What to put in your guide
The information guests look for most, and what is better left out of a guide that anyone with the link can open.
Updated
A good guide is not the one with the most pages. It is the one that answers the question a guest has at the moment they have it.
Start with the questions you already answer
The fastest way to build a useful guide is to look at your recent guest messages. The questions you answer more than once are the ones that belong in the guide, near the top.
For most properties that means:
- How to get in, and where to park
- The Wi-Fi network name and password
- Check-in and check-out times
- How the heating, hot water or air conditioning works
- Bin day and recycling
- What to do when leaving
Add the things guests cannot look up
Anyone can search for a restaurant. What they cannot find is which one you would actually send a friend to, and why.
Your recommendations, with a sentence explaining each, are usually the part of a guide guests use most.
Order matters more than volume
Guests read guides in a hurry, often on the way to the property. Put arrival information first and background detail last. If something only matters on the day of departure, it does not need to be near the top.
What to leave out
A published guide is a web page that anyone with the link can open, including guests from past stays. Think carefully before adding:
- Permanent door or alarm codes
- Passwords for anything other than guest Wi-Fi
- Personal documents or financial details
- Anything that reveals when the property is empty
Temporary codes are better sent through your booking platform's messaging closer to check-in. There is more on this in what to keep out of your guide.
