WhatsApp for Airbnb hosts

WhatsApp is the easiest way to reach most Airbnb guests once a booking is confirmed: send a short welcome, the check-in details the day before, a quick "settled in?" check, the checkout reminder, and a thank-you with the review link. Keep each message short, personal and about the stay, and keep anything about the booking itself in Airbnb's own messages.

Guests read WhatsApp. Many of them don't open the Airbnb app until they need it, and its notifications sit among dozens of others. A message from a real person on WhatsApp, with the guest's name on it, gets read.

When you can start

Airbnb shares the guest's phone number with you once the reservation is confirmed. You'll find it in the reservation details. From there you can start a WhatsApp chat, or send the guest a link that opens a chat with you.

In the United States and Canada, Airbnb may give eligible hosts and guests temporary phone numbers instead, to protect privacy. Those numbers are for calls and texts, so in that case keep the conversation in Airbnb messages.

A good first message is a simple welcome that tells the guest who you are and that this is the place to reach you:

Hi Sara, this is Anita, your host at Sea Breeze Villa. Thanks for booking! I'll send your check-in details the day before you arrive. If you need anything before then, just message me here.

What to send, and when

A stay needs only a few messages. Each one has a job.

When	Message	Why it helps
Right after booking	Welcome	The guest knows who you are and where to reach you
A few days before	Arrival time and any ID you need	You can plan cleaning and check-in
The day before arrival	Check-in details	Directions, door or key, Wi-Fi, all in one place
A few hours after arrival	"Settled in?"	Problems come to you while you can fix them
Checkout morning	Checkout reminder	Time, keys, what to do with towels and rubbish
After checkout	Thank-you and review link	The stay is fresh; it's the best moment to ask

That's six short messages over the whole stay. Anything more should be a reply to the guest.

The check-in message

This is the one guests come back to, so make it complete: the address with a map pin, how to get in, parking, Wi-Fi and your number. See the check-in message every guest needs for full templates.

The "settled in?" check

Hi Sara, hope you found the villa easily! Is everything working as it should? Anything you need, just message me here.

This is the most useful message of the stay. A weak AC, a missing towel or a confusing TV remote gets sorted on day one instead of appearing in the review.

The checkout reminder

Good morning Sara! Just a reminder that checkout is at 11 am today. Please leave the keys in the key box and the used towels in the bathroom. Thank you for staying with us, and safe travels!

The thank-you and review ask

Thank you for staying with us, Sara! How was everything? If you have a minute, an honest review on Airbnb would mean a lot to us: {review link}

For more on timing and follow-ups, see how to get more Airbnb reviews.

Use what WhatsApp does well

Location pins. Send your home's location as a pin, not just the address. Guests can open it straight in their maps app. For homes that are hard to find, add a photo of the gate or entrance.

Voice notes. A 20-second voice note from you ("Hi Sara, it's Anita, welcome! Message me any time") feels personal in a way text doesn't. It works especially well for the welcome and the thank-you.

Photos and short videos. A photo of the key box, the fuse board or the hot-water switch answers questions before they're asked. Guests can also send you a photo when something isn't working, which makes problems faster to understand.

The guest's language. If a guest writes to you in another language, reply in it if you can. WhatsApp chats are easy to translate, and guests notice the effort.

Set up WhatsApp Business

The free WhatsApp Business app makes guest chats easier to run:

• Business profile: your home's name, a photo and a short description, so guests know who's messaging them.
• Quick replies: save your common answers (Wi-Fi, parking, checkout) and send them with a shortcut.
• Greeting and away messages: an automatic first reply, and a message for when you're asleep or busy.
• Labels: tag chats by home or by stage (arriving, staying, checked out), so nothing gets lost.

Keep the booking in Airbnb

WhatsApp is for looking after the guest. The booking itself lives in Airbnb. When something touches the reservation, such as a date change, an extra guest, a refund or a problem you may need Airbnb's help with, ask the guest to send it through Airbnb messages too. That way it's on record where Airbnb support can see it.

A simple line works:

Happy to help with the extra night! Could you send the change request through Airbnb so it's on your booking? I'll accept it straight away.

Several homes, one phone

With two or three homes, WhatsApp on one phone is fine. Beyond that, a few habits help:

• Name each chat with the guest's name, the home and the dates.
• Label by home so you can see every guest at one place.
• Share with your caretaker: send them the guest's arrival time and any requests, so you're not the only one who knows.
• Write things down once: a short house guide (Wi-Fi, appliances, nearby food) you can send as a message or PDF saves you typing the same answers every week.

Templates you can copy

Welcome (after booking):

Hi {name}, this is {your name}, your host at {home}. Thanks for booking! I'll send your check-in details the day before you arrive. Any questions before then, just message me here.

Arrival time:

Hi {name}, looking forward to hosting you on {date}! What time do you expect to arrive? That helps us have everything ready.

Settled in:

Hi {name}, hope you found {home} easily! Is everything okay? Anything you need, just message me.

Checkout reminder:

Good morning {name}! Checkout is at {time} today. {Key instructions}. Thank you for staying with us, and safe travels!

Thank-you and review:

Thank you for staying with us, {name}! How was everything? If you have a minute, an honest review on Airbnb would mean a lot: {review link}

How Prohostings helps

Prohostings runs this whole sequence on WhatsApp for you, in your voice: the welcome, the check-in details, the settled-in check, the checkout reminder and the review ask. Its AI agent answers guest questions from your home's details at any hour and hands anything about money, dates or problems to you. You can start with the free listing report.

Sources

• Airbnb Help Centre: how temporary phone numbers work
• WhatsApp Business features