Is it normal for Airbnb to give your personal cell phone to guests?

[Michelle1648]

Hi Everyone

I had a very weird thing happen to me this morning.   I had a guest request a booking and I asked them a few questions as I always do, they seemed a bit evasive and their answers a bit weird (too much information).  I decided to confirm. 

Last night they sent me a text 9 days early asking for entry information (code for keypad)  to my property because they wont have access to emails after the next day. 

With today's free wifi everywhere I asked them how they were going to communicate with me without email? This morning I get a text saying " Thank you for the number" and a big conversation about them travelling and no internet.  I responded " I did not give you my number, how did you get it?"  ... then they sent a screen shot of Air BnB site with my number.  This has never happened, I have always had communication through Air BnB as it is my understanding for insurance purposes this is how its done. 

I called Air BnB and was on the phone for awhile and initially I was told it wasn't normal, then I was told it was probably my settings that I had text as a form of communication, still, why is my number showing outright when we are supposed to go through the system? Now this person has my personal cell.  I want to know if this is normal because this is a first for me.

  Needless to say I called the guest and had a live conversation and felt a bit better because I was about to cancel this reservation.  

[Jeff158]

@Michelle1648 

Only with a confirmed reservation will you get the guests phone number and the guests will get yours.

[Michelle1648]

I have never had a guest contact my cell before so I had no idea.  Good to know, I was a bit off about it.  So if we talk to these people on our private cell and something happens does this mess up our insurance? I was told not to talk to anyone off air BnB when I first started.  

[Kath9 · Accepted solution]

@Michelle1648, yes Michelle, @Jeff158 is right, guests do have access to our personal numbers once a booking is confirmed (as we do to theirs). However, hosts generally don't like it when guests contact them through their number instead of Airbnb messaging (as you say, you want a record of communications in case anything goes wrong). If a guest messages me on my personal number, I answer them through Airbnb and ask them message me there rather than by text. I've had to block my number from one previous somewhat stalky guest so far...

[Michelle1648]

yes, that does concern me, being bothered after the fact.  Ok, well I guess I know now.  It really makes no sense if they want us to avoid contact outside of Air BnB.  Thanks for your response.  

[Kaylee18]

@Michelle1648   The younger guests I get text me sometimes if they ever have any questions during their stay. I just make sure to always go through the airbnb messenger if it is something I want recorded. If a guest ever texts you with an issue, etc, always ask them to take the discussion to the airbnb app so it is recorded that way 🙂 

[Sarah977]

@Michelle1648  I find it helpful to have a guest's phone number and they also make use of mine.

While it's true that anything that could prove contentious should always be dealt with through Airbnb messaging, sometimes, that's just not going to work. When my guests arrive, they are usually flying in, most are in a foreign country where they don't speak the language, and no, there isn't just free Wifi out there for everyone to access the internet. And I can understand a guest not feeling okay about using a free Wifi connection at the airport, as those connections are public, and not secure. So my guests call or text me when they arrive at the airport, or are ready to board the bus, to give me a heads-up on arrival time, as it takes about an hour to get here on the bus.

If guests communicate with you by text or call, and you feel it's something you might want to have a record of (say they tell you they will be checking in around noon, but then don't show up until 11PM, without updating you, leaving yo waiting around all day and night without knowing if they are going to show), you can always follow up their text or phone call with an Airbnb message. "Hi XX, just confirming our phone call that you are planning to arrive at noon. Please let me know if you are going to be later for some reason, so I'm not left waiting around all day, thanks."

[J-Renato0]

I agree with @Sarah977 

I would add that, from my experience, I have noticed that if a guest has bad intentions , in most of the cases they are more prone to talk only via Airbnb messenger. Mainly if they want to make up some lies or whatsoever.
I do not fear guests that want phone contact (communication apps) after having reserved.
However if something goes wrong during the stay, I answer only via Airbnb messenger.

[Stephanie365]

Actually, yes. Once a reservation is confirmed, AirBNB shares numbers.

From your main page, click on "Host"
From the drop-down menu, click "Reservations"

A list of your upcoming reservations will appear.

Click "Details"

It will show you all relevant info about the reservation starting with general info about your guest. There will be two buttons to click "Message"  or   "Call"

Just below these buttons, you will find your guest's phone number.

Although it is highly recommended to communicate through AirBNB Messenger, twice now their system has been down (that I know of). So I texted my guest with the check in information because I could not send it through AirBNB. 

[Dimitar27]

Yes, the system shares the phone numbers.

Make the things easy for both sides-set the password to something, related to the guest's phone number-for example the last 3-5 digits. WiFi is definitely not everywhere and obstacles of any kind can always lay somewhere in the shades....