Airbnb's Off-Platform and Fee Transparency Policy sets out what hosts may and may not do with the guests Airbnb brings them. If you manage homes on Airbnb and want more direct bookings, this is the page to read first - because the most common advice ("put a card in the house with a discount for booking direct") is exactly what it rules out.
What the policy prohibits
These are Airbnb's own words, from the policy page:
- "Asking or encouraging users to move current, future, or repeat bookings (including reservation extensions) off of Airbnb"
- "Offering or soliciting discounts to book off of Airbnb"
- "Including links that take people off of the Airbnb platform in listings or messages"
- "Soliciting guests for their email, mailing address, or other communications channels using the Airbnb messaging system or email alias after a booking"
- "Selling, sharing, or using guest contact information for marketing communications or signing guests up for contact list"
What it allows
- Optional tools that help during the stay. Airbnb names "keyless entry apps and apps that facilitate a guest's experience during the stay (ex: Sonos, Nest, concierge apps) as long as they are optional".
- Another way to talk, if the guest asks for it after booking: "You may use an alternative means of communicating with a guest if requested by a guest after booking (ex: chat app)".
- Contact or identity details that are required for legal or compliance reasons.
It also rules out making guests create an account or install an app to get into the home.
What that means in practice
For guests who booked on Airbnb
Look after them as well as you can, inside the rules. A guide for their stay - directions, the house guide, the Wi-Fi - is fine, as long as it is optional and needs no sign-up. What is not fine: asking for their email through Airbnb messages, sending a discount to book elsewhere next time, or putting their Airbnb contact details on a mailing list.
Where your direct channel really comes from
Your direct bookings are built from people who reach you on their own: someone who searches your company or your home by name, a friend of a past guest, an owner's family, a guest who booked on your own site the first time. Those guests are yours to stay in touch with, with their consent. Read where direct bookings come from for how to grow each of these.
Vrbo and Booking.com
They have their own terms. We have not summarised them here - check the terms for each platform you list on before you contact its guests outside it.
This is a plain-language summary of a public policy, not legal advice. Airbnb can change its policy; the link below always shows the current version.