Free template
Airbnb house manual template
Most house manuals are written once, at midnight, the day before the first guest arrives, and then never touched again. This one is built from the messages hosts answer over and over. Copy it, fill in the blanks, delete what doesn't apply to your place.
Copy the template
WELCOME TO [PROPERTY NAME] Wifi Network: [NETWORK NAME] Password: [PASSWORD] Router is [WHERE]. If it drops, unplug it for 30 seconds. Getting in [DOOR / LOCKBOX / KEY SAFE: where it is and how it opens] Check-in from [TIME]. Checkout by [TIME]. Heating and cooling Thermostat: [WHERE IT IS, HOW TO CHANGE IT] [ANYTHING THAT LOOKS BROKEN BUT ISN'T] Kitchen Coffee: [MACHINE TYPE, WHERE THE PODS/BEANS ARE] Dishwasher: [TABLETS ARE WHERE, CYCLE TO USE] Help yourself to: [SALT, OIL, TEA, WHATEVER YOU LEAVE OUT] Washing machine [WHERE, WHICH SETTING, WHERE THE DETERGENT IS] Rubbish and recycling [WHICH BIN IS WHICH] Collection is [DAY]. Please put bags in [WHERE] before you leave. TV and entertainment [WHICH REMOTE DOES WHAT: the single most-asked question] Logged in to: [SERVICES]. Please don't log out. Parking [WHERE EXACTLY, PERMIT NEEDED?, WHAT TO AVOID] The neighbourhood Coffee: [PLACE], [WALKING TIME] Groceries: [PLACE], [WALKING TIME] Dinner we'd send a friend to: [PLACE] Nearest pharmacy: [PLACE] If something's wrong Message me here first; I usually reply within [TIME]. Emergency: [LOCAL EMERGENCY NUMBER] Water shut-off: [WHERE] Fuse box: [WHERE] Before you go [BINS / DISHWASHER / KEYS / WINDOWS: three or four things, not twelve] Thank you for staying. - [YOUR NAME]
Write it from your message history, not from scratch
Open the last twenty guest conversations and count the questions. Whatever comes up three times belongs at the top of the manual. Hosts consistently find the same handful: which remote works the TV, where the bins go, how the shower mixer works, and where to park. Those four answers do more than a page of house philosophy.
Front-load arrival, bury the rest
A guest reads the manual twice: once standing outside the door with luggage, and once when something confuses them. The first read only cares about getting in, wifi, and heating. Put those three first, in that order, and let everything else sit below.
Say where things are, not that they exist
"There is an iron" is not information. "Iron and board are in the hall cupboard, top shelf" is. Every line in a good manual answers a where or a how, and a line that answers neither can usually be deleted.
Keep the door code out of it
A house manual gets forwarded, screenshotted and left in a group chat. An access code inside one outlives the stay it belonged to. Keep entry instructions on a page you control and can revoke, and keep the manual itself about living in the place rather than getting into it.
Questions hosts ask
How long should an Airbnb house manual be?
One screen of arrival essentials, then as much detail as your place genuinely needs. Length isn't the problem; order is. A long manual that opens with wifi and the door works; a short one that opens with a welcome paragraph doesn't.
Should the house manual include the wifi password?
Yes. Wifi is the first thing a guest looks for after they get in, and it's not a security boundary in the way an entry code is. Make it copy-pasteable: typing a 20-character password off a printed card is where the first bad message comes from.
Where should I put the house manual so guests actually read it?
Wherever they already are: their phone. A printed binder on the coffee table is read by the guest who was never going to message you anyway. A link you send before arrival is read on the way there.
Do I need a separate manual for each property?
Yes, and it's less work than it sounds: the structure is identical and only the blanks change. What breaks is reusing one manual across two places: guests follow the wrong bin day and the wrong parking rule, and you get the message anyway.