Airbnb Using Temporary Phone Numbers For Guests/Hosts? (US Only)

[Joan2709]

I stumbled across this today...

I had not heard of Airbnb using "temporary phone numbers" for Guests and Hosts in the USA? Anyone else aware? When did this start? 

I have noticed Guest phone numbers disappearing from all reservation details after checkout though?  Anyone else notice that?  The Call box is greyed out and the phone number removed. This seems to happen on every reservation detail after checkout. 🤔

Temporary Phone Numbers

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3764

[Elisa]

Hi @Joan2709 😊, 

Thank you so much for sharing this incredible insight!

I’m tagging a few other hosts from the USA to see what they think about it: @New-Bern-Vacation-Rentals0, @Craig806, @Tara0, @Danielle1781, @Jayan38, @Jennifer3187 and @Lala89.

Warm regards, 🌻

[Jennifer3187]

I have not heard about this either. Seems like another step so that all communication can be monitored through Airbnb to deter offline convos.

[Joan2709]

@Jennifer3187 

The only problem I can see with this is many Hosts use the last 4-digits of the guest's  phone number for their smart lock door code. If this is a temporary "made up" number, then the Guest will be trying to input their actual last 4 of their real phone number and their door code won't work?

[Jennifer3187]

That's a great point! @Joan2709 

[Frances3408 · Accepted solution]

@Joan2709. Thanks for this post Joan. I wonder, has the US changed its privacy laws or Airbnb lost a spamming case recently? If anything they probably hold onto the data long after use, rather than hosts imo. I note that other platform still provides guest's personal email as well. I wonder how long that will last?

I am also wondering how well these temporary numbers work in an emergency. Our STR laws require that we are able to communicate with our guests at all times for any emergency evacuations such as bushfires and floods.

I always verify the booker's number and if coming from overseas require them to have an Australian based mobile number provided as many rely on internet only.

Thank goodness I dont choose the last 4 digits in my smart locks either- they are always randomly generated. 😉

[Lorrie69]

I am having major issues trying to collect the required information (which includes guests phone number) for my concierge to ensure a smooth check-in process.  

I've contacted support and they are working on this issue and told me to have the guest just send a screenshot of their phone number as a work-around until they fix the system so that it doesn't keep blocking the numbers. 

This isn't working. Guests send it a couple times and think it's going thru then go about their day and don't realize that it did not come thru. 

I apologize on behalf of airbnb each time even though it's not my fault.  

I've got a guest coming to check-in tomorrow and I do not have their information to send to concierge even though they've sent it twice. 

I am a superhost and I feel like this is eventually going to affect my ratings. When the guest arrives to the concierge desk, they won't be able to check in until I send their information to concierge thru their system.  What if I'm stuck in traffic and cannot send the info for some reason immediately.  Then they will just have to sit there who knows how long waiting. 

It's not a good situation. These details are required by HOA for security, and also due to STR laws. There needs to be a fix for them to unblock the numbers. And soon!

If you'd like to chat about it call me at •••-•••-•••• Thanks!

[Kate3129]

We are having the same issue, and I'm concerned about the safety aspects of this and the confusion with how Airbnb have implemented it. When I called support I was told they've had many hosts call in complaining about this new functionality, and that we need to submit feedback using the feedback form to encourage the product team to redesign how they have set this up. I just submitted my feedback, and encourage others to do so as well! 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/feedback

My thoughts and concerns: 

Safety: If the third-party system that routes phone calls via temp numbers goes down or experiences a bug or service interruption, guests wouldn't be able to complete a call. This seems like an unacceptable risk as guests usually only use the call option in true emergency situations.

Communication Clarity: The way it shows up in the messages in messy, confusing, and disruptive. It kicks out call buttons after the message where a number was contained rather than putting it in-line in the message. 

Since temporary numbers are not required by U.S. privacy laws, this feature should be optional and host-controlled. If used, the temporary number should simply replace the phone number inline within the message, not appear as separate buttons.