What to include in your Airbnb house manual
By Ahmed, founder of Azur Stay
Published Updated 6 min read
Your guests arrive tired, sometimes late, often in a country they don't know. A good Airbnb house manual answers the questions they would otherwise send you at every stay: how to get in, how to connect to the Wi-Fi, how the air conditioning works, what to do before leaving (see the questions guests ask, stage by stage). Whether they booked on Airbnb, on another platform or directly with you, it is the same document. Here is what to put in it, how to write it for guests from anywhere, and how to share it.
What is an Airbnb house manual?
It is the practical guide to your property: the information a guest needs from arrival to check-out, written once, by you, for your place. Some hosts call it a welcome book or a guest guidebook. Whatever the name, it does the same job: guests find their answers on their own, and you stop repeating the same directions.
You can print it and leave it in the property, send it as a link before arrival, or do both. The content matters more than the format, so start there.
What to include: the 12 essential sections
The sections below follow the order of a stay. They are the 12 categories of Concierge Digital, the digital guidebook we use on our own rentals, but they work just as well on paper.
1. Directions
How to reach the property: the address, a map link, and the details a GPS gets wrong, such as which entrance, which building or where the lane turns.
2. Arrival & Access
Check-in time, how guests get the keys (key box, door code, someone to meet them) and what to do if they arrive late.
3. The accommodation
The Wi-Fi network and password, then your appliances and how to use them: air conditioning, water heater, washing machine, coffee machine, pool. One short, step-by-step paragraph per appliance prevents a lot of messages.
4. House rules
What you ask of guests during the stay: smoking, noise, visitors, pets. Short, clear and polite rules are easier to follow.
5. Check-out
Check-out time and the few tasks you ask for: where to leave the keys, the bins, the dishes, the windows.
6. Eat & drink
Your favourite places nearby for breakfast, a meal or a drink, with what makes each one worth the visit.
7. Things to do
Walks, beaches, landmarks and lesser-known spots, with how far away they are.
8. Essentials
The nearest grocery shop, pharmacy, cash machine and supermarket.
9. Getting around
Taxis, public transport, parking, and the drivers you trust.
10. Help & emergencies
Your phone number, a doctor, the nearest pharmacy, and the official emergency numbers of the country. Guests from abroad may not know them: for example, 999 in the United Kingdom, 911 in the United States, and 112 in France or Spain.
11. Services & extras
What you offer on request: breakfast, an airport transfer, extra cleaning. Guests can only ask for a service they know about.
12. Good to know
Everything else: local customs, tipping, the weather, and the quirks of the house, like the door that sticks or the switch for the outdoor light.
Write it for guests from anywhere
Many of your guests will read your house manual in a language that isn't their first. A few habits make it easier for everyone:
- Short sentences, with one piece of information in each.
- Exact times, codes and names, rather than “around noon” or “the usual place”.
- Phone numbers with the international dialling code, so they work from a foreign phone.
- No local slang or abbreviations that only make sense where you live.
- A clear description of anything hard to find: the key box, the meter, the bins.
If you welcome guests from several countries, offer the manual in their languages. With Concierge Digital, you write each version yourself, in English, French, Arabic and Spanish. Nothing is machine-translated, and guests switch language with one tap at the top of the screen.
Paper or digital house manual?
A printed house manual is easy to start with and works without a phone. A digital one stays up to date and reaches guests before they arrive. Many hosts use both: a short printed sheet in the property, and the full guide on their guests' phones.
| Printed manual | Digital guidebook | |
|---|---|---|
| Before arrival | Only once guests are inside | Sent as a link once the booking is confirmed |
| Updates | Reprint after every change | Edit at any time; guests see the change once you publish it |
| Languages | One printed copy per language | Guests pick their language |
| Wi-Fi | Network and password to type in | Buttons to copy the network name and password |
| Contact | Your number on the page | WhatsApp, Leave a review and Book direct buttons |
To start on paper, our free welcome book template gives you four sections to print and fill in by hand (welcome, check-in and check-out, Wi-Fi, help and emergencies), with the official emergency numbers of your property's country.
How to share your house manual
A house manual only helps if guests read it at the right moment.
- Before arrival: send the link as soon as the booking is confirmed, by WhatsApp, by email or through your booking platform's messages, with the directions and check-in details.
- On site: display a sign with QR codes in the property. Guests scan it and open the guide on their phone, with no app to download.
- For the Wi-Fi: a QR code connects guests in one scan, on most phones. You can create a free Wi-Fi QR code sign, with your check-in times and house rules, without signing up.
A quick checklist before your next guests
- The address, a map link and the details a GPS gets wrong.
- The check-in time and how to get the keys.
- The Wi-Fi network and password, or a Wi-Fi QR code.
- How to use each appliance.
- House rules, short and polite.
- The check-out time and tasks.
- Your favourite local places.
- Your contact details and the country's emergency numbers.
Make it easier with Concierge Digital
Concierge Digital is the digital guidebook we use on our own rentals: the 12 categories above, in up to four languages, on your guests' phones with no app to download. Categories you leave empty stay hidden from guests. An A4 sign with 4 QR codes (Wi-Fi, guide, Google review and direct booking) is included. The guide also has three buttons: WhatsApp; Leave a review, which opens your Google review page (who is eligible for a Google Business Profile); and Book direct, which lets guests contact you for their next stay by WhatsApp, phone or email, with no commission.
See the demo to open a real guide on your phone, or discover Concierge Digital.