---
title: "Can AI reply to guests on Booking.com and Airbnb? The rules in 2026"
description: "On Booking.com yes: through the Extranet tools, a connectivity provider or the e-mail alias. On Airbnb only through a partner API, otherwise as a draft you send yourself. In the EU, from 2 August 2026 guests must be told it is AI."
url: https://supalobby.com/en/blog/can-ai-reply-to-guests-on-booking-com-and-airbnb
language: en
published: 2026-10-06
updated: 2026-10-06
author: Bartosz Wilczyński
translation: https://supalobby.com/blog/czy-ai-moze-odpisywac-gosciom-na-booking-i-airbnb
---

# Can AI reply to guests on Booking.com and Airbnb? The rules in 2026

On Booking.com yes: through the Extranet tools, a connectivity provider or the e-mail alias. On Airbnb only through a partner API, otherwise as a draft you send yourself. In the EU, from 2 August 2026 guests must be told it is AI.

Yes, with different limits per platform. Booking.com says **over 30 percent of partner responses are automatic replies** and accepts them from the Extranet, a connectivity provider or the reservation e-mail alias. On Airbnb an outside agent sends only through a partner API; otherwise it drafts and you press send. EU rule from 2 August 2026: tell guests it is AI.

Below: what Booking.com permits and through which doors, what Airbnb permits, when the guest has to be told a machine is answering, how an agent gets into the thread at all, a decision table, and two replies to the same guest message, one from a rule-based auto-reply that gets it wrong and one from an agent. All platform pages were checked on 26 September 2026.

## What Booking.com lets you automate

Anything that goes through the reservation thread, by three routes. The first is Booking's own tooling in the Extranet and the Pulse app, documented in the Partner Hub:

- **Message templates** with placeholders (guest name, check-in time, property name) and image attachments. No PDFs, no QR codes. Links only from the approved list in the security settings.
- **Template scheduler** with six moments: when the guest books, one week before arrival, three days before, one day before, on the day of arrival, one day before departure.
- **Automatic replies** for the topics you tick. Booking splits them into requests within your policy (the automaton accepts) and outside your policy (the automaton sends a template with an explanation). The guest receives the reply as an e-mail and it shows in the chat.
- **Help me reply**: an AI suggestion for a free-text guest message. Booking's instruction is „Review the suggested message carefully", edit it if needed, then send. Nothing leaves without your click.
- **Auto-Reply and Smart Messenger**, announced on 9 October 2025. Auto-Reply lets partners „define custom reply topics" and is available globally. Smart Messenger, which „gathers relevant partner, property, and reservation information to autonomously take action", went to partners in the US, UK, New Zealand and Australia and to anyone with English as their Extranet language.

All of it lives under the Property tab, Messaging Preferences. Booking's own numbers: over 30 percent of all partner responses are automatic replies, around half of manual responses use templates, and over 25 percent of partner-initiated messages come from the scheduler.

The second route is a **connectivity provider**, meaning a PMS or channel manager that has implemented the Messaging API. The documentation on developers.booking.com is addressed to „a developer who works for an existing Connectivity Partner", not to a host. Such a system retrieves messages, replies with text and attachments and tags a thread as no reply needed. It may write from booking until seven days after checkout or cancellation, plus a 14-day window whenever the guest writes. Date-change and „Cancel for less" requests still have to be answered in the Extranet. We found no published message quota and no written rule that content must relate to the reservation; the conversation object itself is always tied to one reservation, which settles it in practice.

The third route is the **reservation e-mail alias**. Booking hides the guest's address behind an alias ending in @guest.booking.com and itself recommends that alias for PDFs and photos. A reply sent to the alias lands in the thread the guest sees in the app; if the guest has no Booking account, Booking e-mails them.

Rules none of the routes escape: communication stays on the platform („All communication should stay on the Booking.com platforms"), and clause 2.9.3 of the General Delivery Terms forbids using the Messaging Service or guest contact details „to send unsolicited electronic communications to any individual". Booking also states that it processes and screens message content (clause 2.9.2), strips unapproved links and replaces messages it flags as phishing with „This message was deleted". There is no ban on AI-written replies anywhere on Booking's pages. Booking ships them itself.

## What Airbnb lets you automate

Its own tools, yes. Outside tools only through an API reserved for companies. Airbnb gives a host:

- **Quick replies** (article 2898): templates of up to 4,000 characters with details pulled from the listing and the reservation, under Messages, Settings, Quick replies.
- **Scheduled quick replies** (article 2897): sent on their own after a booking is confirmed, a couple of days before the trip and the morning before it ends, in the listing's time zone. A missing listing detail shows as „unavailable" in the message. An Airbnb guide of 8 December 2025 adds an after-departure message for review requests.
- **AI features** (article 4097): suggested quick replies, urgent-message prioritisation, suggested actions. A Resource Center post of 20 May 2026 announces auto-replies: „Guests receive AI-powered answers to common questions with details pulled from your listing page", and „each auto-reply identifies Airbnb as the sender"; you can delete it and send your own. Rollout „in the coming months", with no dates or country list.

An outside agent has a harder time. The Terms of Service effective 5 February 2026 say: „Do not use bots, crawlers, scrapers, or other automated means to access or collect data or other content from or otherwise interact with the Airbnb Platform." A tool that logs into your account and clicks for you breaks that line. The legal door is the API, and the API Terms of 15 October 2025 are written for organisations: a mutual NDA, a data security review and implementation of all mandatory API features within six months of release. That is why the only things that send Airbnb messages on your behalf are a PMS that is an API partner, or you, from a prepared draft.

Two content rules apply whatever the tool. The off-platform policy (article 2799): before booking all communication is on Airbnb, after booking another channel only „if requested by a guest". The content policy (article 546): content includes „any content generated or edited using AI", so an agent's mistake is your mistake. And time: the ground rules for hosts expect a reply within 1 hour to time-sensitive messages near check-in and within 12 hours to general questions in the five days before arrival, both for messages received during local daytime hours, while Superhost needs a 90 percent response rate within 24 hours.

## Do you have to tell the guest it is AI

In the EU, from 2 August 2026, yes, unless it is obvious. Article 50(1) of the AI Act (Regulation 2024/1689) requires providers to ensure that AI systems intended to interact directly with natural persons are designed „in such a way that the natural persons concerned are informed that they are interacting with an AI system", unless that is obvious to a reasonably well-informed person. Paragraph 5 adds that the information is given „in a clear and distinguishable manner at the latest at the time of the first interaction". Article 113 sets the application date: 2 August 2026.

The paragraph 1 duty sits with the provider of the tool, not with you as its user. In practice that means three things: the tool must be able to introduce itself, you do not switch that off, and you do not sign an automated reply with the name of a person who never read it. We did not check UK or US disclosure rules for this piece; if you host there, ask your vendor what they do. Airbnb's own auto-replies show Airbnb as the sender. Whether Booking labels automatic replies in the guest's chat we could not find on Booking's pages. The simplest fix is one line in the first message:

```
You are talking to the AI assistant of [property name]. If it is unsure about anything, it hands the conversation to the host.
```

## How an agent gets into the thread

Every channel has one door and one owner of the Send button.

| Channel | Route | Who sends | What the agent sees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booking.com, Extranet tools | templates, scheduler, automatic replies, Auto-Reply | Booking | only your templates and the topic of the question |
| Booking.com, Help me reply | suggestion in the chat window | you | thread and reservation, but only while you sit in the Extranet |
| Booking.com, connectivity provider | Messaging API | PMS or channel manager | thread, reservation, whatever the PMS holds |
| Booking.com, e-mail alias | notification e-mails and the @guest.booking.com alias | agent | thread, reservation from the notification, property knowledge base |
| Airbnb, Airbnb tools | quick and scheduled replies, AI auto-replies | Airbnb | listing and reservation data |
| Airbnb, PMS with API access | Airbnb API | PMS | thread and reservation |
| Airbnb, agent without API | draft in the agent's inbox | you, with one click | thread and knowledge base |

## What can you automate, and what not: a decision table

| You want to | Booking.com | Airbnb |
|---|---|---|
| Send the door code the day before arrival | scheduler, moment „one day before arrival" | scheduled quick reply |
| Answer parking and directions questions at night | topic auto-reply, or an agent via connectivity or the alias | Airbnb's auto-reply once it reaches you, or an agent's draft in the morning |
| Answer something no template covers | Help me reply (you click) or an agent | agent draft, you click |
| Invite a direct booking | no, communication stays on the platform | no, off-platform policy |
| Send an online check-in link | yes, after approving the link in the security settings | yes, if it is optional, or legally required and disclosed in the listing |
| Send a long house manual | PDFs only via the e-mail alias; text and images in the chat | quick reply of up to 4,000 characters, split longer ones |
| Write after checkout | up to 7 days, by hand or via connectivity; the scheduler's last moment is the day before departure | scheduled message after departure |
| Hide that AI is replying | no, Article 50 of the AI Act in the EU | no, Article 50 applies here too in the EU |

## What does a failing auto-reply look like next to an agent's reply

The guest writes on Friday at 22:14, two days before arrival:

```
Hi, we land at 10:30 on Sunday. Could we drop the bags and maybe check in early? Also, is there parking for a van (2.3 m high)?
```

The automatic reply for the topic „parking", within the property's policy:

```
Thank you for your message. Yes, free private parking is available on site. We look forward to welcoming you.
```

It answered half the question, ignored early check-in and waved a 2.3 m van into a garage with a 2.0 m door. The guest got an e-mail, the thread looks handled, and you find out on Sunday.

The reply from an agent that reads the thread, the reservation and the property's knowledge base:

```
Hi Anna, thanks for the heads-up. Bags: yes, from 11:00 you can leave them in the locker in the hallway (the code comes in Sunday morning's message). Check-in: the flat is free from 15:00, because Saturday's guests leave at 11:00 and cleaning runs until about 14:30. If it is ready earlier, I will message you. Parking: the garage has a 2.0 m height limit, so the van will not fit. There is free street parking on Short Street, 80 m from the entrance, no permit needed on Sundays. Anything else, just write.
```

The difference is not politeness. The agent knew the previous booking ends the same day, that the garage is 2.0 m and that street parking is free on Sundays. The automaton knew that the word „parking" had appeared.

## Where Supalobby fits

On Booking.com Supalobby works both ways with no channel manager or PMS: Extranet notifications go to the connected mailbox, and replies go back through Booking's relay into the guest's thread. On Airbnb the agent only reads and drafts; you send in Airbnb with one click. In Autopilot it answers on its own behind a confidence gate and, when unsure, asks you and hands the thread over. From a sample of 434 conversations in September 2026: a median of 3.6 seconds to reply, 46 percent of text conversations closed autonomously, 30 percent handed to the host. It does not work around either platform's rules. Autopilot costs 49 zł net per unit per month, roughly 11 euro.

## Frequently asked questions

**Does Booking.com allow AI to answer guests?**

Yes. Booking itself offers Help me reply, topic-based automatic replies and, since 9 October 2025, Auto-Reply, and outside systems write through a connectivity provider's Messaging API or the reservation e-mail alias. The conditions: communication stays on the platform, no unsolicited messages (General Delivery Terms, clause 2.9.3), only approved links, and every message sits in the thread of one reservation.

**Can an AI agent send messages on Airbnb by itself?**

Only as a system with Airbnb API access, meaning an organisation that signed the API Terms of 15 October 2025. The Terms of Service of 5 February 2026 ban bots and automated means of interacting with the platform, so a tool clicking inside your account breaks the rules. Without the API the agent drafts and you send in Airbnb. Airbnb is also rolling out its own AI auto-replies, sent with Airbnb as the sender.

**Do I have to tell guests that an AI is replying?**

In the EU, from 2 August 2026, yes, under Article 50 of the AI Act, unless it is obvious. The duty to design that disclosure falls on the tool's provider; as the host you should not switch it off or sign an automated reply with the name of a person who never read it. One sentence in the first message does the job. We did not check UK or US rules for this piece.

**Do automated replies hurt my response metrics?**

Not by themselves. Booking says over 30 percent of partner responses are automatic replies and that quick answers reduce cancellations. Airbnb counts a 90 percent response rate within 24 hours for Superhost, and scheduled quick replies are its own tool. What hurts is an automaton answering the wrong question, because the guest writes again, waits again and rates lower.

**Can AI offer the guest a direct booking outside Booking.com or Airbnb?**

No. Booking states that all communication should stay on its platforms, and Airbnb's off-platform policy forbids asking or encouraging guests to move current, future or repeat bookings off Airbnb. The agent may answer about this reservation, send directions and the door code. A different channel is allowed only if the guest asks for it after booking.


## Sources

- [Booking.com Partner Hub, Setting up templates, automatic replies and message notifications](https://partner.booking.com/en-gb/help/reservations/contact-extranet/setting-templates-automatic-replies-and-message-notifications) (2026-09-21)
- [Booking.com Partner Hub, Contacting your guests (Help me reply, e-mail aliases, messaging window)](https://partner.booking.com/en-us/help/reservations/contact-extranet/contacting-guests) (2026-09-24)
- [Booking.com Partner Hub, Messaging tools (over 30 percent of responses are automatic replies)](https://partner.booking.com/en-gb/solutions/messaging-tools) (2026-09-26)
- [Booking.com newsroom, Smart Messenger and Auto-Reply announcement](https://news.booking.com/bookingcom-debuts-agentic-ai-innovations-adding-to-its-robust-suite-of-genai-tools-for-customers/) (2025-10-09)
- [Booking.com Connectivity, Understanding the Messaging API](https://developers.booking.com/connectivity/docs/messaging-api/understanding-the-messaging-api) (2026-09-26)
- [Booking.com Connectivity, Managing messages (approved links, phishing redaction)](https://developers.booking.com/connectivity/docs/messaging-api/managing-messages) (2026-09-26)
- [Booking.com Connectivity, Managing conversations (posting a message, guests without an account get an e-mail)](https://developers.booking.com/connectivity/docs/messaging-api/managing-conversations) (2026-09-26)
- [Booking.com, General Delivery Terms (clause 2.9 Messaging Service)](https://admin.booking.com/hotelreg/terms-and-conditions.html?language=en) (2026-09-26)
- [Airbnb Help, Create and send quick replies to guests (article 2898)](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2898) (2026-09-26)
- [Airbnb Help, Create scheduled quick replies and send them to guests automatically (article 2897)](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2897) (2026-09-26)
- [Airbnb Resource Center, Using scheduled messages to save time (after-departure message)](https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/using-scheduled-messages-to-save-time-275) (2025-12-08)
- [Airbnb Help, AI-powered features on Airbnb (article 4097)](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/4097) (2026-09-26)
- [Airbnb Resource Center, Respond faster in the Messages tab (AI auto-replies)](https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/respond-faster-in-the-messages-tab-770) (2026-05-20)
- [Airbnb, Terms of Service (no bots, crawlers or automated means)](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2908) (2026-02-05)
- [Airbnb, API Terms of Service (program requirements)](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3418) (2025-10-15)
- [Airbnb Help, Off-Platform and Fee Transparency Policy (article 2799)](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2799) (2026-09-26)
- [Airbnb Help, Content Policy (article 546)](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/546) (2026-09-26)
- [Airbnb Help, Ground rules for home hosts (article 2895)](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2895) (2026-09-26)
- [Airbnb Help, Superhost requirements (article 829)](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/829) (2026-09-26)
- [AI Act Explorer, Article 50, Transparency obligations (text of Regulation 2024/1689)](https://artificialintelligenceact.eu/article/50/) (2026-09-26)
- [AI Act Explorer, Article 113, Entry into force and application](https://artificialintelligenceact.eu/article/113/) (2026-09-26)