Airbnb announced it will expand its temporary phone number system to large hosts and guests in the United States and Canada, with the rollout beginning October 30. Under the new policy, hosts who manage properties through third-party property management software will no longer have access to guests’ actual phone numbers during their stays.
The temporary phone numbers function for calls and text messages from the moment a booking is confirmed through two days after the guest checks out. Following that window, any further communication attempts are directed to Airbnb’s support team, which will then determine whether to share the guest’s real contact information. The company began piloting this system with a limited group of hosts and guests during the previous December.
The temporary numbers apply specifically when a listing is located in the U.S. or Canada, both the host and guest are residents of those countries, and their phone numbers are registered in those jurisdictions. For bookings that do not meet these criteria, hosts who use API-connected property management platforms will still be able to access guest phone numbers through Airbnb’s system.
According to Airbnb, the expansion of the temporary phone number feature is designed to protect user privacy and facilitate secure communication between hosts and guests. However, the change also has the effect of making it more challenging for property managers to convert Airbnb guests into direct bookings outside the platform, since managers will have a more limited window to obtain guest contact information.
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