Airbnb House Manual: Tips to Create a Welcoming Experience for your Guests

Airbnb house manual

By The Hospitable Team

Providing your Airbnb guests with a house manual is one of the most important things you can do as a host. A good Airbnb house manual will make your life easier, improve the guest’s experience, and help you earn a 5-star review.

When planning to write a welcome guide, consider whether you should provide it in printed or digital format. Our suggestion is not to limit it to one type. For example, you can send them a digital welcome guide via Airbnb messages and leave a printed, well-designed copy in your home as well.

A digital house manual can be terrific, but we know not all guests are tech-savvy. Those guests will highly appreciate a printed house manual.

In this article, you’ll find some tips on what exactly you should include in a house manual to welcome your guests to their new place.

Why Do You Need An Airbnb House Manual?

An Airbnb house manual is the first thing your guests will read when they enter your house. It helps you start their stay with a great first impression. You’ll show that you are a helpful host who cares about their comfort and wants to make their stay pleasant and stress-free.

A house manual will help your guests navigate through your property and make the best use of it. Here, they will find all the information about your rental and your house rules. You should also provide them with simple how-to instructions about using your amenities and give local recommendations to make their experience memorable.

Most guests will appreciate your time and effort to create a welcome guide. If done right, you’ll be rewarded with excellent guest reviews. The more detailed your welcome guide is—the less likely your guests will message you with questions.

They still will send you plenty of questions

Our AI will be on guard to answer most of those questions on your behalf in no time!

What to Include in Your Vacation Home Guest Book

There are a lot of things you should consider including in your vacation home guest book. The more you share with your guests, the more grateful they will be.

The most reliable approach to improving your guest experience is to take out the possibility of human error. In simple terms, automate what can be automated. Our free guide on automation strategies for a STR business will come in handy.

So let’s discuss the crucial information that should go in the house manual.

Welcome Page

Start your house manual with a welcome letter. Think about it as a greeting you would use if you were there to greet each visitor in person and make them feel at home.

This section should also cover some other vital details, including

Make sure that this page has all the info your guests absolutely need to know.

Set of rules

Although you should provide your guests with your house rules before they arrive at your place, you should also include this info in your house manual. This way, your guests will have access to them at any time. That can help you avoid issues with guests that argue that they weren’t aware of the rules. But make sure you present your house rules in a clear and precise way.

How-to Instructions

This section should probably make up the bulk of your house manual because you really should address any potential problem your guests may have. It’s crucial to organize this how-to information in a logical way to make it easy to find.

Provide your guests with clear instructions on operating each of the appliances and electronics in your home, for example, thermostat, smart locks, washer and dryer, air conditioner, kitchen appliances, TV remote, Netflix, etc.

Local Transportation Information

Create a list of transport options your guests can use during their stay. It’s especially important if your house is some distance from the center of your town. Include any information related to local transportation in your area, such as maps of the local area, taxis, bus and train schedules, etc.

Things to Do and Local Attraction Guides

Think about local attractions that make your area a unique and desirable destination and provide your guests with suggestions for favorite places to visit. Use this section to give your guests rich information that shows off your hospitality and your city to help them have an authentic local experience.

Here are some suggestions of what to include:

  • Shopping centers and groceries
  • Restaurants
  • Tourists attractions (parks, museums, historical places)
  • Fairs and festivals (annual events, farmers’ markets)
  • Day trip ideas (hiking, winery, hot springs)
  • Nightlife (bars, clubs, playhouse, live music)

Include a photo when possible for each place you are recommending. This way, you’ll make your house manual more visual and engaging. You should also include the website and address of each of the recommended places or activities to help your guest find them.

In fact, the information you may want to include in your house manual is limited only by your imagination. Just organize it clearly and present it attractively so that guests will read it. Store your house manual in a prominent location, for example, a kitchen table, and don’t forget to tell your guests where they can find it.

Airbnb Guidebook Feature

Airbnb has a native feature that lets you create a guidebook for people to see when browsing for listings. This feature allows you to place pins on a map and write short descriptions of your favorite neighborhood spots. You can include such things as restaurants, grocery stores, parks, entertainment venues, and other things to do in your area.

The Airbnb guidebook is open to anyone when looking at a listing’s map, so it can boost your credibility amongst prospective guests. This Airbnb tool is absolutely free, but it has its limits.

Although it is powered by Google Places that are updated regularly, you can’t customize your recommendations with an image of your choice. And you can’t tailor this guidebook to make your property stand out.

Airbnb constantly develops new features, and they have become better at providing an excellent guest experience. Though using third-party tools, you may take this experience to the next level.

Improve your guest experience

Respond to their questions immediately, make sure your cleaning team never misses even the tightest changeover. There’s more!
Give Smarbnb a go with a 14-day free trial!

Vacation Rental Guest Book: Alternative Solution

If you want to create an authentic experience for your guests, you should add some alternatives to the Airbnb guidebook. If you think that creating a vacation rental guest book with Microsoft Word is too simple for the 21st century, how about leaving your guests a video message?

You can make a video with detailed descriptions of all things you consider important for your guests. Then, you can send a link to this video to all people who book your listing as an automatic message using Hospitable. You can set a specific time your guest should receive this message, for example, 24 hours before their arrival.

You can upload your video on YouTube and store it there as unlisted, so no one can find it using search. It will be available only through a direct web link, which your guests would receive from you.

Final Thought

Whether you choose to create a classic paper Airbnb house manual, decide to go digital, make a video guidebook, or use your alternatives, your guests will be thankful for your efforts.

They will also be thankful for the excellent experience provided thanks to automation. Start investigating STR automation topic with our free guide. Download now!

Make sure you create a good house manual that offers value. You should proactively answer your guests’ questions about your property and showcase the best attractions your neighborhood has to offer.

A useful Airbnb house manual will help you stand out from the competition. It will show that you are a communicative host with a great living space that provides perfect guest experiences.  

airbnb welcome letter

Airbnb Welcome Letter: Tips and Templates

What if I tell you that you can win your guests before they arrive just by sending them an awesome Airbnb welcome letter?
A warm welcome letter will frame their opinion of your place and make a great first impression. It will show your guest that you care about them and their wishes.

airbnb-messages

Airbnb Messages: Communication that Builds Rapport

There are some very practical steps you can take to make sure your communication is on point.
So what can you do to build rapport more effectively and improve your chances of getting good communication reviews? Let’s find out, shall we?

Airbnb house rules

Airbnb House Rules: Actionable Tips and Templates

Airbnb house rules are just important as a strong description, clear photos, and a catchy headline in your Airbnb listing. Guests just need a bit of information and direction about your home and what you allow.
Make sure to add good vibes to the recipe, and follow our tips.

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