Airbnb welcome book template: what to include
A welcome book is the document guests reach for when they cannot find the towels, the Wi-Fi password or the bins at 9 pm. A good one answers those questions before they become messages. A bad one is forty pages about the history of the building. This template gives you the sections that matter, in the order guests need them, with notes on what to write in each.
Start with the three things every guest needs first
Open with a short welcome, then put the essentials on the very first page or screen. Guests open the welcome book in a hurry, usually standing in the hallway with their luggage. If they have to scroll past a letter from the host to find the Wi-Fi, they will message you instead.
- Wi-Fi network name and password, written exactly as typed, with a note on capital letters.
- How to reach you or your team, and what counts as urgent.
- Checkout time and the one or two things you need done before leaving.
Section 1: Arrival and access
Even if guests have already arrived when they read this, include how the door, the building entrance and any lock box work. Guests go out for dinner and come back in the dark. Describe the route from the street to the door, how keys or codes work, and what to do if something does not open.
Do not print door codes in a welcome book that stays in the property or circulates as a file. Codes belong in a message or link released close to arrival, and they should change between stays.
Section 2: The home, room by room
Walk through the property the way a guest does. Kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms, living area, outdoor space. For each room, cover only what is not obvious: the induction hob that needs a pan on it before it turns on, the shower that takes a minute to warm up, the sofa bed mechanism, the blinds that stick.
A photo next to each tricky appliance saves more messages than a paragraph. Label buttons and switches in the photo if the controls are in another language.
- Heating and air conditioning: where the controls are and the setting you recommend.
- Hot water: how long it lasts and how to reset it if it runs out.
- Washing machine and dishwasher: which program to use and where the detergent is.
- Spare bedding, towels, toilet paper and cleaning supplies.
- Bins and recycling: which bin is which, and the collection day if guests must put them out.
Section 3: House rules, written as reasons
Guests follow rules they understand. ‘No parties’ reads as a threat; ‘The building is residential and neighbours report noise after 10 pm, which can end the stay’ reads as information. Keep the list short, put the non-negotiable rules first, and say what happens if they are broken.
Make sure the rules in the welcome book match the rules in your listing. Guests notice contradictions and quote them back to you.
Section 4: The neighbourhood
This is the section guests enjoy most and the one hosts most often get wrong by listing every restaurant in town. Recommend fewer places, and say why you like each one. Include the practical things too: the nearest supermarket, pharmacy, cash machine and bakery, and how late each is open.
Group recommendations by need rather than by type: a quick breakfast, a dinner worth dressing up for, something for children on a rainy day. Add walking time from the property. Guests decide on distance before they decide on menus.
Section 5: Getting around
Explain parking (where, how much, which permits), the nearest public transport, a reliable taxi number and how long it takes to reach the airport or station at different times of day. If there is a parking trap that catches guests every month, a street that is a tow-away zone on market day for example, say so in bold.
Section 6: Emergencies and problems
Local emergency numbers, the address of the property written out in full so guests can read it to a dispatcher, the nearest hospital and late-night pharmacy, and the location of the fire extinguisher, first aid kit, fuse box and water shut-off valve.
Then explain how to report a non-emergency problem: a broken appliance, a leak, no hot water. Tell guests what information helps you fix it quickly, ideally a photo and the room, and how fast they can expect a reply.
Section 7: Checkout
List what you actually need guests to do, and nothing else. Most hosts ask for too much and then feel let down. Keep it to what matters for turnover: dishes in the dishwasher, rubbish in the bins, keys back where they were found, windows closed. Say where to leave the keys and what to do if they need a late checkout.
What to leave out
The history of the building, long welcome letters, every restaurant within a kilometre, appliance manuals copied in full, and anything that changes often but that you will not remember to update. Out-of-date information is worse than none: a recommended restaurant that has closed tells guests the rest of the book cannot be trusted either.
Printed binder, PDF or digital guidebook?
A printed binder is easy to find in the property but impossible to update between stays and invisible before arrival. A PDF can be sent ahead but is hard to read on a phone and goes stale in inboxes. A mobile digital guidebook can be opened before the trip, updated in one place, and organised into sections guests can scan in seconds.
Whichever format you choose, the same rule applies: put the information where the guest is when they need it, and review it after every few stays. Each question a guest asks you is a missing line in the welcome book.