Masked phone number

A temporary, platform-issued phone number that stands in for a guest's real one. The booking channel passes the masked number to your PMS instead of the guest's own, routes calls and texts through it, and retires it after the stay.

Channels use masking to cut fraud. Scammers have been reaching guests on WhatsApp and SMS using real reservation details, so platforms have narrowed the number of systems that hold a guest's actual phone number. Airbnb supplies masked numbers to connected systems, and Booking.com stopped transmitting guest phone numbers through connectivity partners in September 2026, keeping them in the Extranet and the Pulse app instead.

What it changes for an operator

• Automated SMS to a masked number may not reach the guest unless the PMS and the channel are set up to route through the mask.
• Staff who need to call a guest directly may have to look the number up in the channel's own extranet or app.
• Some PMSes require an allowlist step. In Track, for example, on-site staff can only call or text once numbers are added under Approved Phone Numbers in the Airbnb channel settings.

The practical test is to take a live reservation from each channel and check that your arrival message, door code and checkout reminder actually arrive.