Is doing this wrong?

[Celia343]

Hello, fellow hosts.

Reading some of the disturbing host stories here, I got a little worried. I thought I knew the rules, but maybe I don't.

I have not chosen to review every one of my guests. If I don't review a guest, will Airbnb count that against me in some way? Is it a rule that you have to review every guest? Is there a downside to not reviewing a guest?

Another question: After a reservation is made, I email guests my phone number through the Airbnb reservation software, so they can text me when they arrive. Is that OK? Again, will Airbnb penalize me for giving guests my phone number?

[Emiel1]

@Celia343 

You are free to write a review or not, there is no "punishment' for it

You are free to provide your phonenumber to a guest with a confirmed reservation.

(BTW without a confirmed reservation it will be blocked, so guest can not see it)

But if it is the same phone number as attached to your listings, guest will have it anyway in their itinerary.

[Kelly251]

Personally I NEVER give guests my personal number , I insist all communication is done through the ABB message inbox .  

[Suzanne302]

@Celia343  As @Emiel1 already pointed out, confirmed guests will automatically get whatever phone number is attached to your listing. Sometimes guests prefer texting and there's nothing wrong with that. Just know if anything "goes wrong" you will want to have EVERYTHING documented via the Airbnb messaging system.

And again, no penalties for not reviewing guests, but know that (most) other hosts really rely on guest reviews, so please think of your fellow hosts and review every guest!

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

Guests who converse with me use the platform's message system, which uses my cell#, so it all shows up automatically in the thread. This makes it so simple for us, and I do not have to be sitting at my desk. 

[Suzanne302]

@Kitty-and-Creek0  That's interesting. Are you saying the message comes directly as a text?

I don't have to be sitting at a desktop or laptop to get messages through the Airbnb system, FYI. I use the app on my phone. There are two ways to receive notifications. One is you simply get a notification from the app that you have a message and you open it. The other is you get a text message letting you know you have a message. You still have to go to the app to open it.

Are you saying you simply get texts to your phone and don't ever have to open the app? How did you set that up?

[Celia343]

@Suzanne302  @Kitty-and-Creek0  Whenever I get an Airbnb message, the message shows up in a text on my phone, but just the beginning of the message, not the complete message. And I can't text the person back; for that I have to have the Airbnb app on my phone, and right now my phone memory is almost full so I haven't downloaded the app.

[Suzanne302]

@Celia343  Yes, same here. That's why I was curious what @Kitty-and-Creek0  meant when she says she gets "texts" through the messaging system. If that's a feature, it's new to me! I wonder if she's confusing a "notification" with a text message.

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Suzanne302 @Celia343 

Notifications come automatically and instantly, on my phone, via the app. Same thing. Nothing new, I've loved this feature for a number of years. @Celia343 Definitely download the app on your phone, and turn on "data" so that your messages come through anywhere, any time. I'm outdoors, in the forest, in town, on the move always so this is indispensable. Just mute your phone at night if you want to get any sleep, of course, unless you are "on" for Nixle alerts like we are.

[Suzanne302]

@Kitty-and-Creek0  Okay. I see now. Your post implied that you were getting text messages that were synced with the messaging system. What you are actually getting are notifications. That's not the same thing.

But yes, that is nothing new. If you have the app you get notifications and can "message" via your phone, but it's not through a text, it's still via the messaging app.

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Suzanne302 

Exactly! Thanks for changing the nomenclature to be clear to others on this. 

[LaTisha8]

If there is a way for the Airbnb platform messages to send to you through text messaging can someone please explain how to activate this feature🙏. To my knowledge you must constantly/continuously check and refresh the Airbnb message thread through the platform. So I am constantly opening the app to see if I have a new inquiry or message. I have also seen that the Airbnb inbox is sometimes on a delay. I will sometimes receive messages dated for 3 hours ago that never showed when I'm checking my inbox every hour. 

[Suzanne302]

@LaTisha8  Just check the settings on your phone and make sure you are allowing "notifications" from Airbnb. That should do it.

In the past, some of us have had issues with not receiving notifications due to app updates and iphone updates, so if that doesn't work, try uninstalling the app, turn off your phone, then reinstall the app.

[Ephraim0]

There are times when the best answer is not to leave a review. I'm guessing most of us have chosen on occasion not to leave a review for a variety of reasons.

As for your phone number it's not an issue for Airbnb. I would advise you to download Whatsapp it feels less intrusive than direct texts.

That said it's impossible for us to know what Airbnb algorithms take into account, but I would figure the algorithm takes almost everything into account. 

In short I would say if you generally leave a review,not leaving one time to time is no big deal in the big scheme of things. 

[Maia29]

I remember reading a long time ago that as hosts we are required to review a certain percentage of guests to retain our hosting status-just like avoiding cancellations, etc.

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Reviews-Required-To-Not-Lose-Superhost-Rude-To-Ask-Guest....