Airbnb no longer shares guest phone numbers with connected software: what changes and where to find the number

If the Phone field is empty on an Airbnb reservation, or shows a number that is not the guest’s own, nothing is broken in Nowistay. Airbnb changed what it sends to connected software for reservations made from 26 October 2026. The guest’s number is still on Airbnb: this article explains what changed, how to bring the number into Nowistay in a few seconds, and what Airbnb’s rules let you ask the guest.

What changed on 26 October 2026

Airbnb told hosts who manage their reservations through connected software (a PMS or channel manager such as Nowistay) that it is introducing temporary phone numbers, to protect hosts and guests against a rise in phishing attempts. For reservations made from 26 October 2026:

• Listings in the United States or Canada, when you and your guest live in the same country (with phone numbers registered in that country): Airbnb gives the guest a temporary number as soon as the reservation is confirmed, and the temporary number is what Nowistay receives.
• Every other reservation (listings in Europe and the rest of the world, or a guest from another country): Airbnb no longer passes the number to connected software and asks hosts to look it up on Airbnb. In Nowistay, the Phone field stays empty.

The change can reach your reservations gradually. Numbers you received before stay on your bookings. Airbnb messaging is not affected: your automated messages and the AI assistant’s replies keep going through the Airbnb conversation.

How the temporary numbers work

According to Airbnb’s help center, a temporary number works for calls and text messages and expires 2 days after checkout. It does not work with WhatsApp. A real phone number shared in an Airbnb message can be blocked or replaced by the temporary number. Airbnb keeps showing the last 4 digits of the guest’s real number under Suggested access code in the reservation details on Airbnb.

Copy the number from Airbnb in a few seconds

The guest’s number is still on the reservation in Airbnb, and that is where Airbnb asks you to look it up:

1. Open the reservation on Airbnb (website or app) and copy the guest’s phone number.
2. In Nowistay, open the booking in Bookings and click the pencil (Edit) next to the guest details.
3. Paste the number in Phone, with the international prefix, and save.

A number entered this way is kept when Airbnb later sends an update of the reservation.

What it changes in Nowistay

Everything that goes through the Airbnb conversation keeps working. As long as no number is on the booking:

• A template with Also send on WhatsApp still reaches the guest in the Airbnb conversation, but its WhatsApp copy is skipped (the message’s delivery details say so). A template whose Send via is set to WhatsApp cannot reach the guest. Keep Send via on Auto for Airbnb guests. With a temporary number from the US or Canada, WhatsApp does not work either.
• The Start WhatsApp conversation button and the call link on the booking stay disabled.
• Message variables with the guest’s phone number stay empty.
• A smart lock whose Code source uses the last digits of the guest phone gets a random code instead, which your messages send as usual. Do not tell guests that their door code is the end of their phone number. With a US or Canada temporary number, the code comes from the temporary number, not from the Suggested access code that Airbnb shows.

Can you ask an Airbnb guest for their phone number?

Usually not, and you do not need to: the number is on Airbnb. For reservations booked on or after 20 November 2026, Airbnb’s updated policy says that, with limited exceptions, hosts may not ask guests for personal data at any point during the booking process or the stay. That includes contact information such as a phone number, a home address or an email address. Reservations booked before that date fall under the previous version of the policy, which already banned asking guests for their email, postal address or other communication channels.

In practice:

• Do not send Airbnb guests a “please send us your number” message. If you use the request described in Booking.com guest phone number missing, keep that template limited to Booking.com and Vrbo with Apply to bookings from.
• The exception is information required by law, or by a documented community association rule such as a building security requirement. Airbnb asks you to state clearly in your listing what is required and why, and may ask for proof. In France, for example, guests who are not French nationals fill in and sign a police registration form (fiche individuelle de police) on arrival, and that form has contact fields. Mention it in the requests section of your listing and collect it on arrival. This is not legal advice: check the rules that apply where your property is.

When the guest gives the number themselves

Guests sometimes share their number on their own, to arrange a late arrival for example. The AI assistant recognises it, checks that it is the guest’s own number, saves it on the booking in international format and moves on. It never replaces a number already on the booking, so a temporary number from the US or Canada stays as it is.

Do you need the guest’s number at all?

For most stays, no. The Airbnb conversation carries your automated messages, the AI assistant’s replies and your own messages, and guests get Airbnb’s notifications on their phone. Keep the phone number for what really needs it, such as a call on arrival day, and copy it from Airbnb when you do.

What about Booking.com and Vrbo?

They work differently. On Booking.com and Vrbo, you can ask the guest for their number through your automated messages and let the AI assistant save the answer. See Booking.com guest phone number missing and Vrbo guest phone number missing.