How to Create the Perfect Airbnb Welcome Guide

A great welcome guide is the difference between a host who answers the same Wi-Fi question at 11 pm and one who wakes up to a glowing review. This is the structure I recommend after building guidebooks for hundreds of rentals.

Start with a warm welcome

Your first page is a handshake. Skip the "Dear Guest" formality — use their first name if you can, thank them for booking, and tell them what makes this place yours.

Three sentences is plenty. Resist the urge to pack the hero with rules. Rules come later.

Wi-Fi — up top, big, copyable

Wi-Fi is the #1 thing guests look for. Put it above the fold. Put the SSID and password each on their own line. Make the password copyable with one tap.

Check-in instructions

If you have a smart lock, explain the code and what to do if it doesn't work the first time. If it's a key in a lockbox, describe exactly where the lockbox is — "on the gatepost, left of the driveway" — not "near the front door."

Include a photo. Phones point at doors; they don't point at concepts.

House rules, written as reminders

Nobody reads rules that sound like a legal document. Rewrite them as reminders. Instead of "No parties after 10 pm," try "Neighbors are light sleepers — we ask that parties wrap up by 10 pm." Same message, different feeling.

Amenities and how to use them

List what's available and — this is the part most hosts skip — how to use it. "There's a coffee machine" is less useful than "There's a Nespresso in the kitchen; pods are in the drawer below, here's how to descale if the light turns orange."

Local recommendations

Pick five to ten places you'd personally send a friend. Not fifty. A curated list beats a directory. Group by category: breakfast, dinner, coffee, drinks, things to do. For each: name, a sentence on why, walking distance.

Emergency info

The nearest hospital. The nearest pharmacy. Your phone number, and when it's OK to call vs. text. One number for non-urgent plumbing issues if you have a property manager.

Check-out instructions

Short checklist. Two sections: "before you leave" (strip beds? take trash out?) and "on your way out" (lock the door? key in the lockbox?). If check-out is strict, say why — "the cleaner arrives at 11 sharp and has another booking at 3."

FAQ

Every question you've been asked more than once belongs here.

Make it digital

Paper binders get coffee-stained and lost. A phone-friendly digital guide is searchable, updatable, and easy to share.