For Booking.com hosts
Keep reaching your Booking.com guests
Booking.com is changing how messages reach guests. A quick, one-time approval keeps your guest registration running smoothly — now and after the change is fully rolled out.
What is changing
Booking.com is putting hosts in control of guest messaging
Booking.com is rolling out a change across its platform that lets you, the host, decide who may contact your guests and which links may be included in those messages. Anything from a sender or link you haven't approved can be held back, or have its links removed, before it reaches the guest.
When a guest books through Booking.com, their real email address is hidden behind a Booking.com proxy address (ending in @guest.booking.com). We message that proxy address to send your guests their registration link. Until Villa Check In is approved, our messages can be blocked and any unapproved link is stripped out — your guest sees [Link was removed] instead of their registration link.
Approve Villa Check In in your Extranet
Both approvals live on the same screen — your messaging Security settings. It takes about a minute and only needs doing once per account.
- Log in to your Booking.com Extranet.
- Go to Property → Messaging preferences → Security settings.
- Complete two-factor authentication if prompted (you'll need admin rights on the account).
a) Approve our link
Under Approved links, click Add a link and enter this exact link, then Save:
checkin.villacheckin.com
This is the exact check-in link your guests receive. Booking.com approves links by their exact address, so please add it as shown. Without it, Booking.com strips the link and your guest sees "[Link was removed]".
b) Approve our email address
Under Approved email addresses, click Add an email address and enter our domain, then Save:
@villacheckin.com
The whole domain is recommended — it approves all of our addresses at once. You can add just [email protected] if you prefer.
Switch the fixed link on
Our fixed link is a single, stable check-in link (checkin.villacheckin.com) — one reliable link that takes your guests straight to registration, instead of a different link for every booking. Once you've approved it above, switch it on for your account with one click:
Enable the fixed link →Open this from your email
To switch the fixed link on, please use the button in the email we sent you — it identifies your account securely. Don't have it to hand? Email us at [email protected] and we'll enable it for you.
Why it matters
Your guests still need to register — by law
Spanish Royal Decree 933/2021 — Every guest must be registered with the authorities. As the host, this obligation sits with you.
Every guest staying at a Spanish holiday rental must be registered with the authorities. If our registration messages cannot reach your Booking.com guests, they cannot complete that registration.
Approving Villa Check In now is the simplest way to futureproof this. As Booking.com finishes rolling the change out, hosts who have already approved us will see no interruption at all — their guests keep receiving registration messages exactly as before.
Good to know
Common questions
Do I have to do this for every booking?
No. Switching on the fixed link and approving us are one-time actions that cover every future Booking.com guest automatically.
Is it safe to approve Villa Check In?
Yes. You're only allowing our registration messages and check-in link to reach your guests. You can remove the approval at any time from the same Extranet screen.
What if I use another channel too, like Airbnb?
This change only affects Booking.com — and only guests whose email is a hidden @guest.booking.com address. Every other booking (direct, Airbnb, Vrbo) keeps its own standard unique registration link, exactly as before.
Need a hand?
If anything is unclear or you'd like us to walk you through it, just reply to our email or contact us at [email protected].