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Airbnb Guidebook and House Manual: A Sample You Can Copy

By Lashan Wanigatunga, Airbnb Superhost
Last reviewed

A phone showing a digital guidebook on a kitchen island in a cabin rental, next to a coffee maker and a welcome card.

An Airbnb guidebook and an Airbnb house manual sound like the same thing, and plenty of hosts treat them that way. On Airbnb they're separate features, seen by different people at different times. Airbnb is also rolling out AI auto-replies that answer guest questions from your amenities, description and house manual, so what you write in the manual is increasingly what guests get told.

I run my own two Wisconsin Dells homes, The Hot Tub Hideout and The Arcade Hideout. This guide covers how I split the information up, a full house manual sample you can copy, guidebook examples, and how to keep the same answers on Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com.

The short version

  • House rules: what guests must follow. Public before booking.
  • Check-in instructions: how to get in. The details show 48 hours before check-in.
  • House manual: how the home works. Confirmed guests only, and Airbnb's AI auto-replies can draw on it.
  • Guidebook: local recommendations. Public on your listing and profile, so keep it evergreen.
On this page (10 sections)

Airbnb house manual vs guidebook: what goes where

All four live in Airbnb's listing editor. Check-in instructions, the house manual and guidebooks sit under Arrival guide, next to separate fields for directions and Wi-Fi details. House rules have their own section, House rules and requests. Each one has a different audience:

House rules and requests

Public

The rules guests must follow (pets, events, smoking, quiet hours, maximum guests) plus lighter requests timed for during the stay or before checkout. Anyone viewing the listing can see them, and confirmed guests get them in their booking terms and Trips tab.

Check-in instructions

48 hours before

Guests can see your check-in method (smart lock, keypad, lockbox). The step-by-step instructions stay hidden until 48 hours before check-in.

House manual

Confirmed guests

How the home works: Wi-Fi, TVs, thermostats, appliances, where the extra blankets are. Only guests with a confirmed reservation can see it.

Guidebook

Public

Local places, neighborhoods and city tips. Guidebooks belong to your hosting account, not to one listing, so you can link one to several homes. They're public: guests find them on your listing and profile pages and in their Trips tab. Co-hosts can't access new guidebooks.

The split matters most for rules. For bookings made from November 20, 2026, Airbnb's house rules policy says rules and requests must be in the designated section of the listing at the time of booking. Hosts can't introduce new ones anywhere else in the listing, or after booking by message, signs in the home or in person. Your house manual can remind guests of a rule that's already in House rules and requests, but it can't be where a rule first appears. Rules also have to match the rest of your listing, and changes to them only apply to reservations made after you save.

Why the house manual matters more now

In May 2026 Airbnb announced auto-replies in the Messages tab. Guests get AI answers to common questions, using details from your listing page, including your amenities, listing description and house manual. Each auto-reply shows Airbnb as the sender, both you and the guest can see it, and you can delete it and send your own reply. Airbnb said the messaging upgrades would roll out in the coming months, so check your own inbox rather than assume they're live for you.

That changes who you're writing for. A manual that says "TV instructions are on the fridge" gives the AI nothing to answer with. A manual that still has last year's Wi-Fi password gives a guest the wrong answer at 10pm, in Airbnb's name. The same applies to PMS tools: Hospitable's AI drafts replies from its Knowledge Hub, which I cover below. Whatever the AI reads is what your guests hear.

Write it so it can be quoted

  • One topic per section, with a plain heading.
  • Full sentences with the actual answer, not "see the binder."
  • Say what something doesn't do, not only what it does.
  • Keep door codes out of the manual. They belong in check-in instructions and reservation messages.

What to put in an Airbnb house manual

Order the manual by how often guests ask, not room by room. At The Hot Tub Hideout the manual opens with quick answers on Wi-Fi, the TVs, the thermostats, trash, parking and the hot tub, because that's what guests ask about. Then it goes deeper:

  1. Quick answers for the top questions
  2. Getting in and how the doors lock
  3. Heating and cooling, with which thermostat runs what
  4. TVs and streaming
  5. Kitchen and laundry
  6. Outdoor features like the hot tub, fire pit and grill
  7. Good to know: anything that doesn't work the way guests expect
  8. Safety and emergencies
  9. House rules reminder, copied from your listing
  10. Checkout

A few details from our own homes show why the specifics matter:

  • Dual-zone thermostats. The Hot Tub Hideout has dual-zone Ecobee thermostats, with each level controlled separately. The manual needs to say which thermostat controls which floor and that changing one doesn't change the other.
  • The front deadbolt. Guests at the same home ask about the front deadbolt, so how it locks and unlocks belongs near the top of the manual, not on page three.
  • A fireplace that doesn't work. The Arcade Hideout's lower-level fireplace has been disabled and is decorative only. It looks real in photos, so the manual says plainly that it doesn't work. Don't tick a fireplace amenity for one like it, either.
  • Streaming accounts. Our TVs are Rokus set to Guest Mode, so guests sign into their own streaming accounts and Roku signs them out on the date they pick. The TV section says that up front instead of leaving guests to look for a login that isn't there.

Airbnb house manual sample you can copy

Here's a full sample written for a made-up two-story home, not one of ours. It assumes a smart lock, a thermostat on each floor, a hot tub and a fire pit, so you can see how each kind of feature gets explained. Replace everything in [brackets] and delete what your home doesn't have. Paste the sections in this order into Airbnb's house manual, or into Hospitable's house manual field, which pushes to Airbnb and Direct.

Quick answers

First section of the manual. The questions guests ask most.

Wi-Fi: [network name] / [password]. The router is [location]. If the internet drops, unplug the router for 30 seconds and plug it back in. TV: Turn the TV on with the [remote], then open the streaming app you want. [Sign in with your own accounts, or which accounts are provided.] Heating and cooling: [Where the thermostat is. If each floor has its own, say so and that changing one doesn't change the other.] Trash and recycling: Bins are [location]. [Pickup day, if guests need to know it.] Parking: Room for [number] cars in the driveway. [Street parking rules.] Hot tub: [Ready when you arrive, or how to turn it on.] Controls are [location]. Anything else: message us in the app you booked through.

Getting in

Right after quick answers. The door code itself stays in your check-in instructions.

Check-in is [time] or later. Your door code is in your check-in instructions. Front door: The keypad lock opens with your code. To lock it when you leave, [press the lock button]. [If the door has a second lock, like a button on the handle or a chain, say what it does and how to release it.] If the keypad doesn't respond: [backup step], then message us. Other doors: [Patio, garage or side doors and how they lock.]

Heating and cooling

Spell out which thermostat controls what.

Upstairs thermostat: [location]. Downstairs thermostat: [location]. Each one controls its own floor only. Set the temperature you want and give it [time] to adjust. [If one room or floor runs warmer or cooler than the rest, say so here.] Extra blankets are in the [location].

TVs and streaming

Say what's there and what isn't.

Living room: [TV brand], remote on [location]. Bedrooms: [which rooms have TVs]. [There's no cable.] The TVs have [streaming apps] installed. Sign in with your own accounts, and sign out before you leave so the next guest can't see them. If a TV says "no signal," press [Input or Source] and choose [HDMI 1].

Kitchen and laundry

The things guests look for on day one.

Coffee: [coffee maker type]. [Pods or filters] are in [location], with a starter supply. Dishwasher: Pods are [location]. [How to start it.] Cooking basics: [Oil, salt, pepper, spices] are in [location]. Washer and dryer: [location]. Detergent is [location]. Extra towels and bedding: [closet location].

Outdoors

One line per feature, with where the controls are.

Hot tub: Controls are [location]. It's set to [temperature]. [How the cover works.] Fire pit: [Wood-burning or gas]. [Where firewood is, or that guests should bring their own.] Grill: [Gas or charcoal]. [Where the fuel is.] Lights: [How to turn on deck, patio or string lights.]

Good to know

Anything that doesn't work the way guests expect.

Fireplace: The fireplace in the [room] is decorative only and doesn't light. [Delete this line if yours works.] [Anything else that looks like it works but doesn't, or works differently than guests expect: a locked owner's closet, a couch that isn't a sofa bed, a speaker that isn't connected.]

Safety and emergencies

Short, findable and specific.

Emergency: call 911. The address is [full address]. Fire extinguishers: [locations]. First aid kit: [location]. Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms: [where they are]. If one goes off, [what to do]. Water shutoff: [location]. Breaker panel: [location]. Nearest urgent care: [name], [X] minutes. Nearest hospital: [name], [X] minutes.

House rules (reminder)

Copied word for word from your House rules and requests. Nothing new.

Here are the house rules from our listing, for easy reference: [Copy each rule exactly as it appears in House rules and requests: maximum guests, pets, quiet hours, smoking, events.]

Checkout

Last section. Light requests only, and only ones already in your listing.

Checkout is [time]. Before you go: [one or two light requests from your listing, like gathering used towels]. Lock the front door: [how]. That's it. Safe travels, and thanks for staying with us.

One check before you publish: if a line in your manual asks guests to do something, the same request should already be in House rules and requests. Checkout requests on Airbnb also have to stay light. Airbnb's own checkout tips mention gathering used towels as the kind of small ask to consider, while its policy names stripping beds, taking trash off-site and washing and putting away dishes as examples of cleaner-type tasks hosts can't ask guests to do.

What belongs in the Airbnb guidebook

Because the Airbnb guidebook is public and tied to your account, I treat it as the evergreen layer: places that will still be there, and still be right, a year from now. Anything that changes month to month goes somewhere I can edit in minutes.

Keep in the Airbnb guidebook

  • Grocery stores and pharmacies
  • Urgent care and the nearest hospital
  • Gas stations and a hardware store
  • Parks, trails and lakes
  • Big attractions that have been around for years
  • Neighborhood tips, like drive times and when traffic backs up

Put where you can update it

  • Restaurant picks, which open, close and change
  • Seasonal hours and events
  • Anything with a price, deal or coupon
  • Anything described as new
  • Places you earn money from, unless you disclose it

That last point is Airbnb's rule, not just my preference. Recommending local businesses is allowed when it's optional for the guest, and any financial benefit to you has to be disclosed.

For our homes, the local picks that change live in the TouchStay guidebook for each home and on Hidden Dells, my own Wisconsin Dells guide, where restaurant and waterpark listings can be updated as places change. Two sample entries, one for each layer:

Evergreen entry: groceries

For the Airbnb guidebook. Still true a year from now.

[Store name] [X] minutes by car. [Why this one: bigger selection, open later, has a pharmacy or deli.] Good for: stocking up on your first day. Tip: [Something only a local would tell you, like which entrance has easier parking.]

Curated pick: a restaurant

For a guidebook or site you can edit in minutes.

[Restaurant name] [Type of food], [X] minutes away. What to order: [dish]. Good for: [families, groups, a night out]. [Book ahead on busy nights, or when it's quiet.] Last checked: [month and year]

The "last checked" line is for you, not the guest. It tells you at a glance which picks are due for a look.

Digital guidebooks and Airbnb's personal data rule

A digital guidebook puts the house manual and local picks behind one link that works on every channel, so you edit it once. I use TouchStay for both of our homes. Hostfully is another option, and there are others. Whichever you use, a few rules decide whether it works:

Airbnb: no email gate

From Nov 20, 2026

With limited exceptions, Airbnb's policy says hosts may not solicit personal data, email addresses included, at any point during the booking or stay. It doesn't mention guidebooks by name, but it does ban Wi-Fi portals that ask for an email. A guidebook that asks Airbnb guests for one is the same kind of request, so I'd treat it as off-limits.

Airbnb: getting in can't need an app

Hosts can't require a third-party app or registration on another site to get into the listing. Keyless entry apps are allowed if you offer another way in on request. Optional apps that help during the stay are fine.

Hospitable: the guidebook short code

Add each property's guidebook URL in Hospitable and the %guidebook% short code drops the right link into automated messages. It only fills in on automated messages for confirmed bookings, which is when you want to send it anyway.

Booking.com: approve the link first

Booking.com blocks links by default and removes ones that aren't approved. An extranet admin adds your guidebook's domain under Property, Messaging preferences, Security settings. For TouchStay that's guide.touchstay.com, or your custom domain. Link shorteners like bit.ly can't be approved.

Most channels block links in messages before a booking is confirmed, so send the guidebook after booking, not in inquiry replies.

If you use TouchStay, look at its OTA Compliance Centre (under General settings). For guests whose booking source is Airbnb, it can hide topics like a mailing list or a "book again" page and hides the marketing consent box. Two catches from TouchStay's own help pages: Airbnb guests can still submit contact details through topics like Email Capture, so hide or remove those yourself, and the restrictions only apply to invitation links. The Quick Share link always shows the full guide, so don't paste it into Airbnb messages.

Vrbo and Booking.com: what each one offers

Airbnb is the only one of the three with a separate field for each piece. Here's what the other two give you.

Vrbo: the Welcome Guide

Built in Vrbo

You build it per property in your Vrbo account, under Property, then Welcome guide: contact details, directions, parking, how guests get in, Wi-Fi, and instructions for amenities like laundry. Vrbo emails it to guests three days before check-in, and they can see it under My trips. Confirmed bookings only, and it disappears after checkout or cancellation.

Vrbo: what changed in 2026

Sep 2026

The Welcome Guide isn't new, but Expedia Group's September 1, 2026 release lists it as live with automatic delivery of access instructions and delivery confirmation for hosts. Vrbo's scheduled message templates can now pull personalization tags from it, which is one more reason to fill it in completely.

Vrbo: what doesn't carry over

Hospitable pushes its house manual field to Airbnb and Direct only, so the Welcome Guide has to be built and kept current in Vrbo. Paste in the same quick answers. If you also set reservation-specific access instructions in the Vrbo inbox, Vrbo says only those are shared, so use one or the other on purpose. If your Vrbo listing runs through a PMS connection, check that the Welcome guide option shows for it.

Booking.com: house rules and check-in method

Booking.com has house rules (in the extranet under Property, Policies, and guests agree to them to book) and a check-in method (door code, lockbox, someone meets the guest, instructions sent later, and a few others). Hospitable says it pushes the check-in method to all managed booking platforms but house rules only to Airbnb and Direct, so set Booking.com's rules in the extranet. I haven't found a built-in house manual or guidebook for homes in Booking.com's partner documentation, so a guidebook link in Booking.com messaging does that job.

Booking.com: no guest phone numbers

Since Sep 28, 2026

Booking.com no longer passes guest phone numbers to PMS software. Texts with codes or guidebook links won't reach those guests, so keep it all in Booking.com messaging.

Keeping it all in sync

The more places your house information lives, the more chances one of them is wrong. If you run on Hospitable, here's what its property details push to each channel, according to Hospitable's documentation:

Wi-Fi name and password
Pushed to all listings on the property
Check-in method and details
Pushed to all managed booking platforms
House manual
Airbnb and Direct only
House rules and directions
Airbnb and Direct only. Set Vrbo and Booking.com rules at the channel
Checkout tasks
Airbnb only
Guidebook link
Not pushed anywhere. Used for the %guidebook% short code
Vrbo Welcome Guide
Built and edited in Vrbo

Then there's the AI. Hospitable's Knowledge Hub is a per-property store its AI draws on for replies. It's built from your property details, past guest messages, house rules and amenities, plus any PDFs you upload, and a TouchStay guidebook can be imported into it. The catch: it reads property details only once, when it's first generated. Change the Wi-Fi password in property details later and the Knowledge Hub keeps the old one until you edit it there too. After any change, use Ask the AI to test the question a guest would ask.

I run Hospitable's AI on our own homes with automatic sending turned on, and sometimes have it draft a reply for me to edit instead. It gets most guest questions right. When it misses, the cause is almost always a missing or outdated entry, so I fix the Knowledge Hub that day rather than just correcting the one reply.

The simplest way to stay matched is to treat Hospitable's property details as the master copy and everything else (the Knowledge Hub, the Vrbo Welcome Guide, your digital guidebook) as copies you update in the same sitting. Our Hospitable review covers how the AI replies work day to day, and Hospitable Setup is there if you'd rather have us build it.

An upkeep routine that holds up

1. Same day: any device, code or Wi-Fi change

New router, new thermostat, new lock, new TV: update Hospitable's property details, the house manual, the Vrbo Welcome Guide, your digital guidebook, the Knowledge Hub and any sign in the home. Then ask the AI the question a guest would ask and check the answer.

2. When a question comes up twice

If two guests ask the same thing, the answer isn't where they look. Move it into quick answers, or rewrite the section so it's easier to find.

3. Monthly: check your curated picks

Look at anything with a "last checked" date older than a month or two. Drop what closed, and add what's worth adding.

4. Each season: swap the seasonal lines

Winter driveways and slick streets, summer patio and fire pit notes. Keep the seasonal part to a few lines so the rest of the manual stays evergreen.

5. When you change a rule: listing first

Update House rules and requests first, then the reminder in the manual. On Airbnb, rule changes only apply to bookings made after you save, so guests already booked keep the rules they agreed to.

Getting the content right for one home is the easy part. Keeping it matched across channels, the PMS and the AI is where it tends to drift. If you'd like a second set of eyes on yours, start with the free listing audit. Our Airbnb message templates cover the messages that send the guidebook link, and Airbnb Automation is there if you'd rather have us set the flow up.

Quick answers

What's the difference between an Airbnb house manual and a guidebook?

The house manual explains how your home works, like Wi-Fi, TVs, thermostats and appliances, and only guests with a confirmed reservation can see it. The guidebook is a set of local recommendations. It belongs to your hosting account rather than one listing, it's public on Airbnb (guests find it on your listing and profile pages and in their Trips tab), and you can link it to more than one listing.

Where do I add a house manual on Airbnb?

In the listing editor, open Arrival guide, then House manual. Check-in instructions and guidebooks are in Arrival guide too. House rules have their own section, House rules and requests. If you use Hospitable, its house manual field pushes to Airbnb and your Direct site.

When can guests see my check-in instructions and house manual?

Airbnb shows guests your check-in method, such as a smart lock or lockbox, but holds back the detailed check-in instructions until 48 hours before check-in. The house manual is only available to guests with a confirmed reservation.

Can I put house rules in my house manual?

You can remind guests of rules that are already in House rules and requests. For bookings made from November 20, 2026, Airbnb doesn't allow new rules or requests in other parts of the listing or after booking, so the manual can't be where a rule first appears.

Should I keep a printed house manual in the home?

A short printed card is still useful for what guests need before they open an app: Wi-Fi, the address, emergency numbers and how to reach you. Copy it word for word from your digital manual so the two can't disagree. Don't use it for anything new: for Airbnb bookings made from November 20, 2026, hosts can't add rules or requests after booking, and Airbnb names signs in the home as one of the ways that's not allowed.

Can my digital guidebook ask guests for their email?

For Airbnb guests, don't. For reservations booked from November 20, 2026, Airbnb's policy says that, with limited exceptions, hosts may not solicit personal data such as an email address at any point during the booking or stay. The policy doesn't name guidebooks, but it does ban Wi-Fi portals that ask for an email, and a guidebook that asks for one is the same kind of request. Make sure the version Airbnb guests get opens with no sign-up and no email field.

Does Vrbo have a house manual?

Vrbo has a Welcome Guide, built in your Vrbo account for each property under Property, then Welcome guide. It covers contact details, directions, parking, how guests get in, check-in and checkout, Wi-Fi and amenity instructions. Vrbo emails it to guests three days before check-in, guests can also see it under My trips, and only guests with a confirmed booking have access. Hospitable's house manual field doesn't push to it.

How do I send a guidebook link to Booking.com guests?

Approve the guidebook's domain first. In the extranet, an admin user goes to Property, Messaging preferences, Security settings (it asks for two-factor verification) and adds the whole domain, for example guide.touchstay.com. Booking.com removes links that aren't approved, and shorteners like bit.ly can't be approved. Then send the full link in Booking.com messaging.

Lashan Wanigatunga

About the author

Lashan Wanigatunga

Airbnb Superhost who runs his own Wisconsin Dells rentals and helps other hosts with listing optimization, pricing and automation on Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com.

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Sources

Checked November 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm on each company's site.

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