Since late 2025, Expedia has applied a privacy policy that masks guest phone numbers in reservation data sent to Mews. If your property uses Expedia's direct integration, you may notice that guest phone numbers appear as a placeholder, typically 1111111, instead of the guest's actual number. This affects any tool that relies on Mews guest contact data, including messaging integrations such as Akia, where masked numbers prevent text message delivery.

 

In this article, you can learn about:

• Why are Expedia guest phone numbers showing as 1111111 in Mews?

  • Why phone numbers are masked

  • Can Mews or Akia retrieve the real number?

  • How to check whether a number is masked

  • What to do if the number is masked

  • How to contact Expedia about your account settings

 

Why are Expedia guest phone numbers showing as 1111111 in Mews?

Why phone numbers are masked

Expedia introduced phone number masking as part of a broader privacy policy change. When Expedia sends a reservation to Mews, the guest's phone number field may contain a generic placeholder (such as 1111111) rather than the actual number. Mews receives and stores exactly what Expedia sends, so the placeholder passes through to any connected integration unchanged.

Can Mews or Akia retrieve the real number?

No. Once Expedia masks a phone number, neither Mews nor any connected integration, including Akia, can recover the real number. The only way to get an unmasked number into Mews is for Expedia to send it in the first place.

Whether Expedia delivers unmasked personally identifiable information via its application programming interface depends on your property's contract and account configuration. Some account types or booking sources (for example, bookings mediated through affiliate partners) trigger masking regardless of your settings.

How to check whether a number is masked

You can confirm whether Expedia is sending a masked number by reviewing the reservation log in the Channel Manager Queue.

1. In Mews Operations, open the Channel Manager Queue.

2. Find the reservation you want to check and open its log.

3. In the reservation log, locate the PhoneNumbers block inside the PrimaryGuest section.

4. Check the value in the Number field:

   • If it shows a placeholder such as 1111111, Expedia has masked the number.

   • If it shows a real number, the data has arrived correctly.

Note: The log shows the raw data exactly as Expedia sent it. A placeholder here confirms the issue is upstream of Mews.

What to do if the number is masked

Because the masking happens on Expedia's side, your most reliable options are to collect the guest's contact details through a different channel or to use alternative communication methods.

• Use Mews online check-in (also called the Online Guest Journey) to ask guests to confirm or enter their phone number directly before arrival. This gives you a verified number that is independent of Expedia's data.

• Communicate with guests by email. Expedia provides a relay email address for each reservation, which you can use for pre-arrival and operational messages.

• If your property uses Akia or a similar messaging tool, configure it to fall back to email or in-app messaging when no phone number is available.

How to contact Expedia about your account settings

If you want to find out whether your contract or account configuration allows for unmasked data delivery, you need to raise this directly with Expedia.

1. Log in to Expedia Partner Central.

2. Review your privacy and data-sharing settings to check whether any options related to guest contact data are available to you.

3. Contact your Expedia Market Manager and ask specifically whether your account can be configured to deliver unmasked guest phone numbers via the application programming interface.

Note: Mews Support cannot contact Expedia on your behalf for account configuration questions. Expedia does not offer a direct support email for property-level inquiries; all requests go through your Market Manager or the Expedia Partner Central portal.

 

With these steps, you can confirm the source of the masking, set up reliable alternatives for collecting guest contact details, and reach the right Expedia contacts to explore whether unmasked delivery is possible for your property. This means guest communication continues without interruption even when phone numbers are unavailable.