NextPax welcomes Booking.com's action against phishing and is working on practical ways to keep accommodations and their guests in touch

[Almere], 23 September 2026 – Booking.com is taking new steps to protect travellers from phishing. Booking.com has noted a rise in scam texts and WhatsApp messages targeting guests with genuine booking info, often pressuring them for immediate payments to protect their stay.

To avoid this from happening, Booking.com, will stop sharing traveller phone numbers through connectivity channels worldwide from 28 September 2026. Traveller phone numbers will still be visible in the Booking.com Extranet and Pulse Application, but they will no longer come through to property management systems (PMS), channel managers and other connected systems.

At NextPax, we're fully behind anything that keeps travellers safe. We also know how much our accommodation partners rely on being able to reach their guests, whether it's to share check-in details, arrange a key handover or sort out a last-minute change. Our partners have been sharing their thoughts with us, so we've passed their feedback on to Booking.com along with some ideas we hope will help.

"Traveller safety matters to all of us, and we're glad to see Booking.com tackling phishing head-on," said Lennart Kok, VP of Distribution and Marketing at NextPax. "At the same time, we also want to make sure hosts and hotels can still reach their guests when they need to. We're working closely with Booking.com on solutions that do both, so everyone can stay safe and connected."

Our ideas for the road ahead

As a long-standing Premier Plus connectivity partner, NextPax shared a couple of ideas with Booking.com. They're simply our suggestions for the wider conversation on traveller safety. They don't reflect any plans or commitments from Booking.com, and we're grateful for their openness in listening to partner feedback.

1. Raising the bar on security across the ecosystem. Asking connectivity partners to hold an ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification would give everyone a clear, shared standard for protecting traveller data. We completed our own ISO 27001 certification earlier this year, and we already meet PCI and PII compliance requirements, so we know first-hand how valuable that process is.
2. Alias phone numbers. Booking.com already masks traveller email addresses. A similar approach for phone numbers would let accommodations call or message guests directly while keeping travellers' real numbers private.

What this means for our partners

From 28 September 2026, Booking.com reservations coming through NextPax won't include the traveller's phone number. This is a deliberate change by Booking.com, not a bug or an outage.

Our messaging solutions still allow you to contact the guest directly, accommodation partners can activate and use Booking.com Messaging through NextPax’s unified inbox and Messaging API, for Supply API customers. This directly delivers any message in the chat functionality of the Booking.com (mobile) application for travellers.

We also know many PMS and supply systems need a phone number to accept a booking, without a phone number provided, the booking might be blocked. To keep things running smoothly, we've also confirmed a new interim solution: adding the relevant Booking.com Customer Service number to each reservation instead. Bookings can then go through as normal, and your CS/Front Office team will have someone to call who can pass messages on to the guest.

If you have any questions about how this affects your setup, your NextPax account manager and our support team are happy to help.

About NextPax:

NextPax is a global hospitality connectivity and distribution technology company empowering vacation rentals, hotels, resorts, city apartments, and holiday parks to streamline operations, improve guest experience, and optimize commercial performance. Through the NextPax platform and Supply API, accommodation providers and software partners can connect to 100+ global distribution channels, including Booking.com, Airbnb, Vrbo, Expedia, Trip.com and more, with fast and automated synchronisation of availability, rates, restrictions, reservations, content, promotions, messaging, reviews and more.

NextPax simplifies complex distribution processes by reducing manual work and enabling reliable, real-time connectivity across multiple booking platforms. With a strong focus on automation, scalability, and partner success, NextPax helps hospitality businesses increase visibility, boost bookings, and improve overall revenue performance across global markets.

Media contact:

marketing@nextpax.com