[FREE] Airbnb Check In Guide Template for Hosts

If you’re hosting on Airbnb, there’s nothing better than reaching that coveted Superhost status. One way to get there is to impress every guest with your thoughtfulness, helpfulness, and hospitality. Providing them with a check-in guide is a great way to start.

An excellent check-in guide contains everything guests need to know about your property to make their stay more comfortable. A check-in guide will include a room layout, contact details, check-out instructions, and important info regarding amenities.

That’s why we’ve created this helpful Check-In Template for any Airbnb hosts who want to make their own nifty check-in guides to leave for their guests.

We’ll briefly go over how to use the guide and things you may want to include with it, then jump right to the template itself. Let’s get started!

Why Provide Guests With a Check-In Guide?

If you’re an Airbnb host, the best thing you can do to help yourself is to reach Superhost status as quickly as possible. The requirements for becoming a Superhost are as follows (exactly as listed on Airbnb’s own Help Center Superhost page):

• Completed at least ten trips OR completed three reservations that total at least 100 nights
• Maintained a 90% response rate or higher
• Maintained a 1% percent cancellation rate (1 cancellation per 100 reservations) or lower, with exceptions made for those that fall under our Extenuating Circumstances policy
• Maintained a 4.8 overall rating (this rating looks at the past 365 days of reviews, based on the date the guest left a review, not the date the guest checked out)

We’ve highlighted this last one because that’s the one this guide can help you do. To become a Superhost, you need excellent guest ratings. Providing your guests with a thoughtful, convenient check-in guide when they visit your property is a good starting place.

Please note that this is different than a Welcome Book, which covers more details about your area and things to do, coupons, etc. For that, check out our Welcome Book template here.

What You Should Include in the Check-In Guide

Your check-in guide is, as already mentioned, a packet for your guests that helps them get acquainted with your property.

It should greet them and contain basic information about the house and the area in which they’re staying. It’s kind of like a cross between a welcome letter and an in-house guide.

The Bare Necessities

It’s important to include practical information guests might need, such as:

• Your contact information
• Emergency contact information
• A reminder of the House Rules
• Tips on operating appliances and electronic devices
• Tips on dealing with any house quirks (sticking doors, running toilets, finicky shower knobs, etc.)
• A house floor plan (now required by law in many States)
• Location of emergency equipment (first aid kit, fire extinguishers, etc.)
• Where to find extra blankets, pillows, toiletries, etc.

Those are the bare necessities. You also need to include important things such as where to get groceries and local transportation services for those guests who are not driving.

Important Instructions

Many guests are coming to your area for the very first time, and one of the stresses travelers have is knowing where things are and how to operate them. If you have a fidgety lockbox that is hidden under the stair case, your guests are not going to be amused if they have to figure things out for themselves in the dark.

You will also want to lay out any instructions you have for check-out, and remind your guests when they are expected to hand the property back over to you.

How To Maintain Your Check-In Guide

Finally, once you have your guide ready to go, you have two main options for printing it. You can send it off to a professional printing service and have them make a large quantity of them so that each new guest has their own to keep.

The other option is to use a professional printing service that specializes in single print jobs. (Many Walmarts and Targets can now do this in their photo labs.) Make one large, colorful, professional-quality manual and have them bind it like a scrapbook.

If the printing/photo company you use doesn’t offer this service, purchase a transparent restaurant menu cover, such as the OwnMy 2PCS 8.5 x 11 Inch Menu Cover (Amazon), and slide the pages into it.

This will ensure the manual doesn’t get all grubby and damaged between guests.

Technically, a third option would be to print off the pages on your office printer and stick them in a folder each time you have a new guest. As long as you can make it look pleasant and professional, that’s okay too. However, if it doesn’t look great, we’d stick with the professional printing options.

The folder option does, however, make it easier to store coupons, maps, and other “extras.”

Nevertheless, if you go with the brochures or menu cover options, you can always buy a pack of cheap folders like this 25-pack of Oxford Two-Pocket Folders (Amazon) and stick all your extras in there. If you place the folder underneath your check-in guide, guests will find it.

You will also want to send your guests a digital PDF version of the check-in guide a few days before they arrive.

Other Maintenance Tips

• Update the guide every three to six months to ensure it includes the most up-to-date information.
• Place it in a central location your guests will be sure to see upon their arrival.
• If you leave small gifts for your guests, putting those near the guide is also a good idea.
• Send your guests an Airbnb message a few days before their arrival date, letting them know where they can find the guide just to be sure they see it early into their trips.
• Add a note at the end encouraging your guests to reach out to you if they have any questions or concerns.

Now, let’s get to the actual template.

*Note: If you have a nice picture of your property, use it on the cover of the guide or at the top as a type of header picture.

To make this easy to edit, we’ve created this Check-In guide in Google Docs.

(We’re actually working with a designer to recreate this guide in Canva.)

But you can still access this older version. You’ll need to “make a copy” to your own account in order to make any changes, and instructions are on the first page.

Conclusion

Thanks for checking out our free Airbnb Check-In Guide template. Feel free to use it as-is or tweak it to suit your specific needs better.

Either way, hopefully, it’ll help give you an idea of the kinds of things people like to see in welcome books. If you live in a metropolitan area where people don’t always have cars, you may also want to include a page on public transportation options in the city.

For our other templates, check out our post on Airbnb message templates, review templates for your guests, and house rules templates.