen each partyās rights in case of trouble and to avoid hear-say.
However, this comes at a cost as outlined by other members above. Itās their sandbox, they could implement it and we have to take it or leave it.
Looks like they dipping their feet to test how friendly the waters areā¦
Iām wondering how this could possibly work for the more ācorporateā hosts who are actually property managers looking after several properties?
Each guest would have a different phone number okay, but wouldnāt this cause quite a bit of confusion?
Andā¦.how would it appear on your phone?
Private number?
International call?
I get so many spam callsā¦ā¦
1 Like
Most guests and hosts know to keep the important communication on the platform. Itās easier for AirBnB to simply warn everyone to keep all their communications on the platform (actually, I think they do already).
So the only reason I can think of to monitor phone calls is to try to keep more service fees and push even harder to keep guests from booking directly with a host on a return stay.
How would it make it harder for guests to book a return stay? I give all my guests my email address during their first stay, and if Airbnb were to block my actual phone number, I would give them my phone number, too. In fact, I would give it to them at the beginning of their first stay, so they could get in touch with me easily during their stay.
So far, Iāve only had one repeat booker, who has stayed 4 or 5 times now. After the first stay, booked through Airbnb, she just whatsapps me, transfers $ directly to my bank acct. and I block her dates on my calendar.
Exactly. āMostā - not all!
If the 1 percent of guests and hosts who ādonāt know to keep the important communication on the platformā use the phone to try to settle things and matters get out of hand, there is no documentation. This way Airbnb has a way to investigate unless guest and hosts start communicating elsewhere or in person without recording it.
Iām trying to take this initiative innocently assuming that this is to protect their operation. What other agendas may be at play is only guesswork.
Every time they āprotect their operationā itās never an improvement for hosts. Most often itās the exact opposite.
1 Like