adding links to activities for guests

[Mary4426]

I have recently added some links to activities that guests may be interested in when visiting the area to the automated messages, and I noticed that in my copy of this message (in my e-mail) it said these are "hidden by airbnb".  However, in my airbnb inbox, I can see them.  

Are the guests getting these links?

If there are rules against adding links, does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

@Mary4426   Links are supposed to be enabled after a booking is confirmed, but any sent in the correspondence prior to that will remain hidden. Things don't always work out like that, though, so it might depend on whether your guest is viewing the message in app, desktop, or email. 

One thing that has no risk of being hidden is links within an Airbnb domain, so what you could do to streamline everything is just get all your recommendations together in your personal Guidebook and send it as just one single link:  https://www.airbnb.com/s/guidebooks?refinement_paths[]=/guidebooks/2647061

[Lisa723]

@Mary4426 @Anonymous 

FWIW

Airbnb prevents its own link to one of my listings from appearing in another listing, so it's not always true that airbnb.com links are allowed. (I don't know whether this would be the case in messaging.)

I have noticed that whether links are hidden in Airbnb messages depends on the current state of the reservation. If the reservation is confirmed, they are not hidden, even in messages where they previously were hidden. And if the reservation is not yet confirmed or has been canceled the links are hidden, even in messages where they were previously not hidden. So in Airbnb messaging hiding appears to be a real-time event based on reservation status. Of course, this is not true for email copies.

[M199]

@Mary4426 

Adding links in your house manual seems to work.  In your scheduled message say something like "if you are interested in local activities, please see our House Manual or Guidebook and then copy and paste the links you are interested in into your browser".  Then tell them where to find the info on your site.  Of course, you will need to keep both documents up to date.  Doing this also looks good on you as a host 😉  As a side note, just by referring guests to my Guidebook  in the booking confirmation, I  find that guests are appreciative and some have extended their stays.