In this article
Marketing consent settings
External reviews settings
Hide sensitive topics
How to share your guide using OTA Compliance
Why OTA Compliance Matters
If you receive bookings through online travel agents (OTAs) such as Airbnb, it's important to be aware that many of these platforms have rules about what can be included in guest messages or links shared through their messaging systems.
For example, some OTAs restrict things like:
Promoting direct bookings outside the OTA
Collecting guest contact details for marketing purposes
Asking guests to leave reviews on other platforms
To help you stay compliant with these policies while still sharing your Touch Stay guidebook with guests, the OTA Compliance Centre allows you to automatically adjust certain guide features when the guide is accessed through an OTA invitation.
⚠️ Important
OTA policies can change from time to time. We recommend reviewing the terms and conditions of any OTA platforms you work with to ensure you remain compliant. Touch Stay cannot guarantee compliance with every OTA policy.
Relevant OTA policies
The main OTA policies regarding guest messaging and links shared with guests that may affect your Touch Stay guide features include:
Not promoting booking sources other than the OTA (for example your own “book direct” website).
Not collecting guest contact details for reasons not connected with their stay (such as future marketing activities).
Not soliciting reviews on platforms other than the OTA.
Touch Stay features affected
The following Touch Stay features allow guests to submit their contact details, with the option to request permission to use those details for marketing purposes.
A setting is now available to hide the marketing consent checkbox. When hidden, any contacts submitted through these features will automatically be labelled as not for marketing purposes.
The affected features are:
Contact Collection pop-up
The “Leave a review” pop-up normally suggests that guests leaving 4 or 5 stars also leave a review on Google Maps. A setting is now available to instead suggest leaving the review on the OTA where the booking was made.
Certain content within your guidebook may also be in breach of OTA policies, such as:
A topic promoting direct bookings
A topic inviting guests to join a mailing list
There is now a setting that allows you to hide topics where the content may not be suitable for sharing via an OTA.
How do the restrictions work?
Restrictions are only applied to invitation links.
The Quick Share link will always show the full unrestricted guide.
Invitations now include a standard field code called “Booking Source.”
When activating OTA Compliance features, you can:
Choose which Booking Sources should be considered restricted.
Choose which of the above features you want to restrict.
If an invitation contains a Booking Source value that matches your selected restrictions, the chosen features will be restricted.
If an invitation does not contain a restricted Booking Source, the guest will see the full unrestricted guide as normal.
How do I set this up?
The OTA Compliance Centre is located in the Settings page on the Preferences tab
Click Edit to open the options screen.
First, select the Booking Sources that should be considered restricted.
Any invitations with a Booking Source value that matches your selection will have the relevant features modified.
3. Next, select the features you want to modify.
Marketing consent settings
When Hide is selected:
The marketing consent checkbox will be hidden.
Any contacts collected will automatically be labelled not for marketing
External reviews settings
When Disabled is selected:
Guests leaving 4 or 5 star reviews will not be redirected to Google Maps.
Instead, they will be asked to leave a review on the OTA where they made the booking.
Hide sensitive topics
Select any Topics where the content may not be suitable for sharing via the OTA.
Examples may include:
Looking to Book Again (if you suggest booking directly instead of via the OTA)
Join our Mailing List
4. Once you have made your selections, click Save.
How to share your guide using OTA Compliance
Using the Airbnb integration
If you are using the Touch Stay Airbnb integration, this process is handled automatically.
The Booking Source is set to Airbnb automatically
OTA Compliance settings are applied automatically
You don’t need to create links manually
👉 This means your guide will be adjusted automatically based on your OTA Compliance settings.
💡 Tip
To make sure everything is set up correctly, check that your Airbnb integration is active.
👉 See this article to learn how to check or activate the Airbnb integration
Using a Property Management integration (PMS)
If you are using a PMS integration, the Booking Source will usually sync automatically once the integration is fully set up and reservations are syncing correctly.
⚠️ Important
We recommend checking the relevant integration article for your PMS to make sure the integration setup has been fully completed.
Sharing the guide without using the Airbnb integration
If you are not using the Airbnb integration, you can still apply OTA Compliance by creating a manual link.
Go to Message Hub
Head to the Invitations tab
Click Invite by Link
Create your invitation link
Make sure the Booking Source is set to Airbnb
Set the link with unlimited access
Click Submit
Copy the link
Paste this link into your Airbnb message
💡 Important
Make sure the link is set as unlimited access, so you can reuse the same link for multiple guests
Alternatively, you can create a new link per guest if needed
💡 Best practice
If you plan to do this regularly per guest, we recommend using the Airbnb integration instead.
This automates the process
Booking Source is set automatically
OTA Compliance is applied without manual setup
How to check your Booking Source
If you’re unsure whether the booking source is being applied correctly, you can check this directly in your Touch Stay account.
How to check this
Go to Message Hub.
Open the Invitations tab.
Click the three dots in the table settings and enable the Booking Source column.
Find a booking that shows Airbnb (or another OTA) as the booking source.
Click the three dots next to that invitation and select Copy link to view the guide exactly as the guest will see it.
⚠️ Note: When you open the guide this way, you are viewing the guest version. Opening the guide will also count as a guide view, as the system records it the same way as a guest visit.
Frequently asked questions (FQA)
Can Touch Stay automatically remove all links to my website for Airbnb bookings?
Not fully. The OTA Compliance feature helps by hiding selected features and topics, but it does not scan or remove links embedded within your content.
This means that any links included within topic text (for example, links to your own website) will still be visible unless you edit or remove them.
If you need stricter control (for example for Airbnb compliance), you may prefer to:
Review and hide any topics that include external links (such as direct booking links to your website) using the OTA Compliance settings
Review and update your content to remove any external links, or
Use a separate guide specifically designed for OTA bookings
Can I use two different guides for Airbnb and direct bookings?
Yes, this is possible and can be a good option if you want full control over your content.
However, if you are using a PMS integration, please note:
Each listing can only be linked to one guide
The system cannot automatically switch guides based on the booking source
This means that if you use a separate Airbnb guide, you will need to:
Share it using the Quick Share link, and
Add it manually into your PMS messaging templates
💡 Note
Each guide counts as a separate guide in your account, so creating an additional guide (for example an Airbnb-specific version) may affect your subscription.
Why are some links or content still visible in my Airbnb guide?
This usually happens when links are included directly within the text of a topic.
The OTA Compliance feature does not automatically remove this type of content, so it’s important to:
Review your topics carefully
Remove any external links manually, or
Hide the topic if needed
Does this guarantee full OTA compliance?
No, the OTA Compliance feature is designed to help you adjust your guide, but it does not guarantee full compliance with OTA policies.
We recommend reviewing your content and the OTA’s terms to ensure everything meets their requirements.
🤝 Need Help?
If you get stuck, our team’s always happy to help!
Email us at support@touchstay.com or send us a ticket directly from your Touch Stay account. We’ll be right in touch.
