What's your preferred form of communication with guests?

[Elisa]

Hello everyone 😊,

I hope your week is going smoothly.

I would like to discuss the way you choose to communicate with your guests.

Using the Airbnb platform to exchange messages offers advantages in terms of security and record-keeping.

On the other hand, texting allows for responsiveness and a sense of connection that can strengthen the relationship with your guests. Phone calls, meanwhile, enable direct and personal interaction, though some guests might prefer to avoid verbal conversations, especially in an international context.

What’s your preferred method of communicating with your guests: through Airbnb, by text, by phone, or perhaps by email?

Wishing you a great day,
Elisa 🌻

[ManiKu0]

I can Guests send me a Whatsapp message immediatly after booking so, it all starts from there. I prefer communication at AirBNB only, we wished to keep my personal communication at Whatsapp and Guests communication at AirBNB only. There is no such preferences.

[Elaine701]

@Elisa 

By far, WhatsApp is the most common means of communication in Europe, and all of our guests prefer it. They use it constantly, and it's quite difficult to miss a message. And it's much faster than the Airbnb app; Instant, rather than minutes or hours. And it's  simple to send photos and other documents, links to local attractions or Google maps... etc. Also, you can see if the guest has received the message in addition to if they've read it (e g., message received - flight has landed). And WhatsApp doesn't block content that Airbnb doesn't like (e.g., certain links, phone numbers, addresses, etc). 

Most communication between host and guest is benign stuff like flight arrival times, any special requests, local info, directions etc. So WhatsApp is much better for this type of communication, and guests overwhelmingly prefer it.

But for anything involving an "issue", it's important to use the Airbnb message system. Just for posterity (not that written proof of guest misbehaviour guarantees that you would prevail in any potential dispute, but it can help). 

[미나3]

저는 대부분 에어비앤비로 게스트와 소통하고 있어요. 하지만 예약확정 된 고객이 왓츠앱 사용을 요청 하는 경우에는, 왓츠앱과 에어비앤비를 동시에 사용해서 소통하고 있습니다. 😊

[Greg2406]

@Elisa 

Good to hear from you.    We highly recommend that all Hosts communicate with Guests (after the booking) via the platforms message board AND text message.   Both have a date and time stamp on them and, speaking from experience, these are critical to have should there be any issues.