Airbnb digital guidebook: best tools and what to include

Category: Tech & Automation

By: Lauren Fischer

Posted: 2026-01-16T20:06:04.649Z

I'm creating a digital guidebook for my property instead of a printed binder. What platform do you use? What should be in the guidebook? And how do you make sure guests actually read it?

Reply by Rachel Patel:

I've tried a few different approaches to this. The free and easy route: the STR Specialist House Manual Generator at https://strspecialist.com/tools/house-manual-generator. You plug in your property details and it spits out a comprehensive guidebook covering check-in, house rules, emergency info, local recs. Good starting point and you can customize from there. If you want something more polished with analytics (see whether guests actually open the thing): Touch Stay at $8-15/listing/month. Beautiful templates, multi-language support, and you can track which sections get viewed. Hostfully is similar at $8/listing/month with the bonus of being able to print physical copies too, plus GPS-triggered recommendations which is a neat touch. If you're scrappy and don't mind building something yourself, a Notion page or Google Doc works fine. Share it via link, update whenever. No analytics but also no monthly fee. My approach: I create the content using the STR Specialist generator, then host it on Touch Stay for the analytics and mobile-friendly presentation. For what to actually put in the thing, prioritize ruthlessly. WiFi name and password first — literally the first thing every guest looks for. Then check-in instructions, emergency contacts, house rules, how-to guides for anything non-obvious (thermostat, TV, coffee maker, hot tub). After that: checkout instructions, restaurant recs, things to do nearby, grocery stores, transportation info. The trick to getting guests to actually read it: send the link in your check-in message (they'll open it for the WiFi password at minimum), put a QR code on a framed card at the entrance, and when guests message you with a question that's already answered, reply with "that's in the guide I sent, check the section on [whatever]!" They learn to check first. Also keep it SHORT — 3-5 pages max. Nobody's reading a novel. And please don't include your life story about how you bought the property and your vision for it. Guests do not care. Also skip excessive rules — long list of don'ts is psychologically off-putting. Stick to the essentials.

Reply by David Okafor:

The analytics from Touch Stay revealed something interesting about my guidebook: **What guests actually read (in order of views):** 1. WiFi password (98% of guests) 2. Check-in/access (92%) 3. Restaurant recommendations (67%) 4. Things to do (54%) 5. TV/appliance instructions (41%) 6. Checkout instructions (38%) 7. House rules (23%) 8. Emergency contacts (12%) **Insight:** Most guests only use the guidebook for WiFi and check-in. Put these FIRST. Everything else is bonus content. Also: restaurant recommendations get way more engagement than I expected. I update mine seasonally and include a photo of each restaurant's best dish. Guests have told me my recommendations were "the highlight of the trip." This is an area where you can differentiate dramatically. Most hosts' restaurant recommendations are generic Google Maps results. Visit the restaurants yourself, take photos, and write personal notes: "Ask for the smoked ribeye — it's not on the menu but it's the best thing they make." That personal touch makes guests feel like they have a local friend.