A good Airbnb welcome book answers the questions guests would otherwise text you at 11 p.m.: how to get in, how to get online, how the heat and TV work, where to park, what to do with trash and who to call in an emergency. On Airbnb, that information doesn't live in one binder. It's split across tools with different audiences: house rules, check-in and checkout instructions, the house manual and a public guidebook. Put each item in the right place, keep a printed copy in the unit, and check whether your city requires a posted notice inside the rental.
If you are getting ready for your first guests, your phone is the only manual right now, and every unanswered question about the thermostat or the Wi-Fi becomes a message, a delay or a comment in a review. This guide shows what to include, where each piece goes inside Airbnb, what to keep out of public view, which local codes spell out in-unit notices, and how to write the whole thing once and reuse it. If you co-host or manage a few units, the same structure turns into a template you can copy for every property.
What an Airbnb Welcome Book Is and Where Airbnb Puts It
An Airbnb welcome book is the set of instructions and local tips a guest uses to run the stay without calling you. Hosts also call it a house manual, a guest binder or a digital guidebook. Inside Airbnb, those names map to separate tools in the Listing editor under Arrival Guide, and each one has its own audience and timing.
Tool | Who sees it | When |
|---|
House rules | Public | Before booking |
Check-in steps | Booked guests | 48 hrs out |
Checkout notes | Guests | See note |
House manual | Booked guests | On confirm |
Guidebook | Public | Anytime |
Printed copy | Who's inside | In the unit |
Airbnb's help center says house rules appear in the listing description, booking terms, automated guest emails and the Arrival Guide. Detailed check-in instructions stay hidden until 48 hours before check-in, although guests see the method (smart lock, keypad, lockbox) earlier. Airbnb's check-in article says checkout instructions are available to guests before booking, while its confirmed-booking article lists them among arrival guide details shared on confirmation. The house manual is available only to guests with a confirmed reservation. Host guidebooks are public, and Airbnb lets you share them outside the site or print them.
That split is the design problem. A paper binder can hold almost everything because only the people inside the home read it. A digital welcome book on Airbnb has to respect who can see each section.
What to Put in an Airbnb Welcome Book: A 12-Section Template
Twelve sections cover the questions that come up during a stay, and each one has a natural home on or off Airbnb. Write them once in a plain document, then paste each section where it belongs.
Part | What to write | Where |
|---|
Welcome | Two lines, your name | Manual + print |
Wi-Fi | Network, password | Manual + print |
Entry | Door steps, backup | Check-in |
Parking | Spots, street rules | Manual + print |
Heat and AC | Set temp, fan | Manual + print |
TV | Remote, apps, input | Manual + print |
Kitchen | Dishes, appliances | Manual + print |
Trash | Bins, pickup day | Manual + print |
Safety | Alarms, exits, shutoffs | Manual + print |
Rules | Quiet hours, guest cap | House rules |
Checkout | Keys, towels, lights | Checkout notes |
Local tips | Food, parks, groceries | Guidebook |
Start with the Wi-Fi. Airbnb's own Resource Center article on house manuals suggests putting the Wi-Fi password first, because it is one of the first things guests ask for. Marit Anne, a host in Norway quoted there, calls it "my trick for having them open the house manual and hopefully read it." If someone opens the book for the password, the thermostat page is one scroll away.
Write parking as directions a stranger can follow. Airbnb's example from hosts Ben and Angel in Wellington, New Zealand points to a white picket fence and a hedge. That sentence works for a guest who arrives at night and has never seen the street.
Give appliances numbered steps. The same article shows hosts Joh and Gian writing out how to reach the TV's streaming apps and where dishes go after a meal. If a device has a quirk, describe the quirk: their TV steps warn that the screen shows only snow at first and say to press the diamond-shaped button after one minute.
Keep it short. Airbnb quotes a host who warns against making guests feel they have to cross a minefield to keep you happy. One screen per section is a fair limit.
Keep your messages separate from the book. The book is reference material; your guest message templates handle the timing, like the pre-arrival message one to two days before check-in that tells guests where the house guide is.
Where Each Item Goes: The Public vs. Private Rule
Anything that lets someone into the home or onto your network belongs only where confirmed guests can see it. Your guidebook is public. Airbnb says everyone can access host guidebooks, so door codes, lockbox locations, Wi-Fi passwords and alarm codes never go there.
Use this sorting rule as you paste sections in:
Access details (codes, key location, gate instructions) go in check-in instructions. Airbnb holds the details until 48 hours before check-in.
How the home works (Wi-Fi, heat, TV, trash, appliances) goes in the house manual, which opens to a guest once the reservation is confirmed.
Expectations you may need to enforce (pets, events, smoking, quiet hours, maximum guests) go in house rules, so they appear in the booking terms guests see while booking.
Local recommendations go in the guidebook, where being public helps because prospective guests can see what is nearby.
One detail matters if you run more than one listing. Airbnb's help center says guidebooks are connected to an individual hosting account, not a listing, and home co-hosts don't have access to new guidebooks. If a co-host runs the property for you, decide who owns the guidebook before you write it.
Codes need their own rule. Airbnb's safety requirements say lockbox and entry codes must remain secure and hosts should change codes between reservations, so a code printed in a binder is a code you will reprint every stay. Keep the code in the digital check-in instructions and leave it out of the printed copy. If you use a connected lock, our breakdown of what a smart lock failure costs at 11 p.m. covers the backup entry plan worth writing down.
If you want help checking how your listing, rules and guest experience fit together before your first booking, a complimentary one-on-one diagnostic call can help you see what to fix first.
Local Rules That Require a Notice Inside the Unit
Some cities require a printed notice inside a short-term rental, so your binder may be a compliance document as well as a convenience. Two published city codes show how specific these requirements get. In the table, Bkfd. is Bakersfield, Calif. and Cle E. is Cle Elum, Wash.; neither is a statewide rule.
Bakersfield, California's municipal code (section 17.74.050) requires each short-term rental to have a notice posted within the unit, in a location clearly marked and accessible to the guest. The code gives a refrigerator or a binder with additional unit information as examples. Cle Elum, Washington's short-term rental code (CEMC 17.160, Ordinance 1601, final text dated January 2021) requires a clearly visible notice posted within the unit with current information.
Item | Bkfd. | Cle E. |
|---|
Max guests | Yes | Yes |
Parking rules | Yes | Yes |
Trash info | Yes | Yes |
Contact | 24-hr | Host + local |
911 services | Yes | Yes |
Exits, extinguisher | Yes | Yes |
Permit number | Not listed | Yes |
Shutoffs | Not listed | Yes |
Quiet hours | Not listed | 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. |
Pets, smoking, snow | Not listed | Yes |
Bakersfield also asks for an evacuation plan showing emergency exit routes, exits and fire extinguisher locations. Cle Elum asks for the maximum sleeping occupancy and the maximum number of people in the unit at one time as two separate numbers, plus alternative parking for extra vehicles, trailers and campers.
No national rule sets these items. Check your own city or county code and your permit conditions, then build the printed copy to match. Our guide to short-term rental legal requirements covers where to look.
The Safety Page Guests Need Before Something Goes Wrong
The safety page is the one section a guest may read under stress, so it should fit on one page and sit at the front of the printed copy. Airbnb's safety requirements for homes ask hosts to state whether smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are present and keep any that are installed in working order. Hosts should also provide instructions for any feature that could cause injury if used improperly, with hot tubs as Airbnb's example.
Put these on it:
Street address, written out, for a 911 call
Where the smoke and CO alarms are, room by room (Airbnb's house manual article suggests listing which rooms have them)
Fire extinguisher location and the exits from each sleeping area
Water shutoff and electrical panel location
Your 24-hour contact number and a backup contact
Hot tub, pool, fireplace or grill instructions, if you have them
If your rental has a spa, pair this page with your hot tub turnover log. For smoke and CO alarm rules, see our guide to Airbnb smoke detector requirements.
How to Build Your Airbnb Welcome Book: A Six-Step Process
Write the welcome book once in a plain document, then paste each section into the right Airbnb tool and print the rest. If the book is one item on a longer pre-launch list, our STR launch checklist shows where it fits.
1. Walk the home with your phone
Stand in each room and note every question a stranger would have: which switch runs the fan, which remote runs the TV, where the extra blankets are. Photograph the thermostat, panel and shutoffs so you describe them accurately.
2. Write the 12 sections in one document
Use the table above as the outline. Short sentences, one task per paragraph, numbered steps for anything with more than two actions. If you run several units, save this document as a master template and change only the property details for each one.
3. Check your local code
Pull your city or county short-term rental code and permit conditions. List anything it requires posted inside the unit and add it to the safety page or front page.
4. Paste each section into Airbnb
In the Listing editor, open Arrival Guide. Add check-in method and instructions, the house manual, house rules and checkout instructions. Airbnb allows up to 140 characters of optional checkout details. Build the guidebook last, with local tips only.
5. Preview what a guest sees
Airbnb's Listings tab lets you preview the Arrival Guide. Read it as a guest would, on a phone, and confirm no code or password shows up anywhere public.
6. Print, place and date the copy
Print the manual and safety page, leave out door codes, and put the copy where your code says (Bakersfield's code names a refrigerator posting or a binder as examples). Write the revision date on the back page so cleaners can spot an old copy. Add a binder check to your cleaner's turnover list; our guide to cleaning fees and cleaner pay covers how to set that job up.
Mistakes That Make Guests Ignore the Book
The first mistake to fix is a book that contradicts your listing. Airbnb says additional rules shouldn't contradict your standard house rules, such as check-in time. If the binder says 4 p.m. and the listing says 3 p.m., the guest has two answers and you have a message coming.
Watch for these too:
Too many rules. Airbnb advises hosts to avoid overwhelming guests with too many rules. Save the rules section for what you would enforce.
Stale details. A changed Wi-Fi password or new TV turns the book into a source of messages. Update the house manual and the printed copy the same day.
Codes in public places. A door code in a guidebook is visible to anyone on Airbnb.
Burying the urgent pages. Put Wi-Fi first in the digital manual and the safety page first in the printed copy.
Complete details may also help bookings. Airbnb said in a 2024 Summer Release article that listings with more details can get up to 20% more bookings. That claim is about listing details overall, not welcome books alone, but a complete arrival guide is part of a complete listing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should be in an Airbnb welcome book?
Wi-Fi details, entry steps, parking, heating and cooling, TV and appliance instructions, trash and recycling, a safety page, house rules, checkout steps and local recommendations. Put access codes in check-in instructions and local tips in the guidebook.
Is the Airbnb house manual the same as a welcome book?
The house manual is Airbnb's built-in tool for how the home works, and only guests with a confirmed reservation can see it. A welcome book can combine that manual with a printed copy, rules and local tips.
Can guests see my Airbnb guidebook before they book?
Yes. Airbnb says host guidebooks are public and everyone can access them, so keep codes and passwords out of the guidebook.
Do I need a printed welcome book if I use Airbnb's digital tools?
None of the Airbnb help articles cited here require one, but some cities do require a posted notice inside the unit. Bakersfield, California and Cle Elum, Washington both list specific items. A printed copy also helps guests whose phones die or who are staying on someone else's booking.
Is there an Airbnb welcome book template I can copy?
Use the 12-section table above as your template. Write each section once in a plain document, then paste access steps into check-in instructions, home how-tos into the house manual, rules into house rules and local tips into the guidebook. If you manage several units, keep one master document and change only the property details.
How long should an Airbnb welcome book be?
Long enough to answer real questions and short enough to scan. One screen or one printed page per section keeps it usable.
Sources
Airbnb Help Center, Adding a house manual to your home listing (retrieved 2026-10-17)
Airbnb Help Center, Add a guidebook to your listing (retrieved 2026-10-17)
Airbnb Help Center, Add house rules to a listing (retrieved 2026-10-17)
Airbnb Help Center, Add check-in and checkout instructions to listings (retrieved 2026-10-17)
Airbnb Help Center, What info is shared with guests when their booking is confirmed (retrieved 2026-10-17)
Airbnb Help Center, Safety requirements for homes (retrieved 2026-10-17)
Airbnb Resource Center, Write a house manual to share info about your space (retrieved 2026-10-17)
Airbnb Resource Center, More control in the Listings tab (retrieved 2026-10-17)
City of Bakersfield, Municipal Code section 17.74.050 (retrieved 2026-10-17 from the city's online municipal code)
City of Cle Elum, Short-Term Rental Code (CEMC 17.160), Ordinance 1601 (retrieved 2026-10-17)
This article is for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. Platform features and local codes change; confirm current Airbnb settings in your Listing editor and current requirements with your city or county before you rely on this guide.
