Suggestion for improvement - allow hosts to specify how they are to be contacted

[Hugh0]

Hi

Like most Airbnb hosts, I host guests from around the world. This means I host guests from many time zones.

In my confirmation and communications with guests, I specify that guests "ONLY" contact me via the Airbnb message centre prior to arrival. Despite this, guests still think it is OK to text me at 2am in the morning or email me.

I leave my phone on in case a guest in residence has a problem, for example, loss of power, locked out, lost etc. If I receive a text, I wake and check it. It annoys me to find it is a guest arriving in two months asking if the wifi is free.

I also receive emails from guests outside the Airbnb message centre. These are not recorded in the Airbnb message centre, so if it is a guest giving an arrival time, this information can become lost.

The Airbnb message centre is a great tool for hosts. It sits in our phones, provides a complete history and is easy to reference.

Airbnb, please provide us with a box to tick that states that prior to the arrival date, we only want to be contacted via the Airbnb message centre.

[Deborah0]

Hi Hugh

I understand your frustration -- I am wondering though, even if Airbnb provided this "tick box" of host asking guest to only use Airbnb messaging, do you think guests would all remember to do that?  I have a feeling that if a box being checked off is the only info guests have , some guests are just going to text you because they are not in the habit of diligently following instructions from ticked off boxes, and are in the habit of texting people.  It may be difficult for them to understand the kind of circumstance you describe here.  So maybe it would actually work better, to write something in your listing description or house rules or house manual, informing guests of the importance of using Airbnb messaging only, and then reinforce that info, by repeating it to the guest at the time that they book a stay with you.  Given the amount of information that guests need to assimilate at times, repetition of important info can be beneficial.  

[Hugh0]

Thanks Deborah

My suggestion for the "tick box" goes a little further than guiding guests as to options. I suggest that, for those hosts that want it,  it supresses telephone numbers till the day of arrival and deletes email as an option entirely. 

I agree with repetition of important info. I do this. Unfortunately what is important for me (i.e not been woken at 2am) is not important for someone on the other side of the globe at 10am in the morning. 

On a related point, it also amazes me each time a guest texts me and does not sign-off with their name so I know who they are. Confining messages to the Airbnb message centre would avoid this regular nuisance.