Kevin Musprett
Co-founder & CEO
Digital Guidebooks for Airbnb: What to Include, How to Automate, and the 60% Reduction in Guest Questions (2026)
Every property manager knows the drill. New guest checks in. Within the first hour, the messages start:
“What’s the WiFi password?” “Where do I park?” “How does the coffee machine work?” “What time is checkout?” “Any restaurant recommendations nearby?”
You’ve answered these questions 500 times. You’ll answer them 500 more. And somewhere in a drawer at the property, there’s a printed binder with all this information that nobody opened.
Digital guidebooks solve this problem. They put the right information in front of guests before they need to ask, on their phone, accessible from anywhere, updated in real time. According to Touch Stay, 92% of property managers using digital guidebooks report saving time and having happier guests. Here’s what to include and how to set one up that actually reduces your messaging workload.
Why printed binders and PDFs don't work
Property managers have been leaving printed binders at properties for years. Some switched to PDFs emailed before arrival. Neither works well. Here’s why:
Printed binders: – Guests don’t read them. They arrive, put bags down, and start texting you. – They go outdated fast. The WiFi password changes, a new restaurant opens, the pool hours shift, and the binder still shows last year’s information. – Guests can’t search them. If they need parking instructions at midnight, they’re not flipping through 20 pages. – They get damaged, lost, or ignored. Coffee rings, missing pages, “I didn’t see any binder.”
PDF attachments: – Buried in email. The guest has to find the email, download the PDF, and scroll to the right section. – Static. Same outdating problem as printed binders. – No mobile formatting. PDFs designed for letter-sized paper are painful to read on a phone screen. – No tracking. You have no idea if the guest opened it.
Digital guidebooks fix all of these: – Accessible via link on any phone (no app download needed) – Searchable – Updated in real time when property details change – Formatted for mobile screens – Can be timed to arrive at check-in (or before) – Trackable (you can see if the guest opened it)
What to include in your digital guidebook
I’ve found that covering these 12 categories eliminates the vast majority of repeat guest questions. You don’t need all 12 for every property, but this list covers what guests actually ask about.
1. Check-in instructions
This is the most critical section. Step-by-step directions from the moment the guest arrives at the property: – Where to park on arrival – How to find the unit (building, floor, door) – How to access the door (keypad code, lockbox, smart lock instructions) – What to do first inside (thermostat, lights, security system)
Be specific. “The door code is 4523. Enter it on the keypad to the right of the door. Turn the handle after you hear the click.” Not “Use the code we sent you.”
2. WiFi information
Network name and password. Bold it. Make it impossible to miss. This is the #1 most-asked question across every vacation rental on the planet.
Include a note about connectivity: “WiFi works best in the living room and bedroom. Signal is weaker on the patio.”
3. Checkout instructions
What guests need to do before they leave: – Gather used towels (where to put them) – Load the dishwasher or leave dishes in the sink – Take out the trash (which bins, where) – Lock up (how to lock the door, close windows) – What NOT to do (don’t strip the beds, don’t clean the kitchen, don’t rearrange furniture)
Keep this short. Guests are in a rush at checkout. Five bullet points max.
4. Parking
Where to park, how many spots, whether a permit is needed, street parking rules, and what to do if the spot is taken. Include a photo if the parking situation is confusing.
5. House rules
Short version of the house rules: – Quiet hours – No smoking policy – Pet policy – Maximum occupancy – Pool/hot tub rules – Trash and recycling procedures
Don’t paste your entire rental agreement here. Summarize the rules guests actually need to follow during their stay.
6. Appliance instructions
The things guests can’t figure out on their own: – TV remote and streaming (which input, how to access Netflix/Hulu) – Coffee machine (which pods, where the water goes) – Washer and dryer (settings, where to find detergent) – Thermostat (how to adjust, recommended settings) – Hot tub or pool (how to turn on, cover instructions, chemical warnings)
Photos help here. A picture of the remote with an arrow pointing to the input button saves 10 messages.
7. Local restaurant recommendations
5 to 8 restaurants within 10 minutes, with: – Name – Cuisine type – Price range ($ to $$$$) – What it’s best for (date night, family, quick lunch) – Walking distance or drive
Don’t just link to Google Maps. Add a one-sentence recommendation. “Best pizza in the neighborhood. Skip the pasta.” Guests trust a local recommendation from their host more than a Yelp rating.
8. Grocery stores and essentials
Nearest grocery store, pharmacy, gas station, convenience store. Include hours if they vary (some close early in resort towns).
9. Activities and attractions
Top 5 to 10 things to do nearby. Include a mix: – Free activities (beaches, hiking trails, parks) – Paid attractions (museums, tours, theme parks) – Rainy day options – Kid-friendly picks (if your property welcomes families)
10. Transportation
How to get around: – Nearest public transit (subway, bus, ferry) – Ride-share availability – Bike rental options – Driving tips (toll roads, parking at attractions) – Airport shuttle information
11. Emergency contacts
- Your phone number or your team’s emergency line
- Local emergency services (911 in the US, 999 in the UK, plus non-emergency police)
- Property maintenance emergency (water leak, power outage, heating failure)
- Nearest hospital or urgent care
- Building manager or HOA contact (if applicable)
12. Neighborhood tips
Quiet shortcuts, where to watch the sunset, the coffee shop that opens at 6am, the trail that’s empty on weekday mornings. This is where your local knowledge turns a good guidebook into a memorable one.
How digital guidebooks reduce messaging volume
Every question a guidebook answers proactively is a question your team doesn’t have to answer reactively. The math is straightforward:
Before guidebooks: – 90 stays per month x 4 messages per stay about basic info = 360 messages – Average handling time per message: 1.5 minutes (open PMS, check info, reply) – Monthly time on repeat questions: 9 hours
After guidebooks: – Same 90 stays, but 60% of basic questions are answered by the guidebook before they’re asked – 360 messages reduced to ~144 messages – Monthly time: 3.6 hours – Time saved: 5.4 hours per month
Across a year, that’s 65 hours saved on questions that have the exact same answer every single time. That’s almost two full work weeks of time recovered.
And the guest experience improves. Instead of waiting for a reply about the WiFi password, they already have it. Instead of texting about parking at 11pm, they check the guidebook. Faster access to information means fewer friction points during the stay.
Setting up a digital guidebook: step by step
Step 1: Gather the information. Walk through each property and document the 12 categories above. Take photos of confusing appliances, parking spots, and building entrances. This takes 30 to 60 minutes per property.
Step 2: Choose your format. You need something mobile-friendly, shareable via link, and easy to update. Options range from hosted guidebook platforms to AI-powered systems that generate guidebooks from your property data.
Step 3: Write in guest language. Your guests aren’t property managers. Skip the jargon. Write like you’re texting a friend who’s staying at your place. “The hot tub takes about 20 minutes to heat up. The controls are on the right side, under the cover. Hit the green button.” Not “Refer to the spa operational manual.”
Step 4: Time the delivery. Send the guidebook link 24 hours before check-in (so guests can plan) and again at check-in time (so they have it when they need it). Don’t send it at booking. They’ll lose it by arrival day.
Step 5: Keep it current. When property details change (new WiFi password, restaurant closes, pool under maintenance), update the guidebook immediately. Outdated information creates more messages, not fewer.
How AI connects guidebooks to the rest of guest operations
The best digital guidebooks aren’t standalone documents. They’re connected to your guest messaging system.
When a guest asks “What’s the WiFi password?”, the AI doesn’t need to look it up manually. It pulls the answer from the guidebook data. When a restaurant in the guidebook closes, you update it once and the AI’s answers update too.
This creates a feedback loop: the guidebook reduces inbound questions, and the messaging AI handles the questions that still come through. Both systems draw from the same knowledge base. Update one, and the other improves.
That’s the difference between a guidebook as a static document and a guidebook as part of a guest operations platform. One reduces questions. The other eliminates the need to answer them twice.
The top 10 questions every guest asks
After managing 100 vacation rentals at My Getaways, I can tell you these 10 questions account for about 80% of all inbound guest messages during a stay:
- WiFi password (asked by nearly every guest, usually within 10 minutes of arrival)
- Check-in instructions (how to get in, where to park, door code)
- Checkout time and procedures (when, what to do before leaving)
- Parking (where, how many spots, permits)
- How to use an appliance (TV remote, coffee machine, thermostat, hot tub)
- Restaurant recommendations (nearby, good for families, date night)
- Local activities (what to do, free options, rainy day plans)
- Trash and recycling (which bins, where to leave them, pickup days)
- Extra supplies (where are extra towels, blankets, pillows)
- Noise or quiet hours (especially in shared buildings or HOAs)
Every one of these has a fixed answer per property. The WiFi password doesn’t change between guests. The parking instructions are the same in January and July. The checkout time is always 11am.
These aren’t complex questions that need human judgment. They’re lookups that a system can handle faster and more consistently than any team.
Reactive vs proactive: two approaches to guest information
Reactive (how most PMs operate today)
Guest arrives. Guest texts a question. Someone on your team reads it, opens the PMS, finds the property, looks up the answer, types a reply. Repeat 4 to 6 times per stay across 90+ stays per month.
The problems with reactive: – Each question interrupts your team’s workflow – Late-night questions (WiFi at 11pm) wait until morning or require an after-hours response – The same answers get retyped hundreds of times – Guest waits for a reply during the first minutes of their stay – Errors happen when the wrong info gets sent (old WiFi password, outdated parking instructions)
Proactive (how AI guidebooks work)
The system sends a digital guidebook to the guest 24 hours before check-in with all the information they’ll need. When the guest arrives, they already know the WiFi password, the parking situation, and how to get in. When they have a question about restaurants or checkout, they check the guidebook instead of texting.
Why proactive is better: – Guest gets information before they need it – No wait time on answers – Information is always current (guidebook updates in real time) – Team handles only the questions the guidebook can’t answer – After-hours questions are self-served
The shift from reactive to proactive is the single biggest lever for reducing message volume without reducing service quality.
What guidebooks can't replace
Guidebooks handle fixed, property-specific information well. They don’t replace guest communication for:
- Reservation-specific questions. “Can I check in early?” requires checking availability, not just looking up the standard check-in time.
- Problems and complaints. “The heater isn’t working” needs a human response with troubleshooting or a maintenance dispatch.
- Special requests. “Can we bring our dog?” requires checking the pet policy for that specific property and possibly collecting a deposit.
- Emotional situations. A guest who’s frustrated about a noisy neighbor needs empathy, not a FAQ link.
The goal isn’t to replace all communication with a guidebook. It’s to eliminate the repetitive, fixed-answer questions so your team and your messaging AI can focus on the conversations that actually need attention.
Frequently asked questions
What is a digital guidebook for Airbnb?
A digital guidebook is a mobile-friendly online document that gives vacation rental guests property information, check-in instructions, WiFi credentials, house rules, local recommendations, and emergency contacts. Guests access it via a link on their phone. It replaces printed binders and PDF attachments.
What should I include in a vacation rental guidebook?
Include check-in instructions, WiFi information, checkout procedures, parking details, house rules, appliance instructions, restaurant recommendations, grocery stores, activities, transportation options, emergency contacts, and neighborhood tips. Cover the 10 to 12 questions guests ask most frequently.
Do digital guidebooks reduce guest messages?
Yes. Property managers using digital guidebooks report up to 60% fewer repeat questions about basic property information. When guests have WiFi passwords, parking instructions, and checkout procedures before they arrive, they don’t need to message you for the same answers.
When should I send the digital guidebook to guests?
Send the guidebook link 24 hours before check-in so guests can plan their arrival, and send it again at check-in time for easy access. Don’t send it at booking. Guests lose it before arrival day. Timed delivery around check-in produces the best engagement.
How long does it take to create a digital guidebook?
Gathering information and photos for one property takes 30 to 60 minutes. Setting up the guidebook in a digital format takes another 20 to 30 minutes per property. After that, updates take 5 minutes when something changes. The upfront investment pays back quickly through reduced messaging volume.
Ready to See the Difference?
Book a free scoping workshop to see how Boring Host handles your specific properties and guest communication challenges. No commitment, no sales pitch, just a clear look at what changes.
Kevin Musprett
Co-founder & CEO
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