If the Phone field is empty on your Booking.com reservations since the end of September 2026, nothing is broken on your side and nothing is missing in Nowistay. Booking.com stopped passing guest phone numbers to every connected software, for every host worldwide. This article explains what changed, why, and how Nowistay gets the number back for you with a single automated message and the AI assistant.
From 28 September 2026, Booking.com no longer includes the guest’s phone number in the reservation data it sends to connected systems: property management systems, channel managers and every other connectivity partner. The change applies to all new reservations, and to modifications and cancellations of existing ones. Numbers you had already received before that date are not removed.
Three things did not change:
Booking.com presented the change to its connectivity partners as a measure against fraud. Travellers have been receiving more and more scam text and WhatsApp messages that use genuine booking details (the property name, the dates, the reservation number) to look credible, then push them to “confirm” a card or pay a balance through a fake link. Earlier in 2026, reservation data taken from partner accounts was used in exactly this kind of targeted phishing.
By keeping phone numbers out of the data it distributes, Booking.com reduces the number of places where a guest’s number is stored and could leak. The number stays where the guest gave it, and on the Booking.com conversation, which Booking.com controls. Booking.com has not announced an alternative, such as a masked phone number, at the time of writing.
Everything that goes through the Booking.com conversation still works: automated messages, the AI assistant’s answers, your own replies. Only what needs the guest’s phone number is affected:
The number is not lost: the guest has it, and Booking.com lets you message them. So you can use Nowistay to ask the guest once, through your usual automated messages, and lets the AI assistant handle the answer:
No form to fill, no link to open, nothing to copy by hand, and it works in every language the guest writes in.
The AI assistant must be active on the property, since it is the assistant that reads the guest’s answer. If you are new to message templates, start with how to set up automated guest messages.
When the guest replies, the assistant checks that the number is the guest’s own (not a driver’s, not an emergency contact’s, not the reservation number), stores it in international format and confirms briefly to the guest. Open the booking in Bookings: the number now appears under Phone.
Nothing to configure: once the number is saved, your templates set to send on WhatsApp reach the guest, and you can start a WhatsApp conversation from the booking.
Booking.com already shows you the guest’s number in the Extranet, and the request travels through Booking.com’s own messaging, so asking a guest to confirm the number you can reach them on is a normal part of preparing their stay. Keep it short, say why you need it, ask for the country code, and never push the guest to leave the platform or pay elsewhere. Two examples you can paste into a template:
In your booking confirmation message (add it as the last paragraph):
One last thing: on the day of your arrival we may need to reach you quickly (access instructions, a last-minute change). Could you reply with the mobile number we can contact you on, with the country code (for example +33 6 12 34 56 78)? Thank you!
As a dedicated message, a few days before arrival (Booking.com reservations only):
Hello {{guest_first_name}}, your stay at {{property_name}} starts on {{arrival_date}}. So that we can send you the arrival instructions and reach you if anything comes up on the day, could you confirm the mobile number we can contact you on? Just reply with the number, including the country code (for example +44 7911 123456). Thanks, and see you soon!
Guests answer this naturally: it is in their interest to be reachable on the day. Expect a short reply with the number, which is all the assistant needs.
You can also copy it yourself. Open the reservation in the Booking.com Extranet or the Pulse app, where the number is still shown. Then in Nowistay, open the booking, click Edit in the guest details, fill in Phone with the international prefix and save. A number you enter this way is also kept on later Booking.com updates.
Airbnb still passes the guest’s phone number with the reservation, so nothing changes there. The automatic method above works for any reservation without a number, whatever the platform, as long as the guest can answer you in a conversation Nowistay receives: the platform’s messaging, email or WhatsApp.
