How to Create a Digital Guest Guide in Under 10 Minutes

You do not need to write a novel. You need one reliable page (or short guide) your guests open on their phone. Most hosts already have the raw material in old messages, a Word doc, or a printed sheet — this is about ordering it.

Use the guest guide checklist as your source list. Below is the fastest sensible sequence.

1. Add your property basics (2 minutes)

• Property name as guests should see it (“The Blue Door Apartment”, not your internal nickname)
• One-line welcome (“We're glad you're here — everything you need is below.”)
• Hero photo of the building entrance or living room (helps guests confirm they are in the right place)

2. Add arrival information (2 minutes)

Copy from your last check-in message:

• Address + floor/unit
• Parking
• Door/building access
• Photos beat paragraphs here — snap the lockbox, the intercom, the correct door

If self check-in is new to you, pair this section with our self check-in guide.

3. Add Wi-Fi (1 minute)

Network name and password. Full stop.

Put it near the top of the guide or in a section titled “Wi-Fi” that appears in the first screen. Guests ask for this more than anything else. See what guests expect from Wi-Fi info.

4. Add house rules (2 minutes)

Five rules you actually enforce:

• Quiet hours
• Smoking
• Guests/parties
• Pets
• Rubbish

Skip the legal essay. Clear beats comprehensive.

5. Add local recommendations (2 minutes)

Three places, not thirty:

• Supermarket
• Somewhere for dinner on night one
• Café or bakery for morning

Add one sentence why you like each (“Open late”, “Good for kids”, “Best croissants on the street”).

6. Add checkout instructions (1 minute)

Time, keys, rubbish, beds. Guests read this the night before leaving — make it scannable.

7. Share with QR or link

• Paste the link into your booking confirmation template
• Print a small QR card by the door for guests who did not save the email
• Optional: add the same QR to your printed welcome materials

Tools such as Guestlane follow this structure out of the box — sections, translations, and a QR you can regenerate when the design changes — but the workflow is the same anywhere: write once, link forever, update without reprinting.

After publish: one improvement pass

Ask your next guest (or cleaner): “Was anything missing from the guide?” One answer per stay beats guessing.

If messages repeat, add a FAQ line. That is how guides stay short and complete at the same time.