On Monday 28 September, Booking.com switched off something many hotels have taken for granted. The guest's phone number no longer follows the booking into the PMS, channel manager or other systems the hotel uses. The change applies to every property worldwide, and it covers new bookings, modifications and cancellations.
The number still exists. You can look it up manually in the Extranet or the Pulse app, one booking at a time. But it no longer arrives automatically.
Why Booking.com is doing this
The reason is fraud. Booking.com has seen a rise in fake WhatsApp and SMS messages to travellers, where scammers use real booking details to trick guests into paying again. The fewer systems that hold the number, the fewer places it can leak from.
It is a real problem, and guests should be protected. We fully agree with that.
But it is worth looking at who pays for the solution. Booking.com keeps the contact with the guest. The hotel, where the guest is actually staying, gets less.
Part of a bigger pattern
The phone number is not the first thing to disappear. Over time, Booking.com and Expedia have added more layers between the hotel and the guest:
- Masked email addresses that route through the OTA instead of going directly to the guest.
- Contact details that expire shortly after check-out. The Booking.com email address stops working 7 days after check-out, and Expedia's alias address is visible for 45 days.
- Masked phone numbers at Expedia.
- And now: no phone number at all from Booking.com.
Each change has a good reason on its own. Together, they make it harder to give good service before arrival, to reach the guest when something happens, and to build a relationship that lasts longer than one stay.
The lesson is simple: guest data you get from an OTA is borrowed. It can be taken back at any time.
One source is not enough
Many hotels have built their guest database on whatever comes in through the booking channels. That works as long as the channels deliver. Now we can see how fragile it is.
A good guest database is built from several sources that complement each other. The booking gives you names and dates. The front desk can confirm mobile number and email. The guest network shows that the guest is actually on site. The member portal lets guests keep their own details up to date. Each source has gaps on its own. Together they give an accurate picture of the guest.
The phone number is still worth its weight in gold. It is what ties the guest together across stays and channels, whether the booking came through Booking.com, direct or by phone. The difference is that you now have to collect it yourself. And a number the guest gives you directly, with consent, is both safer and more valuable than one that has passed through five systems.
More ways in
Booking.com can take the number, but not the stay. The guest still comes to you. The guest checks in at the front desk, connects to the network, sits down in the bar and has breakfast with you. Each of these moments is an opportunity.
Check-in and front desk. Make it a fixed part of check-in to confirm mobile number and email, and link it directly to signing up for the loyalty program. It takes 20 seconds.
Digital check-in and member portal. Let guests register themselves before or during the stay. Many prefer it, and the data is more accurate when guests enter it themselves.
The guest network. WiFi is something almost every guest uses. With a captive portal you can offer free WiFi to members, and make signing up the natural way online.
QR codes on site. In the room, in the bar and at breakfast. Where guests have time and are in a good mood.
The more ways in, the more guests you convert, and the more complete the picture of each one becomes.
What's in it for me?
This is where many get stuck. It is not enough to ask for the phone number. The guest immediately thinks: what's in it for me?
The answer has to be concrete, and it has to come right away. Loyalty is built one step at a time, and at Loyco we describe it as a loyalty ladder with four rungs:
- Pre-loyalty: The guest picks whatever is cheapest or closest. This is where many new guests start.
- Transactional: The guest is aware of the rewards, like points and perks, and chooses you because it pays off.
- Habitual: The guest chooses you out of routine.
- Emotional: The guest chooses you because it feels right, and recommends you to others.
The goal is not to get every guest to the top. The goal is to move each guest one step up, because that is how the value of the guest grows naturally. Most guests sit on the two middle rungs. Only 13% have no loyalty at all, while 28% are transactional and 37% book out of habit. Together that is two out of three guests, and they are exactly the ones who are easiest to turn into loyal direct bookers.
The first step up is the most important. It is where an OTA guest becomes your guest, and it is where "what's in it for me?" needs a clear answer:
- When the guest joins: a benefit right away, like welcome bonus points, a free mocktail in the bar or late check-out. The guest says yes and shares data because it pays off now, not "some time later".
- During the stay: coupons and points on spend, ideally linked to the guest network.
- At departure: points and an offer to book again, for example a discount on the next direct booking.
- Next time: an exclusive member rate that makes booking direct better value than booking through the OTA.
- At the next check-in: status and benefits are already applied. The guest is recognised by name.
The points are only the hook. What keeps the guest over time is being recognised, trusting that the next stay will be just as good, and having something to lose, like status and history the guest does not want to give up. But to get there, the guest first has to say yes. And the guest only does that if the answer to "what's in it for me?" is good enough.
More important than ever to own the guest
Booking.com and Expedia will remain important channels for most hotels. The point is not to stop using them. The point is that you cannot count on them to give you the relationship with the guest. You have to build that yourself.
The hotels that succeed from here on see every stay as a chance to turn an OTA guest into their own. They collect data from several sources, give the guest a good reason to say yes, and make it easy to take the next step.
The phone number used to come with the booking. Now you have to earn it. It is more work, but what you get is yours.
Want to see how you can convert more guests on site? We will show you how check-in, guest WiFi and member benefits work together in Loyco. Book a demo.