Why do I have to reply to guest text message through the airbnb app?

[Donald28]

About 2 years ago, I'd get messages from potential guests on my cell phone in a text message. It came through airbnb in the form of a text. I used to be able to respond directly to their inquiry/message on the text message app of my phone. That was very easy.

In the recent past, airbnb has made the message come from a "spoofed" number (413-887-3433) that cannot be replied directly to. If you reply to it, you get this message... "To reply, please visit airbnb.com or use the airbnb app" 

This is a huge pain in the butt since I now have to open the airbnb app, go to messages and reply there instead of just replying to the original text message. I HATE THAT I HAVE TO OPEN THE APP TO REPLY TO A TEXT MESSAGE!!

[Ana1136]

@Donald28 It is better to respond in the app since replying by text isn't always successful, guests don't always get the messages. Opening the app is just one click, and responding is very simple. 

[Sarah977]

@Donald28  This doesn't seem like a huge hassle to me- almost all hosts communicate via the Airbnb messaging  with guests- it's important to do that so you have a documented trail in case there is a dispute about something.

Also, you are not understanding those texts you are getting- this isn't some recent thing where Airbnb is intercepting a guest's SMS and making you respond via the platform. What you are getting are text alerts that you have a message in your Airbnb inbox. That's why you can't respond to them- they are just alerts. The messages in them will always be truncated.

A guest can still contact you by text directly to your phone number (altho I don't advise encouraging it, unless it's just something benign, like letting you know they'll be late checking in).  But those alerts mean that the guests themselves chose to message you via the platform, rather than text directly to your phone number.

[Donald28]

The messages sent back and forth via text were still on airbnb too. You could read and respond through the text message on your phone or do it the long way and respond through the app . Yes, now the message is an "alert" from airbnb that shows only part of the message. It wasn't like that before. 

all Im saying is that it was much easier when I didn't have to open the airbnb app to respond to a text from a potential guest. There was a time when that wasn't necessary and it was nice. 

[Emilia42 · Accepted solution]

@Donald28, I remember that time. It wasn't too long ago - one and a half years maybe. I don't have a smart phone and I used to get the messages through a text, which I could respond to on my dumb phone. I could see our conservation thread via Airbnb when I logged in. Now when I get an "alert" I have to log in on my computer to read and respond. Annoying, I agree.