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Lately I’ve noticed that newly booked guests reach out to me through Whatsapp and not the Airbnb messaging system.
It’s my understanding that as a host I should always encourage people to message through Air’s system.
How do you all handle situations like this?
Reply back to the guest on the Airbnb app.! Don’t let them drag you off the app… You need a record of the thread.
I tell people I don’t use Whatsapp. Which I don’t. It’s obnoxious, and unfortunately very popular. I tell them to use email. Why people would use a proprietary application/platform as opposed to something that is as open as email eludes me. But I suppose convenience trumps everything.
As I understand it, if your number(s) is/are enabled as a Whatsapp number, there is no way to stop people sending you stuff via Whatsapp. So I haven’t enabled mine. I suggest that if you use Whatsapp, keep the number you use with Whatsapp separate from the number(s) you use for regular phone usage.
ADDENDUM: As others have mentioned, you don’t need to keep all correspondence with guests in the Airbnb messaging system. In my opinion, email is the best choice for correspondence in general, because it is easy to archive and search, being text in its natural form. I have all my email since 1996 archived. And if you want to send attachments to the guest, you should do so via email, because the Airbnb obfuscated email system loses attachments some of the time. And their obfuscated email system is best avoided in general, because it messes up the formatting of even plain messages.
But matters directly relating to the reservation are probably best kept in the messaging system (you could duplicate them in email if you want), just in case there are disputes later. And if it looks like you are running into problems, you definitely want to keep correspondence in the messaging system.
Do you have any way of not letting guests have your WhatsApp contact?
I do have guests trying to text me. I text them to say I have messaged them on the app…
Always reply using Airbnb messaging. If they text you via your phone number, copy the text and paste it into your reply back to them using the Airbnb Messaging system. I don’t use WhatsApp (popular Europe and Asia). You must always cover yourself. I send a message when guest check in to see if everything meets their exceptions and remind them to message me via the Airbnb system, even if they verbally say hello to me. I sometimes have to get their attention and not everyone has their settings to send a text when you use the Airbnb system so I will sometimes send the same message via text and Airbnb messaging system.
Copy and paste their message into the app. Say:
Here’s a copy of the message you sent me this morning…
[Copy here]
And I’m pleased to tell you that our check in time is 4 pm and we look forward to seeing you then.
Or whatever. If the guest objects or mentions it just tell them that Airbnb prefers all messaging to be done on the platform, Easy.
I say right up front in our listing that we do not Text. Messages outside the Airbnb system will be ignored.
I do it the same as cabinhost. I get their email for all the information we send them, send them texts or WhatsApps after they arrive to see how things are going.
But at the first sign of a problem, I go right back to Air’s system. For instance, we had guests that started smoking the second they set foot on our property. My housekeeper told me (she checked them in), so I immediately sent a reminder through Air’s system that we don’t allow smoking.
But standard stuff like directions, restaurant recommendations, etc, I always do from our own email.
I get texts and so forth from time to time, I always only ever respond via Airbnb app. Unless person is checking in and they may have just arrived international. In which case I copy my exact same message into the Airbnb system & send.
It really depends on the subject.
Messages about the booking, arrival time, issues, complaints I always handle trough the AirBnB system.
But things like: “We are in the supermarket, and is this beer any good… sending picture”, I do not mind receiving through whatsapp.
And once you are in their whatsapp conversations, it is very likely the guest will contact you direct with a return booking. I receive quite a few direct booking request trough whatsapp, from former guests or friends from former guests.
Whatsapp is the one of the most used messaging apps in the western world.
People are used to using it, as their standard way of text communication, sending pictures, voice or video clips, and even making voice calls.
Opening a separate app just for messaging your, is annoying, and on top of that it is slow and clunky.
I guess we have been pushed into a position where we are back covering.