After a reservation is confirmed, both parties are given each other’s full name and phone number.

You will receive a reservation confirmation email to let you know about the upcoming reservation, which will include a link to view the full itinerary on Airbnb:

You can also get this information by logging into Airbnb and going to Reservations.

Should you wish, you’re able to continue messaging your guest through the Airbnb messaging platform.

Your guest will also receive their itinerary containing useful information about the reservation, such as...

• Check-in times
• Checkout times
• Your address
• Your contact information
• Their receipt
• Your house rules
• Your house manual

Whilst non-obligatory, you should also send a welcome message. This will typically include confirmation of the trip details, information on how the guest is able to get to your home from common arrival points (e.g. airports, train stations, etc.), and questions that clarify check-in details (e.g. arrival time, need for spare beds, parking arrangements, etc.).

Creating a high-quality template message will enable you to re-use it for each reservation you receive. The purpose of this message is twofold:

1. It demonstrates that you’re a friendly, communicative and contactable host
2. It helps you understand where your guests are arriving from and at what time. You can then use this information to provide useful information on how to get to your place to ensure a seamless check-in process (which you’ll be rated on shortly)

These days, many guests use the text messaging app Whatsapp. Upon confirmation of a reservation, you will receive your guest’s phone number.

Using Whatsapp is especially useful for communicating with international guests who aren’t on your local country’s telecommunication network. Alternatively, standard SMS or Apple’s iMessage works just as effectively for local guests from your country or non-Whatsapp users too.

Once you’ve downloaded the app to your phone and added your guest’s name and phone number to your contacts, you’ll be able to see if they too have the app, and if they do, you can send them a text message.

Click here to download Whatsapp.

Even if you send your guests an introductory message, it’s still a good idea to also send them this brief text message too. You may wish to introduce yourself or let them know that they’re able to contact you on that number if they have any questions. You can also let them know that you’ve just sent them an message with some information and/or questions too.

Despite the usefulness of alternative communication options like text messaging, calling and private email channels; try default to communicating via Airbnb’s private messaging system on the Airbnb platform after having established these other communication channels. Doing so will streamline messages into a single repository both you and your guest are able to reference again in the future, and provide a heightened level of safety and accountability.

You also have an opportunity to develop a House Manual which explains features of your listing (such as how to gain access to your home). Guests will have access to your house manual once they’ve confirmed a booking. To avoid repeating yourself in any introductory messages and your house manual, simply reference the existence of your house manual in any introductory message.

However, make sure that critical information like how to get to your place is specifically included in introductory messages.