A guest is outside the building with two suitcases, looking for a key safe that is apparently “beside the entrance”. There are three entrances. A good digital guidebook for a short-term rental prevents this sort of problem. It gives guests the information they need, in words they can understand, at the moment they need it.
It does not need to contain the history of the building, twelve pages of restaurant recommendations or a heartfelt essay about recycling. It needs to answer practical questions quickly. For an Airbnb host, those small details are often the difference between a smooth stay and another avoidable support message. Here’s what to include, what to leave out and how to make the whole thing genuinely useful.
What makes a good short-term rental digital guidebook?
A good guidebook should help a guest do three things:
- Get into the property without calling you.
- Use the property without guessing.
- Leave it correctly without creating work for the next turnover.
That means prioritising access, Wi-Fi, heating, appliances, parking, bins, checkout and troubleshooting. At a high level, the guidebook should match the guest journey:
| Guest moment | Guidebook information they need |
|---|---|
| Arrival | Address, entrance, key safe, access backup, parking |
| First hour | Wi-Fi, heating, hot water |
| During stay | Appliances, bins, house rules, troubleshooting |
| Checkout | Time, keys, rubbish, towels, late-checkout route |
Write for someone who has never seen the property before. They may also be tired, carrying bags, standing in the rain or trying to settle an unhappy toddler. This is not the moment for clever wording.
For more on turning property knowledge into clear messages, see how to write guest instructions.
Arrival and departure essentials
Check-in and access instructions
Access instructions deserve more attention than almost anything else in your guidebook. A phrase such as “the key safe is outside” might seem clear when you already know where it is. It is much less clear to a guest standing outside a converted townhouse with a basement entrance, a side gate and three identical black boxes on the wall.
Include:
- The full property address
- The correct entrance to use
- A photo of the building or entrance
- The location of the lockbox, key safe or keypad
- Clear instructions for opening it
- The access code, or where the guest will receive it
- Instructions for locking the door after entering
- Any internal building directions
- What to do if the code or key does not work
- A contact route for urgent access problems
Use visible reference points. “To the left of the blue front door, below the intercom” is better than “near the entrance”. For apartment buildings, explain the whole journey. Getting through the main door is only the first step.
Enter through the glass door marked Nelson Court. Use code 2841 on the silver keypad. Take the lift to the third floor, turn right and look for apartment 3B. The apartment key is in the black key safe attached to the railing opposite the door.
Test the instructions by following them yourself, preferably without relying on memory. Better still, ask someone who does not know the building to try them.
Wi-Fi details guests can actually find
Wi-Fi information should be one of the easiest things to find in the guidebook. Do not bury it halfway through a large PDF under “Property facilities”. Guests will message instead, especially if mobile signal inside the property is poor.
Include:
- The network name
- The password, with capital letters and spaces clearly shown
- The location of the router
- Basic restart instructions
- What the normal router lights should look like
- Who to contact if restarting it does not work
Avoid ambiguous characters where possible. A handwritten password containing O, 0, I and l is a small act of hostility.
A simple Wi-Fi section might look like this:
Network: HarbourFlat Password: GreenChair27
If the connection drops, switch the router off at the wall for 30 seconds, then turn it back on. The router is on the bookshelf beside the television. Please do not press the small reset button.
That final line matters. A guest pressing the factory reset button can turn a small connection problem into a longer one.
Checkout instructions
Your checkout section should reduce questions and help the cleaner start on time. Keep it short. Guests do not need a twelve-step closing ceremony.
Include:
- The checkout time
- Where to leave keys
- How to secure the property
- What to do with rubbish
- Whether dishes should be washed or loaded into the dishwasher
- Any simple requests about used towels
- Parking or permit return instructions
- What to do if the guest needs a late checkout
- Where luggage can be stored, if that option exists
Be clear about late checkout requests. A cleaner arriving early while the previous guest is still asking for another hour creates an avoidable mess.
Checkout is by 10:00am. Before leaving, please place used towels in the bathroom, put rubbish in the kitchen bin and return the key to the key safe. Pull the front door firmly to check it has locked.
Do not ask guests to perform half the turnover. A few reasonable departure steps are helpful. A long cleaning list is likely to be ignored and can make the final impression of the stay feel unnecessarily fussy.
Using the property during the stay
Heating, hot water and cooling
Heating controls often make perfect sense to the owner and nobody else. If the thermostat needs three button presses, a particular mode and a small prayer, document the process with photos. Explain what guests should expect after changing the setting.
Include:
- The location of the thermostat or control panel
- How to turn the heating on and off
- How to adjust the temperature
- Any limits guests cannot override
- How long the property normally takes to warm up
- Hot water instructions
- Boiler pressure guidance only where it is safe and appropriate
- Instructions for fans or air conditioning
- An escalation point if there is no heat or hot water
Avoid writing “use the usual controls”. There are no usual controls in a short-term rental. Be careful with technical troubleshooting. Asking a guest to adjust a thermostat is reasonable. Asking them to dismantle a boiler panel is not.
Appliance instructions
You do not need to document every plug and spoon. Focus on appliances that regularly cause confusion.
Common examples include:
- Hob and oven
- Microwave
- Dishwasher
- Washing machine
- Coffee machine
- Television and streaming controls
- Electric shower
- Induction hob
- Extractor fan
- Sofa bed
Short instructions work best. Add photos for unusual controls, especially touch panels where the symbols are hard to see. For the television, explain which remote does what. “Use the small remote to turn on the TV, then the black remote to choose Netflix” may save several messages. For an induction hob, mention that it may not activate unless a compatible pan is sitting on the ring. Without that detail, guests often assume it is broken. For a sofa bed, include the opening method and where the bedding is stored. Do not make guests search every wardrobe at 11:30pm.
Parking and arrival information
Parking instructions need to be specific enough for a guest arriving in the dark.
Include:
- The exact bay, space or area to use
- A photo or simple annotated image
- The route into the car park
- Gate or barrier instructions
- Height restrictions, where relevant
- Permit requirements
- Where to leave the permit at checkout
- Nearby alternatives if the allocated space is occupied
- A contact route if another vehicle is in the bay
“A parking space is available behind the property” is not enough when there are ten spaces and faded markings. A parking bay can seem obvious only because you already know which one it is. Use fixed landmarks:
Use bay 14, beside the brick bin store. The number is painted on the ground but can be difficult to see after dark. Do not use the two spaces directly beside the rear entrance.
Where parking details may change, make sure someone owns the job of keeping them current.
Bins and recycling
Bin instructions are easy to overlook until rubbish goes into the wrong container or every bin is wheeled out on the wrong night.
Explain:
- Where the internal bins are
- Where spare bin bags are stored
- Where the outside bins or communal bin room are
- Which bin takes general waste
- Which items can be recycled
- Any food waste arrangements
- Whether guests need to put bins out
- Collection instructions, if guests are expected to help
Use photos where bin colours are inconsistent or labels are hard to read. Keep this section practical. Guests do not need a lecture. They need to know whether glass goes in the green box, the blue wheelie bin or the communal container across the courtyard.
House rules without the essay
House rules should be visible, specific and written in plain language.
Cover the rules that matter for the property, such as:
- Smoking
- Parties and events
- Visitors
- Pets
- Noise
- Shared areas
- Candles
- Moving furniture
- Parking
- Use of outdoor spaces
- Checkout expectations
Avoid vague phrases such as “please respect the neighbours”. Explain what that means in practice.
Please keep noise low in the hallway and on the balcony after 10:00pm. The flats beside and below the property are permanent homes.
The tone should be calm, not threatening. Guests are more likely to follow rules they can understand. Also make sure the guidebook matches the rules communicated elsewhere. Conflicting information creates arguments that your team then has to untangle.
For more on the repeat questions unclear instructions create, see the guest questions every short-let manager answers on repeat.
Support, local context and property details
Troubleshooting common guest problems
A useful digital guidebook does not stop at instructions. It covers predictable points of failure.
Think about the questions your team receives repeatedly:
- “The key safe won’t open.”
- “The Wi-Fi password isn’t working.”
- “There’s no hot water.”
- “The hob won’t turn on.”
- “The television says no signal.”
- “We can’t find the spare towels.”
- “Where are the bin bags?”
- “The parking space is occupied.”
- “The cot isn’t here.”
- “The bedroom is cold.”
For each common problem, give the guest one or two safe checks. Then explain when to stop and contact the team.
For example:
If the key safe does not open, check that each number is centred on the marker line and pull the black release tab down firmly. If it still will not open after two attempts, message us. Please do not force the box.
That last instruction can prevent damage as well as frustration.
Automation should stop before it creates risk or awkwardness. A standard Wi-Fi answer is usually low risk. A midnight lockout, active leak, noise complaint or missing cot needs a clear path to a person.
Emergency and urgent contact information
Guests should be able to tell the difference between a routine question, an urgent property problem and an emergency.
Include:
- The best way to contact the property team
- Your support hours
- The route for urgent out-of-hours problems
- The property address, written clearly for reference
- The location of basic safety information provided at the property
- What kinds of issues require immediate contact with the team
Keep this section easy to locate. Do not hide it at the end of a long list of local attractions. Avoid asking guests to diagnose technical or safety-related problems themselves. For urgent situations, the guidebook should help them reach the right person quickly.
Local recommendations that are genuinely useful
Recommendations can make a guidebook feel thoughtful, but this section gets bloated quickly.
Focus on places guests commonly need:
- Nearest supermarket
- Late-opening food option
- Good breakfast or coffee spot
- Reliable takeaway
- Pharmacy
- Public transport stop
- Taxi information
- Family-friendly option
- Dog-friendly recommendation, where relevant
- Luggage storage, if available nearby
Add a short reason for each recommendation. “Good bakery, five minutes on foot, usually busy after 9:00am” is more useful than a copied list of business names. Check recommendations regularly. Shops close, opening hours change and the café you loved four years ago may now be an estate agent. You do not need to become a local tourism office. Five dependable suggestions beat thirty unfiltered ones.
Property-specific details guests will not guess
Every property has its odd little facts. Perhaps the bathroom door needs lifting slightly before it closes. Maybe the bedroom blind uses a remote stored in the top drawer. The washing machine switch is outside the kitchen. The water takes a minute to reach the upstairs shower. These details belong in the guidebook if they repeatedly confuse guests.
Other examples include:
- Where spare towels are kept
- Where to find extra toilet roll and bin bags
- How to request a cot or high chair
- Which cupboard contains sofa-bed bedding
- How to open a stiff balcony door
- Which light switch controls the outside light
- Whether the tap needs to run briefly before the water becomes hot
- Where guests can leave luggage before check-in or after checkout
Do not assume something is obvious because the cleaner, owner and maintenance person all know it.
What not to put in your digital guidebook
More information does not automatically produce fewer questions. A guidebook becomes less useful when guests have to search through too much material to find the door code.
Do not bury important details
Access, Wi-Fi, checkout and urgent contact information should be easy to reach. Do not place the Wi-Fi code on page 17 beneath a section about local walking routes. Do not hide checkout instructions inside a welcome letter. Put high-frequency information first.
Do not write for insiders
Avoid phrases such as:
- “Use the rear entrance”
- “Park in the usual bay”
- “The thermostat works normally”
- “Bins go in the main area”
- “The spare key is in the cupboard”
Which rear entrance? Which cupboard? What does “normally” mean? Write as though the guest has arrived for the first time, because they have.
Do not include every possible detail
A digital guidebook is not a property inventory. Guests do not need the brand of every appliance or a paragraph about each kitchen utensil. Include details that help them complete a task, avoid a mistake or solve a likely problem.
Do not use long blocks of text
A guest with a non-working hob will scan for “hob”, not read six paragraphs about the kitchen.
Use:
- Clear headings
- Short steps
- Photos where they add clarity
- Bold labels
- Searchable wording
- One topic per section
Do not let old information linger
An outdated guidebook can be worse than no guidebook. Old key codes, changed parking bays, missing appliances and incorrect bin instructions create extra support work. They also make guests doubt everything else they are reading. Assign responsibility for updates. When an operational detail changes, update the guidebook as part of the same job.
Make the guidebook easy to use in the moment
The best guidebook structure follows the guest’s stay:
- Before arrival
- Finding the property
- Getting inside
- Using the property
- Solving common problems
- Checking out
- Getting urgent help
Guests should also be able to search using the words they would naturally use. They may search for “hot water”, not “domestic water system”. They may type “TV”, not “entertainment equipment”.
Turn your guidebook into WhatsApp answers
This is also where letbloom.io fits. If your team keeps replying to the same check-in, Wi-Fi, heating, parking and bin questions, letbloom.io acts as an AI concierge, using your guidebook, house rules and property notes to answer guests on WhatsApp in any language, 24/7, with urgent or uncertain issues passed back to a person. When details change, the source information is easy to update and keep live, so guests do not keep receiving old instructions.
