Airbnb Messaging Issues: Here’s What You Do

Last Updated on June 16, 2023 by Rental Recon

Airbnb has an entire communication platform for hosts and their guests. As a host, you can access your inbox through the mobile app, mobile browser, as well as, any browser on your computer desktop. Additionally, Airbnb provides communication through Airbnb texting and email.

As a host, it can be hectic managing your inbox, especially if you have more than one listing. However, Airbnb has many tools in place to keep your inbox organized and to keep you notified of any new inquiries. Below is a brief overview of the Inbox features.

The Airbnb Inbox Features- Let’s Get Oriented

At the top of your Inbox, above the list of messages, there is a Search bar that allows you to quickly find message threads by typing in a specific word, guest name or confirmation code.

There are also filters provided to help keep your inbox organized. These filters are similar to a personal email account and are pretty self-explanatory. The Star filter will filter out starred messages. These messages are typically marked as important. The Unread filter will display messages that have not been read yet, or that have been marked as unread. And, you can also filter by listing, if you have multiple, as well as by stage of trip.

Stage of trip is broken down into the seven phases of Airbnb planning: Inquiries or requests, Pre-trip, Check-in, On trip, Checkout, Post-trip, and Review needed

In addition, there is also an Archived folder where all of your archived messages will remain unless they become active again. If an archived message becomes active once more, it will appear back in your All messages folder.

Your guest information and their reservation details can be found in the Details section of the inbox for each separate thread.

Now that we’ve become re-established with our inbox and its features, let’s discuss how to access our Sent messages.

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How to See Sent Messages on Airbnb

All messages that have been sent within the app or by an internet browser, can be found in the specific chat. Unfortunately, there is no filter for Sent messages but you can always use the Search bar! Step-by-step instructions on how to do so, along with additional details, are listed below.

How to Access Your Inbox (via the Airbnb Mobile App):

Open the Airbnb App from your mobile device.
Once you are logged into your account, if need be, switch to your hosting profile by tapping on the Profile icon in the bottom right corner of the menu bar.
Next, select Switch to hosting. Once you are logged in as a host, the app should default to your Inbox.
If the app doesn’t default to your inbox, tap on the Inbox icon at the bottom left of the screen.
Upon gaining access to your messages, the app will immediately let you know if you have no unread messages below the inbox header. If any messages are unread, they will be bolded.
In the upper right-hand corner, you will see a magnifying glass. Tapping on that will allow you to use the search bar feature previously mentioned.
Each thread holds all of the received and sent messages between you and that specific guest. These can be viewed by opening that thread and scrolling through it. Guests’ messages are typically gray, while hosts’ messages tend to be a shade of blue.

Above, I listed steps stating how to use the search bar found in your inbox, as well as how to view your sent messages using your Airbnb mobile app. However, I also wanted to touch on how to archive messages, as well as where to find each guest’s Details section.

Archiving messages is quick and easy in the app. Once in your inbox, scroll down to the appropriate thread and swipe left. Once you have swiped all the way to the left, it will be marked as archived and moved to your Archived Folder. Your archived folder can be by tapping the icon at top of the screen, to the left of the magnifying glass.

The Details section provides you, the host, with guest information and their reservation details within the messaging thread. This makes it much easier to stay in tune with what guest you’re chatting with, without having to leave your inbox.

When you are chatting with a guest, in the upper right-hand corner you will see a blue Details link. If you click on that link it will bring you to the Details section. In this section, you will find all of the information about that particular guest’s stay.

This information includes their check-in and check-out dates, as well as details regarding the total payout amount. After reviewing this information, to get back to the original conversation with the guest, tap on the back arrow in the top left corner. It will bring you directly back into the original thread.

As we know, Airbnb allows communication through a multitude of platforms. Although the mobile app and internet browsers function the same, accessing them is done differently. Now that you know how to use your inbox in the mobile app, let’s discuss how to do so via a web browser.

Airbnb offers two ways of accessing your inbox while on an internet browser. This way, you don’t always have to Switch to host to gain access to your host inbox. Read on to find out more!

How to Access Your Airbnb Inbox (Via Internet Browser):

These steps will work on both a mobile and desktop browser. They are not browser-specific.

Route One:

Go to www.airbnb.com and log in to your Airbnb account.
Once logged in, select the Messages icon at the top of the page.
This will bring up an inbox that will have two separate tabs. One for Traveling, and one for Hosting.
Select the Hosting tab to access your hosting inbox.

Route Two:

Go to www.airbnb.com and log in to your Airbnb account.
Once logged in to your profile, click Switch to Hosting in the upper right-hand corner and choose the Inbox tab.

Your inbox on the Airbnb website will have all of the same features that the mobile app does; they will just be formatted differently. Let me explain how.

The Search bar is placed at the top of your inbox, under the All messages header, and your filters can be found by clicking on the tool to the right of the search bar. In addition, each guest’s Details section will automatically appear to the right of the screen while you are messaging them.

When archiving a thread, you have two options. In your inbox, you can hover the mouse over the right side of the message you wish to archive. Upon hovering, you will be given the option to Star the message to mark it as important, or to Archive it.

You can also star and archive messages while you are directly in threads. At the top right of each conversation, you will see the option to star them, next to the star is the archive icon. If you want to access your Archived folder it can be found under the hamburger button next to the All messages header.

Another helpful tidbit that the Airbnb website offers for your inbox is that it automatically labels your messages. Within your inbox, you may find messages that are labeled as Past guest, Inquiry, Booking confirmed, and several others.

You will also see that the threads will state the Stage of trip for each guest; these stages were previously mentioned. This is especially helpful as you will be reminded to provide your guests with check-in and check-out information, as well as anything needed in between.

Now that you know exactly how your inbox is set up. What happens if issues start to occur? Airbnb doesn’t only offer communication through their mobile app and their internet browser platform. Hosts can also set their settings to have an alias email and an Airbnb phone number. This is helpful information to know, because when these settings are on, sometimes it can seem like your Airbnb messages aren’t working.

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Issue #1: Your Airbnb Messages are Not Working

Before we conclude that our Airbnb messages aren’t working, we need to confirm that our settings are correct. When you set up your account, you were given the option to set up an Airbnb alias email and phone number. In your Notification Settings, you control how to put these forms of communication to use.

Within your notification settings, you have access to control and update your Call, Email, and SMS settings. Note, the Message and Reminder settings automatically default to Call due to the mobile app and cannot be changed.

It is recommended to use Airbnb messaging as your main form of communication with guests as messages that are sent via other Airbnb platforms, will not be saved in your inbox.

Unfortunately, the different forms of communication do not sync. It is also easier to keep organized this way and make sure that all of your messages have gone through, and been received.

Now, as hosts, we need to communicate with our guests often. What if our guests aren’t receiving our messages? Are we sure that’s the issue? What if there’s more to it? Let’s chat more about this!

Issue #2: You Can’t Message an Airbnb Guest

As a host, I’ve found guests who are new to Airbnb aren’t always swift to respond. When this happens, it’s easy to think my messages aren’t going through, but per my inbox, it’s clear that they have. The reality is, the guest just hasn’t checked their app.

From a guest’s perspective, after paying for a hotel reservation, you just show up for check-in. So this is understandable. However, we all know communication is key for Airbnb. How do we resolve this issue?

A good workaround is to write on your listing that downloading the app is recommended or even preferred. And that turning on notifications makes communication so much easier! I also recommend sending a brief text via Airbnb text messaging and an email (using your alias), if need be. Within the message, be sure to direct them to the mobile app and ask them to check their inbox. This usually resolves the issue, and communication starts to flow.

Although directing guests to the mobile app typically solves the problem, what if it doesn’t? What if the issue is actually you, and your messages aren’t sending? If this problem occurs, there may be a few solutions.

Problem #3: Your Airbnb Message Failed to Send / Not Sending

The simplest solution to messages not sending is changing browsers and restarting the app. This may also be a cache issue, and restarting the application will clear it. However, a hard cache clear may also be needed. Be sure to take note of your internet and data connection, as a weak connection can be a common cause of this matter.

One more thing to keep in mind if you are using the mobile app, be sure to stay in the message thread while the message is sending. If you exit the screen too soon, the message will not go through.

Final Thoughts

Now you have a thorough understanding of how your Inbox works on the mobile app, as well as internet browsers. You also have an idea of how to set up your Notification Settings, and if you didn’t know the various communicative options provided to you by Airbnb, now you do. Be sure to keep those notifications on, and to keep those inboxes organized!