Airbnb has tightened the rules. Phone numbers and email addresses in messages get blocked or scrubbed until after check-in. Guests who want to ask a real question โ about the lock, about the cleaner, about whether their dog is OK โ have to send it through a moderated text box and hope it gets through.
On your own site, your guests have your contact info from the moment they book. They can call. They can text. They can email you next year when they want to come back and stay again โ and they can book directly without paying a service fee on top of the nightly rate.
That's the relationship most hosts want with their guests. A custom site is what makes it possible.