2cat_lady
Well-known member
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- Sep 24, 2014
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Okay, so here's where I am right now.And you know what's really silly?I never received it either.I never knew they sent a pre arrival email. I do the same. And yet guests who want to cancel tell me they have no idea how to contact booking.I got mine March 5th CH and here it is:I think about out three weeks ago. I got one confirmation with a personal email address, and then the next day it was a 'modified' reservation with only the email being different.I was never told that. When did that start?.
I got an email that notified me, which was in my I box, which you don't know about unless you actually log into it. Their reasoning was that it was to protect the 'customer's privacyand seurity', which doesn't really make sense because they also said I could still send them messages via their Extranet service. They still give me the phone number and address though. Don't know if I should actually call the customer. You'd think if there were any concerns with their reservation they would have contacted me directly and not just added a notation to their Booking reservation.
.Just checked my inbox (in their system) and there is no message regarding this change to their system. I checked all my future bookings and all have their own email addresses still being shown on their site as I have in my system2cat_lady said:I think about out three weeks ago. I got one confirmation with a personal email address, and then the next day it was a 'modified' reservation with only the email being different.
I got an email that notified me, which was in my I box, which you don't know about unless you actually log into it. Their reasoning was that it was to protect the 'customer's privacyand seurity', which doesn't really make sense because they also said I could still send them messages via their Extranet service. They still give me the phone number and address though. Don't know if I should actually call the customer. You'd think if there were any concerns with their reservation they would have contacted me directly and not just added a notation to their Booking reservation.
Not sure what is going on but I will keep a close eye out for change.
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Dear partner,
As you may already be aware, scammers are increasingly trying to find ways to gain access to online platforms like Booking.com. They try to use email addresses, as well as links, attachments and images in emails, to illegally gain access to the private information of our customers and partners.
Because we are committed to protecting you and our mutual guests from these kinds of email-based attacks, we are providing you with two features to create an even more secure and convenient method for you to communicate with your Booking.com guests.
Anonymous email addresses
As of this week, guest email addresses will be made anonymous in order to provide an extra level of security. Your email address will also be protected in the same way. You can continue to send and receive emails to guests as you normally would. The difference is that your identity, as well as that of your guests, will be protected. In addition, you will not be able to send links, images, attachments, or anything of this nature. This ensures that you and our mutual guests are less susceptible to online scammers.
We already send pre-arrival emails to guests 5 days prior to check-in to provide helpful information for their stay, including maps to the front door of your property. This reduces the need for you to send extra emails with links, attachments, maps or images. We’re also exploring additional options to make it even easier for you to communicate with guests in the most secure way possible.
Direct communication with guests via your Extranet
Your Extranet is the most secure environment for you to communicate directly with guests. We’ve added visible alerts on your homepage, and have enabled you to quickly respond and/or proactively send messages to guests anywhere their booking information shows up. All you have to do is select the individual reservation, and respond or send your message. A click of a button is all it takes!
Our goal with these features is to enable easy and convenient communication, while providing an enhanced level of protection for you and our mutual guests.
If you have any questions or concerns, please respond to this message and a member of our team will get back to you.
Kind regards,
The Booking.com Team
And not only this, but the way they've disguised the email address makes it look very suspicious, like those stupid Apple emails I get from scammers trying to get me to log into their fraudulent sites.
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Darn tooting the guest gets an email from me with the policies in it.
And I never got this email from them.
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They're using the false flag of email spammers to inject themselves in the communications loop between you and the guest they procured for you. I ALWAYS assume when I'm using AirBnB, Booking's or other OTA's interfaces that they are scanning the content. Air even has this down to a science, where their robots automatically delete any email, web address or phone number to force you to continue the transaction through them.
I don't like it, but I accept that it's their sandbox and they can set the rules. I can then either take my toys or go home, or continue to play their way. As I said earlier, it's a tool to get NEW customers. If they keep using OTAs after their first stay, then I haven't done my job.
.Of course! When we try to get guests to bypass them, it's taking money out of their pockets. They'll certainly want to stop that, and I'm sure the terms we agreed to when we signed up give them the right to stop it.Copperhead said:...enabling them to scan the emails to stop those trying to sway the guest to cancel and book direct.
Me too. I always assume they, or a "bot", will be reading the e-mails they pass between me and my guest. Just like Phineas said, "I don't like it, but I accept that it's their sandbox and they can set the rules. I can then either take my toys and go home, or continue to play their way."PhineasSwann said:I ALWAYS assume when I'm using AirBnB, Booking's or other OTA's interfaces that they are scanning the content. Air even has this down to a science, where their robots automatically delete any email, web address or phone number to force you to continue the transaction through them.
I'm going to stop trying to sneak, into the e-mails, ways for the guest to go directly to my booking page or website. I don't want to risk Booking or Air deleting my message entirely.
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They say they do this to stop links, attachments, etc. but when I had DH make a reservation using his personal email address, they forwarded my confirmation email ( the one that ResKey automatically sends) right after their confirmation, and my email address is right there as a link because that's how I set up my template
And Morticia, in the confirmation email that Booking sends out, Booking includes a cancellation button at the end of their acknowledgement that all they to do is click. It's that easy. So no, the guest does not have the excuse that they didn't know how to cancel. That is, if they actually get the email or it ends up in their spam or junk box.
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No one called me Monday. Tuesday. I even went on their Facebook page and posted. Basically got gobbledeegoop. They said I could communicate with the guest directly using their Extranet service. What part don't they understand?
I called Wednesday and spoke to a 'customer service' rep. Explained, again, my problem and that I wanted to opt out of their anonymous email service. She went off and talked to a supervisor after I said that I knew of other innkeepers and B&B owners that hadn't received the email and were still getting personal emails. She came back and said that this was now their police. Would I please tell her who the other innkeepers were and she'd look at their accounts. Yeah, right. So she said she would, again, submit my concerns to another supervisor and they'd get back to me.
I got another email in my inbox from their Extranet service, which you have to manually check because they won't inbox you. And basically they said I could communicate with my guest directly, no problem. Just submit the email and they would forward it using the alias email. I feel like a dog chasing its tail.
So, I used the old fashioned method of using the phone and called the one guest who had mobility issues. I'm just really concerned about them getting up my stairs since they stated that they wanted very few or no stairs. I left a message two days ago, and I still haven't heard back.
So, that's one very detailed message by email and one very detailed message on their voicemail. They're coming in one month and I don't want them to wait until the last minute to change their minds and then accuse me of leaving them in a lurch because now they have to find another B&B. Booking.com is no help and even the customer doesn't seem to see the dilemma.
What would YOU do?
By the way, I took someone's advice on this thread and have included a paragraph asking the guest to email me directly with their contact information if they used Booking.com's OTA service. And I've gotten one reservation since then and the guest responded back! No problem, personal email, two phone numbers, personal information, they're looking forward to their visit, first time to Newfoundland, etc. So it pays to listen to sage, experienced wisdom on this forum