This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
Phone numbers of hosts and guests are given by Airbnb as soon as a booking is confirmed, so I’m not sure what you mean by this.
While I agree that anything that could possibly be contentious should be conveyed via Airbnb messaging, there are lots of reasons why texting, phoning, or using whatsapp is useful and appropriate.
For instance, most of my guests arrive by air to the airport an hour from my place, then take the bus. I offer to pick them up at the bus station here, as my house is hard to find the first time. I ask them to call or text me when they are ready to board the bus, so I have a heads-up on their approx. arrival time here. Just knowing when their flight gets in would not do any good, as it can take varying amounts of time to clear customs and immigration, retreive luggage, etc.
Then they phone or text me again when they get to the bus station here and I jump in the car and make the 7 minute drive to get them.
It’s much easier and faster for these coms to be done via phone call or text than through Airbnb messaging. Not to mention, Airbnb message alerts are not dependable, in my experience. There is often a lag, sometimes of hours.
If I was the OP here, generously offering my guests some fresh baking, I would have phoned or texted as well.
That is great news, but as we know, the hosts on this forum are way above average.
My experience as a guest has been that the keypad door code is always the house number if the house number is 4 digits. You can just assume this as a guest.
If the house number is not 4 digits, then it’s easy to guess, like “1111” or “1234,” that kind of thing, and you can assume the host is not changing it regularly or ever.
I’ve never had a host give me a unique door code just for me.
Exactly. I have done this both as host and guest. If a guest texts me to say they’re on their way and just want to know where to stop for food before they get to the cottage, I will return their text with info about where to stop. This has only happened twice in 14 months of hosting.
Guests are taught on social media (see TikTok) and by numerous messages from AirBnB to keep all communication on the message platform.
My experience as a guest has been that most hosts don’t have a smart or digital lock. I strongly prefer not to have a key but not enough to base my booking on it. I’ve been in a couple of places where there was a gate with one code and a door with another code and all the codes were some number assigned by the host that had no connection to me or the address. One of the least pleasant aspects of booking with Airbnb is lack of consistency. But it’s worth it for the money saved. I consistently find Airbnb provides far better value than any hotel.
On the OP’s topic. I just made a new reservation and at the top of the message thread is a message to the guest that says “To protect your payment, always communicate and pay through the Airbnb website or app.” One need not be a host to reply to a text with “keep all messages on the app.”
Of course. And why wouldn’t it be? I expect Airbnb to look after their best interests and I’ll look after mine. I already have enough direct bookings and friends who stay at my Airbnb that dropping them at any time is not going to be that painful.
Wow that’s wild – what a risk of break-ins! I ask each guest to nominate the 6-digit code for their stay and suggest that it’s the first or last numbers of their phone. They’re more likely to remember that when they’re coming home late at night and this saves me from getting emergency calls at night. I also program the times their code works so it automatically stops working a half hour after their checkout time. If they need to get back in (if they forgot something), they’d have to contact me for help with that.
This was actually what triggered us to break with our previous property manager and manage our Airbnb ourselves – she was giving every guest and cleaner her master code, even though we’d shown her how she could program unique codes for each person. So you couldn’t tell who was accessing the apartment, and any prior guest could waltz back in at any time. And she didn’t see that as problematic. If I were a guest I would have found it really disturbing. As the property owner who uses that place in between guests, I found it disturbing! I thought she was unusually lax about security but maybe she’s the norm and those of us who program unique codes are the exception?
How about this one- there was a co-host who posted on the CC who was having issues with the homeowner, who was a cheapskate who didn’t “get it” and was ignoring her advice about various things, like coughing up money for things that really needed to be repaired or replaced, not wanting to pay her adequately for her work, etc.
I took a look at the listing, which the owner had written the description for, and saw that he had actually put the door code in the ad!
I alerted the co-host to that, and she said, “OMG! I hadn’t seen that, thank you! This just goes to show how clueless he is.”
I have never head of someone with a smart lock that did NOT use it as intended - to give specific codes unique to each person so guest(s) A do not have access when guest(s) B are in the home.
Imagine staying at a hotel and finding out that every lock could be opened by every card…
WTF?? I don’t have cell service or good internet as my farm/glamping accommodation is basically ‘off grid’.
My guests have to call me on my landline to arrange check in…
I wonder sometime if this next generation will be able to survive, let alone light a fire in the fire pit!
Disturbing to think that phone numbers are now considered a ’ private thing" … OMG ALL my guests have to call my landline, as my property is basically off grid. If you don’t like it, go stay in a hotel… is my noto…
Sounds like your guest was having a "One night stand "and didn’t want anybody examining their call or text log. I always contacted guests through direct calls or texts and encouraged them to do the same as it is much faster than the app
Airbnb supplies the host with the guest’s phone number and vice versa. It has come in handy for me when guests were unable to find my house. Or when they just needed to get in touch with me when they needed information or suggestions. So yes, it is perfectly OK to text guests.
In any case, your guest was ill-informed and rude. And they missed out on a lovely, lovely gesture. Too bad for them.
You do want to keep communication on the app for your own sake to cover yourself in case of a dispute. But there’s nothing wrong with wanting to communicate by text. Honestly I would have canceled the reservation based on feeling uncomfortable with letting this ride person live in a space near your own living space. No way I’m letting someone talk to me that way and expect to stay in my property.
I make a point of keeping almost all communication on the Airbnb platform. Unless I need a timely answer and it is not forthcoming. Or I have noticed that they do not answer messages sent through Airbnb. Or in this case if they are leaving shortly and I want to present them with a warm baguette!
I’m a host that prefers communications stay on the app but I would never be rude about it, especially when being offered such a kind gift. I live in a city with good cell service so I do expect my guests to have the Airbnb app and use it for all non-emergency communication.
I try to communicate in the message thread on my PC or phone. However, if I am not getting a response I usually send a brief text asking them to check the Airbnb message thread for directions and important information. Many say that they will text me with their arrival time which I like. I don’t use text for discussing special requests or problems, only little things with quick answers. About 20% of my guests are repeats who think nothing of texting and often stay in touch in-between visits.
