The Complete Airbnb Welcome Book Checklist
A frictionless welcome book covers six things: Wi-Fi, entry, house rules, check-out, appliances and local tips. Here's the full checklist — and how to deliver it without a paper binder.
Why hosts still need a welcome book
Guests arrive tired, disoriented, and holding a phone. A welcome book is the one place that answers every question they will have in the first hour — and if it isn't there, they will message you. A frictionless welcome book cuts inbound messages and lifts review scores in the same move.
The essentials — non-negotiable
Wi-Fi network name and password with a copy button. Smart-lock code or key location. Check-in and check-out times. Parking instructions. Trash and recycling days. Emergency contact. If any of these are missing, the welcome book has failed at its job.
House rules, written like a human
Quiet hours, smoking policy, pet rules, guest-limit — write them the way you would tell a friend, not a lawyer. 'Please keep it quiet after 10pm — the walls are thinner than they look' works better than 'Section 4.2: Noise policy.'
Appliance quick-starts
Coffee machine, washer, dishwasher, thermostat, TV remote, hot-water switch. Two lines per appliance is enough — 'press the round button, wait for the green light.' These are the small frustrations that quietly cost a star.
Local recommendations that feel personal
Three restaurants, one coffee, one grocery, one walk. Named, with why you love them. This is where a welcome book stops being paperwork and becomes hospitality — and where guests decide you are a host worth reviewing well.
Delivery — QR beats PDF
A printed QR on the fridge, a link in your pre-arrival message, and the same content in one place that you can update in seconds. That is the whole product: one welcome book, one URL, every guest, always current.