Airbnb Guest Welcome Book: What to Include
An Airbnb guest welcome book is a property-specific guide that helps guests understand how to arrive, use the home, follow key house rules, handle common questions, and find important local or emergency information. A good welcome book reduces uncertainty without overwhelming the guest with operational details they do not need.
The most useful version is concise, accurate, easy to scan, and clearly separated from private host records.
What should be in an Airbnb welcome book?
Start with the questions a guest is most likely to ask during a stay. The exact structure will vary, but the following sections are a practical foundation.
1. Welcome and quick-start information
- Short welcome message
- Property address
- Host or co-host contact method
- Wi-Fi name and guest password, if appropriate
- Check-in and checkout times
2. Arrival and access instructions
Explain parking, building entry, door access, stairs or elevator details, and any property-specific directions that may not be obvious. Keep sensitive owner-only codes out of guest materials.
3. House rules
Use short, specific rules rather than a long paragraph. Topics may include smoking, pets, visitors, noise, parking, shared spaces, trash, thermostat use, or other property-specific expectations.
4. How to use the property
Include only instructions guests actually need. Examples can include heating or cooling controls, television, laundry, coffee maker, appliances, blinds, fireplace, hot tub, or other amenities supplied at the property.
5. Safety and emergency information
Provide the property address, local emergency information appropriate to the location, host contact details, exit information, and the location of safety equipment that guests may need to know about.
For a dedicated host-side safety workflow, see the Airbnb Emergency Checklist.
6. Trash and recycling
Explain where bins are located, what guests should do during the stay, collection-day instructions if relevant, and any building-specific rules.
7. Checkout instructions
Keep checkout simple and realistic. Tell guests what they need to do before leaving, how to secure the property, where to place keys if applicable, and whether any basic trash or dish procedure is expected.
Related: Airbnb Checkout Checklist.
8. Local information
Optional local recommendations can make the guide more useful, but keep them separate from critical property instructions. Restaurants, groceries, transportation, pharmacies, and nearby essentials are often more useful than a long tourist directory.
What should not be in a guest welcome book?
- Owner banking information
- Private security or alarm override codes
- Internal vendor pricing
- Private maintenance history
- Insurance details not intended for guests
- Internal incident or damage reports
The guest guide should be the guest-facing layer of your system, not a copy of the entire property-management binder.
Printed welcome book vs. digital guest guide
Both formats can work. A digital guide is easy to update and share before arrival. A printed guide remains available inside the property without requiring the guest to find a message or open a link. Many hosts use both and keep the most important information consistent across each version.
Keep the guide easy to scan
Use clear headings, short paragraphs, bullet points, and simple labels. Guests are usually looking for one answer at a time: Wi-Fi, parking, checkout, trash, thermostat, contact information, or an appliance instruction.
Review the guide whenever the property changes
Update the welcome book when you change Wi-Fi, access method, parking instructions, equipment, checkout process, emergency contact details, house rules, or important local information. An outdated guide can create more confusion than no guide at all.
How the welcome book fits into a larger host system
The welcome book is only the guest-facing part. Behind it, hosts still need private cleaning, inventory, maintenance, incident, emergency, and property-record workflows. The 20-page Property Management Binder for Airbnb Hosts & Landlords is designed to keep those operational records together while keeping guest information separate.
Related resources
- Airbnb Host Checklist
- Airbnb Checkout Checklist
- Airbnb Emergency Checklist
- Airbnb Cleaning Checklist
Frequently asked questions
Should every Airbnb have a printed welcome book?
No. The useful requirement is that guests can easily access accurate property information. Printed, digital, or combined formats can all work.
How long should a welcome book be?
Long enough to answer the important questions, but short enough that guests can find an answer quickly. Remove sections that are not relevant to the property.
Should house rules be repeated in the welcome book?
Key rules can be repeated for clarity, but the wording should stay consistent with the rules you communicate elsewhere.
Design the welcome book around guest questions
The easiest way to structure a welcome book is to list the questions guests repeatedly ask: How do I enter? Where do I park? What is the Wi-Fi? How does the thermostat work? Where does trash go? What happens at checkout? Who do I contact if something goes wrong? Put those answers before optional local recommendations.
Use a quick-start page at the front
A one-page quick-start section can contain the address, host contact, Wi-Fi, parking, check-in and checkout times, and the most important house rule. Guests who need only one answer should not have to read the entire guide.
Keep appliance instructions short
Include only the steps a guest needs to use the equipment safely. If a coffee maker, television, heating system, washer, or hot tub requires a long technical manual, provide a short guest instruction and keep the full manual separately for the host.
Use consistent wording across the listing and guide
If the listing says quiet hours begin at 10 PM but the printed guide says 11 PM, the welcome book creates confusion. Review the listing, pre-arrival message, house rules, printed guide, and checkout instructions together whenever a policy changes.
Separate recommendations from required information
Local restaurants and attractions can improve the guide, but they should not push essential access, safety, or checkout details too far down the document. Required property information should always be easier to find than optional travel suggestions.
Review the welcome book after guest questions
Repeated questions are useful feedback. If several guests ask where to park, how to use the thermostat, or where trash goes, the existing explanation may be hard to find or unclear. Improve the guide instead of simply answering the same question forever.
Keep printed and digital versions synchronized
If you use both formats, choose a master version and update the other copy whenever information changes. Old printed Wi-Fi passwords, outdated access instructions, or former host phone numbers can create avoidable support issues.
Frequently asked questions
Should the welcome book include every house rule?
Include the rules guests need during the stay and keep wording consistent with the rules communicated elsewhere. Avoid turning the guide into a long legal-style document.
Should local recommendations be updated?
Yes. Remove closed businesses and outdated transport or service information during periodic reviews.
Can the welcome book replace pre-arrival messages?
Not always. Time-sensitive access and arrival information may still need to be sent directly, while the welcome book serves as the property reference during the stay.
Adapt your guest guide to your property, building requirements, platform settings, and local rules.
Keep the welcome book easy to replace
If you print a physical copy, keep the source file and one spare print available. That makes it easier to replace a stained or outdated page without rebuilding the whole guide.
Related PropertyBinder resources
Continue with these related guides:
- Airbnb Wi-Fi Information Card
- Airbnb Directions & Arrival Instructions
- Airbnb Appliance Instructions Sheet