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Messaging & SMS

Texting international guests

How Rezi handles guests and guests with non-US phone numbers.

Updated June 9, 2026 3 min read

Short-term guests in particular often have international numbers. Rezi can message them, with a couple of things worth knowing.

The asymmetry is the key concept: inbound and outbound behave differently. When a guest with a UK or Brazilian number texts your building, that message arrives like any other and Rezi answers it normally, in their language, no special handling needed. The variability is all on the outbound side, sending texts to foreign numbers crosses carrier systems that differ by country in reliability, cost, and MMS support.

  • Incoming texts from international numbers are answered like any other
  • Outbound international SMS may have different deliverability and cost
  • For some countries, guests may prefer to reach you via the platform they booked on

What this means in practice

For the common case, an international guest texting in with questions, everything just works: they ask, Rezi answers, the conversation flows. Replies to an inbound message ride the same connection and are dependable. Proactive outbound, a check-in note sent before the guest has ever texted you, is where delivery varies by destination country, some routes are excellent, others spotty, and photos (MMS) are notably less reliable across borders than within the US.

Playbook for international guests

A simple pattern removes nearly all risk: get the guest texting *you* first. In your booking-platform welcome message, include the building number and invite them to text it with any questions, the moment they do, you have a reliable two-way channel for the whole stay. For time-critical information like door codes, send it through both channels (the platform’s messaging and SMS) until the guest has confirmed receipt at least once. And keep self check-in details in the knowledge base so the guest can pull the information by asking, which works regardless of outbound deliverability.

When in doubt, confirm receipt

If a critical message to an international guest is time-sensitive (like a door code), ask them to confirm they received it.

A note on US-adjacent numbers

Canadian numbers behave essentially like US numbers, full SMS and generally solid MMS. Mexican and Caribbean numbers are usually fine for SMS. The further afield, the more the confirm-receipt habit earns its keep, and delivery receipts tell you definitively whether a given message made it to the handset.

Do international texts cost the guest anything?
Their carrier’s international SMS rates apply to messages they send, which is one more reason many overseas guests prefer to start conversations in the booking platform’s app. Receiving texts is free or cheap in most countries.
Can Rezi message guests inside Airbnb or VRBO chat?
No, platform inboxes are closed systems. The workaround is putting your building number in the platform welcome message so guests bring the conversation to SMS.
Does the AI handle WhatsApp?
Rezi’s channels are SMS and voice today. For international-heavy portfolios where WhatsApp would help, tell us at support@rezi-ai.com, demand shapes the roadmap.
How do emergencies work with an international guest?
Identically: an emergency in any language from any number triggers the emergency flow and escalates to your on-call contact.

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