Host platform message system limiting communication.

[Kim2971]

I discovered today that a change to the text communication system is limiting characters to 3000.

I am at a loss as to why Airbnb would make a change to limit communication between host and guests.

I spoke to a Super host support person who said there was a change made to the platform, and suggested that I send several separate communications to convey the information package that I used to send in one message. This is ridiculous and just creates extra work in sending the package and fielding questions later when the guest doesn't have a reference to full details and policy.

I do have a very detailed Welcome package that has information that reflects questions that have been fielded over the years. The Welcome package will not send in current form and the other solution suggested by the support person was to pair the information down or send in several separate emails.

Is anyone else having this problem?  Any suggestions be appreciated.

Here is the message that I sent to Airbnb Support staff in the hope that they will allow unlimited communication between host and guests.

 Your organization's arbitrary change to the most important part of the communicative interaction between host and guests was altered to limit welcome package detail with a text character limit in the message system. This is a ridiculous change from a host user's perspective. Your service advisor suggested sending several communications to complete the transmission of the welcome package to the guest. This is an unacceptable work around for a problem created with no consideration of a host business acumen.

This wastes time and the optics from a guest's perspective will seem as amateurish at best.

Details, policies, expectations and property bylaws all need to be communicated to ensure guests have a successful stay and are aware of property details.  Guests will inundate with questions and it is unfair to both guests and hosts to limit communication in the communication system. The change to limit the message system to 3,000 words negatively affects a successful hosting operation. Please remove the word limit from my message platform.  Thank you and please ensure management sees this information. 

[Gina2592]

@Kim2971 I'm finding the same issue TODAY as well. I'm searching for an answer and your post is the only thing that came up. Very frustrating!  I'm not surprised as their updates tend to cause more issues than help. I do hope they reverse this as it is going to cause much additional work!

[Noreen18]

@Kim2971 Yes, how frustrating! Why would they do this? Guests love detailed instructions so they don't have to bother hosts. I'm having a really hard time paring down my check in message to 3000 characters. 

[Richard2119]

Airbnb Superhost Richard from Philadelphia here. As far as I can see, I'm the highest-rated host in Philadelphia. And, part of the reason is the information I give to my guests - basically answers to any question they might have about my house, my neighborhood and the City of Philadelphia. My guests LOVE this information all in one place and easily searchable. In the last year, Airbnb reduced the message limit and I had to split the message into two. As of yesterday, I had to split the message up into 5 messages (bubbles, as the Airbnb customer service rep put it). I think the best thing we can do is call Airbnb (844-234-2500) and let them know how we, their hosts, are trying to make Airbnb a great company and they keep putting roadblocks up making it more difficult for us to properly represent them.

[Todd-and-Jodi0]

100% agree.  Our guests also love the detailed information we send.  Now it's just more work for me.  More roadblocks.  I used to use the email aliases, but Airbnb discontinued those and we moved to the message thread and I split my info into two messages.  Now it will be about five - like you.

[Joan2709]

@Kim2971 

Frustrating to say the least. I also noticed they changed the whole Scheduled Messages & Quick Replies appearance, which messed with how we had the messages sorted for different properties. No notice to anybody about the changes or the character limitation 😠

Here is what we have found...many guests simply will not read a long message. They want the basic information. Some Hosts shorten the information to the basics and then created a DropBox or GoogleDocs PDF with the detailed information and photos. We also added photos to the Arrival Guide, but most guests don't even know how to find that in the App. Hosts then create a link to the document and paste that in the check-in message to the guest. It looks like the link won't work when you create the message, but when it is actually sent to the Guest it does work.

Other Hosts create the PDF and then use WhatsApp to send that to the guest (Android phones won't accept PDFs, but iPhone does). That seems like more work, so we just stick with the link to the DropBox document and seems to work fine. We also explain where to find the info in the App, but most guests don't use that.

[Todd-and-Jodi0]

Thank you for that info Joan.  I agree with you.  Our guests for the most part DO read our long messages because it's mostly a curated list of recommended places  and then a few key house rules that we emphasize and we found that they were MORE likely to read that in our message thread than in our house manual PDF.

Airbnb is making it harder and harder for hosts to communicate with guests.  I used to use the email aliases, which was the best.  Then it became messaging where I could copy and paste two long messages.  Now it's FIVE messages back to back.  It's still the same amount for guests to read, but a lot more effort for me - so thanks to the Airbnb code bangers for making the host experience worse.

[Guy991]

Hello @Kim2971 ,

Sometimes, less is more, and redundancy doesn’t necessarily strengthen a point.
One approach could be to use an AI tool to condense the text into something more concise and effective, making it easier for guests to read and absorb. That way, the key details are clear without overwhelming them with too much information.

Also, is all the information truly needed before check-in, or do some details become relevant only during the stay, when guests actually need them? I personally use a printed house manual that includes recommendations, instructions on how to operate electrical equipment, stories, cultural information, and even a one-page basic vocabulary and phrase guide in Portuguese. It’s a 40-page book with text and pictures, and my guests use it often.
Respectfully, I will think of this as an opportunity rather than a challenge.

[Kadie-and-Joe0]

Same.  Very frustrating, especially without any notice.  Why can't things be left alone?  I don't see why this change was needed, but happy for Airbnb to give an explanation.