Why is my guest's phone number missing or different?
Booking channels are increasingly changing how guest telephone numbers are shared as part of their security and privacy measures.
Depending on the channel, a telephone number may:
- No longer be provided to SuperControl
- Only become available closer to the guest's arrival
- Be replaced with a temporary telephone number
- Stop being available after the booking has ended
This means you should not assume that every channel booking will contain the guest's personal telephone number or that a number supplied by a channel will remain available as a permanent contact number.
Which booking channels are changing guest phone numbers?
Booking.com
From 28 September 2026, Booking.com stopped automatically supplying guest telephone numbers through connectivity channels.
This means a Booking.com reservation received by SuperControl may not contain the guest's telephone number.
The telephone number can still be accessed through Booking.com's own services, including the Booking.com Extranet or Pulse app.
From 28 September 2026, Booking.com stopped automatically supplying guest telephone numbers through connectivity channels.
Expedia
From 12 October 2026, Expedia changed how traveller telephone numbers can be made available through its reservation connection.
A traveller's telephone number may become available to connected systems during the 14 days before check-in rather than being available throughout the booking journey.
Airbnb
Airbnb is moving towards the use of temporary telephone numbers rather than sharing a guest's personal number in December 2026.
These numbers are associated with the booking and expire two days after checkout. A returning guest may therefore have a different telephone number for a future booking.
How does this affect SMS messages from SuperControl?
If you use SuperControl to send SMS messages to guests, SuperControl needs a suitable telephone number to be available against that booking.
Where the booking channel does not provide a number, only provides it at a certain point in the booking journey, or provides a temporary number, this may affect your ability to use that number for SMS communication.
For example, an SMS scheduled before an Expedia telephone number becomes available could be affected, while a temporary Airbnb number should not be relied upon for long-term communication after the stay.
Although the option remains to manually edit the booking and add these details - if the booking is updated by the channel there is a risk of this contact detail being overwritten.
Can I manually add the guest's phone number?
Yes. If you obtain the guest's telephone number separately, you can manually add or update the contact details on the booking in SuperControl.
However, take care when doing this for bookings received from a channel.
If the channel subsequently sends an update to the booking, there is a risk that the contact details you have manually entered could be overwritten by the information supplied by the channel.
For this reason, if your guest communication process relies on the telephone number being available, we recommend checking the booking details before the SMS send date and criteria.
Why isn't the original phone number shown automatically?
SuperControl can only display the telephone information supplied to us through the channel connection.
Depending on the channel, this may mean that the guest's personal telephone number:
- Is not supplied
- Only becomes available closer to arrival
- Is replaced with a temporary number
- Is no longer available after a certain point in the booking journey
These behaviours are determined by the individual channel rather than by SuperControl.
For questions about why a telephone number has been withheld or masked, refer to the booking channel's own guidance.
If you need help understanding how a change affects your SuperControl SMS or guest communication processes, contact the SuperControl Support team.
Do I need to change anything?
You do not necessarily need to change anything in SuperControl.
However, if you rely on SMS as part of your automated or scheduled guest communications, we recommend reviewing those processes.
In particular, check whether you:
- Send important information exclusively by SMS
- Schedule SMS messages a long time before arrival
- Send SMS messages after checkout
- Use the guest telephone number as a permanent guest identifier
- Use digits from a guest's telephone number for another process, such as an access or door code
If any of these apply, consider whether you need an alternative process where the booking channel does not provide a permanent telephone number.