How to get repeat guests to book directly without breaking Airbnb's rules

Short version: Airbnb's rules are strict about guests who found you through Airbnb. Its policy says payments for "current, future, or repeat bookings" must stay on Airbnb, and hosts may not ask or encourage guests to pay outside it. So the safe approach is to leave Airbnb guests where they booked. Put your effort into being easy to find for anyone who looks for you, and into your own list of direct guests who reached you outside Airbnb.

This is a summary of Airbnb's published policies as of November 2026, not legal advice. Policies change, so read the current versions before you act.

What Airbnb's policy forbids

The rules are in Airbnb's help center under "Pricing and payment transparency". Among the things hosts and guests may not do:

• Offer or ask for discounts to book off Airbnb.
• Put links in listing pages or messages that take people off Airbnb or point them to another way to book.
• Move the conversation off Airbnb before booking. Airbnb says all communication before booking must be on Airbnb.
• Rebook an Airbnb reservation off-platform, including by cancelling all or part of it.
• Extend a stay off Airbnb. Extra nights, guests or pets go through Airbnb's Change reservation tool.

And the sentence that matters most for repeat guests: "Guests and hosts must keep payments for mandatory fees and for current, future, or repeat bookings on the Airbnb platform, and may not ask or encourage another user to send or receive payments outside of Airbnb."

Airbnb says breaking these rules can lead to education, warnings, and suspension or removal of listings or accounts.

What changes for bookings from November 20, 2026

A new Airbnb policy, "Limiting host-imposed contracts and other requirements", applies to reservations booked on or after November 20, 2026. Among other things, it says hosts:

• may not collect personal data, including contact details, during booking or the stay, except where the law or a documented community association rule requires it, or to sign a contract Airbnb allows;
• may not use Wi-Fi login pages that ask for a guest's email or other personal information, unless the property is a hotel or resort or an exception applies;
• may not require guests to download an app or register on another website to get in or use a key amenity (keyless entry apps are allowed if guests can ask for another way in);
• may not ask guests to review the stay or fill in a survey on a separate website, unless the listing is a hotel.

So the classic "sign our guestbook with your email" or "log in to Wi-Fi with your email" setups are out for Airbnb stays booked from that date.

Airbnb's Host Privacy Standards add a general limit: use personal information you receive through Airbnb "only" as needed to manage reservations, comply with the law and deliver your hosting service. Sending past Airbnb guests offers isn't on that list.

The gray areas, honestly

A "book with us directly next time" card in the home. Plenty of hosts leave one. Airbnb's policy doesn't mention printed cards by name, but a card that asks an Airbnb guest to book the next stay outside Airbnb is very close to what the "may not ask or encourage" wording describes. For Airbnb stays, we'd leave it out. A plain thank-you note without a booking pitch is a different matter.

A past Airbnb guest finds your website on their own. We couldn't find Airbnb guidance on this exact case. The policy's wording on repeat bookings covers "guests and hosts", so the safest course is to ask Airbnb support in writing how it applies to you, before you take that booking.

Other platforms. Vrbo, Booking.com and others have their own terms. Check each one; don't assume Airbnb's rules, stricter or looser, apply there.

The safe routes

1. Your own website, for everyone

Nothing in the Airbnb policies we reviewed stops you from having your own website. What they restrict is steering Airbnb users to it. A good site works for all the people who find you some other way: a Google search, a friend's recommendation, your sign by the road, a local tourism page. Our direct-booking website checklist covers what it needs.

2. Being findable by name

Use the same property name on your sign, your website and your Google profile, so anyone who remembers "the cabins by the creek" can find you. If your property is eligible, a Google Business Profile helps a lot here. Google requires in-person contact with customers during stated hours and lists vacation homes as ineligible, so a staffed motel or B&B usually qualifies and a single self-check-in cabin may not.

3. Your own direct guests

Guests who booked directly with you, by phone, email or your website, gave you their details themselves. These are the guests you can invite back, with permission.

4. Permission before marketing emails or texts

Ask for it separately, with an unticked box on your booking form. Example: "Yes, email me about open dates and offers. I can unsubscribe anytime." A booking confirmation isn't permission to send offers.

For marketing emails in the US, the federal CAN-SPAM Act requires, among other things, accurate sender information, a subject line that isn't misleading, a valid physical postal address and a working way to opt out, with opt-outs honored within 10 business days. CAN-SPAM itself works on opt-out, but asking first keeps your list to people who want to hear from you. Marketing texts are more tightly regulated under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act and some state laws, so get clear written permission first. Not legal advice; a lawyer can check your exact setup.

5. Reviews that people can find

Airbnb reviews stay on Airbnb. Reviews on your Google profile, from guests who booked directly, are visible to anyone who searches your name. Ask every guest the same way and never offer a discount or a free night for a review. Google doesn't allow it, and the FTC's rule on fake reviews bans rewards tied to a positive review.

6. Let Airbnb guests come back through Airbnb

If a past Airbnb guest wants to return, a repeat booking on Airbnb is fully within the rules. You still pay the platform fee on that stay, and you keep the guest and the review.

A simple plan

1. Read Airbnb's current "Pricing and payment transparency" and "Limiting host-imposed contracts and other requirements" policies.
2. Remove any links, discounts or "book direct" lines from your Airbnb listing, messages, guidebook and in-home cards.
3. Stop collecting emails through Wi-Fi pages or guestbooks for Airbnb stays booked from November 20, 2026.
4. Make your own website clear and complete, with rates, open dates or a request form, and policies.
5. Use one property name everywhere and set up a Google Business Profile if you're eligible.
6. Add an unticked marketing permission box to your direct booking form, and only email people who ticked it.

Frequently asked questions

Read next

• What a small motel, cabin or B&B website needs so guests book directly: a checklist
• Airbnb's temporary phone numbers for hosts on connected software: what changes and what to check