Post by High Priestess on May 31, 2016 1:14:14 GMT
Joi shared on NHF Jan 2015
www.airbnb.com/groups/content/content-103088
phone communication
I have a guest that would like to speak with me over the phone before booking. How do I give them my number? This is someone who has not used airbnb before (in her 50s) and i think she is wary of the internet-only communication. i sent her my number but it says "number hidden" in my message.Thanks for any help!
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Julie and Eric
Julie and Erica year ago
Hi Joi - it's against the terms to share contact information before booking.
That said, she (or you) can contact Airbnb to help, if they will help act as a relay.
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Joi
Joia year ago
I think she just wants to know I am a real person. I guess I just explain to her the policy? Do you know the reason behind the policy? Thanks!
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Julie and Eric
Julie and Erica year ago
I think she probably wants to book off Airbnb with you, which is the reason for the policy.
It's obvious that you're a host - you have several great reviews, verified ID, and other verifications.
Once she books, depending on your cancellation policy she can cancel if she's not comfortable with the situation.
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Joi
Joia year ago
Thanks for the explanation. I don't get the feeling she's trying that. It's actually a situation where the husband is the one trying to book and he said "my wife has more questions about the house and would like to chat on the phone if possible" so I think maybe she's just old school! i'll try to help her as best i can via the messaging system. thank you!
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John
Johna year ago
That's exactly why the loss of the Voice Connect system will really affect my ability to use this site for booking my units in future as I REQUIRE a voice contact before I rent to anyone.
Julie and Eric
Julie and Erica year ago
Good luck!
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John
Johna year ago
In past when Voice Connect was available, I did that with EVERY guest as the final part of process and a couple wanted to go "off-line" but I told them, "No - you started here, you finish here" - but since I have vision issues, it was VERY helpful and avoided a lot of issues.
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Carolyn
Carolyna year ago
Hi Joi, if you feel comfortable doing so, you can send her your phone number by writing it out. For example, you can write two one three, then five five five, etc. Using the word "then" seems to help. Explain you're sorry you can't write out the phone number but explain that Airbnb blocks it out. Good luck!
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Carrie
Carriea year ago
While technically possible to write out your phone number, you are violating Airbnb's terms by doing so, and you'd be risking having your membership & listing removed permanently from Airbnb. Totally not worth it, in my opinion.
Julie and Eric
Julie and Erica year ago
Good point, Carrie.
Carolyn
Carolyna year ago
Thank you for that Carrie! Good reminder. I just wish Airbnb provided more assistance for guests who are not tech savvy or prefer old-school methods. Even then I would do the majority of communication through the Airbnb thread. But there are occasions when a guest wants to talk to a "live" person, even just once during the inquiry process.
Nic and Rach
Nic and Racha year ago
You are better off keeping all your transactions/negotiations/messages/ with the Airbnb thread .
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Carolyn
Carolyna year ago
Always!
Joi
Joia year ago
Carolyn, your right on point. That's exactly who I was dealing with. After explaining to her that I can't offer my phone number she wrote me a long email with all her concerns. I addressed them as best as I could and she completed the booking thereafter. yay!
For what it's worth, her issues were not specifically related to me and my listing. She was worried about comments she had read online about people double booking and then leaving guests out to dry with no where to go, as well as listings not looking in real life like they do in the pictures. She explained that they only take one vacation per year and it's a really big deal to them and that she really wanted to be sure this was a good choice before diving in to a total unknown. I hope I was able to give her some assurance. she's kind of got me worried that our place will disappoint her since she's so skeptical! Hopefully that is not the case!
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John
Johna year ago
But if you have pix that were taken by Airbnb photog, then it was an independant 3rd party who did those so host can't fake those. That's why I have those plus a few of my own because the wide angle lens that she used distorted some views a bit and I give visitors both so they can compare.
Julie and Eric
Julie and Erica year ago
Good point, but if guests don't read, how many notice photos are Airbnb verified?
John
Johna year ago
Well, it's not that hard to see given that it's below every pix and the logo is on pix also...but then WE know what to look for...however, it's another thing that can be used to satisfy queasy inquiries.