How to write an Airbnb welcome book your guests will actually read
Published 2026-04-10 by Umur Tuner
Most Airbnb welcome books don't get read. Hosts spend three hours on a 12-page Canva PDF, and guests skim the first page and never open it again. After rebuilding mine three times, here's what finally worked.
Rule 1: one page per category, max
Guests don't read long welcome books because they're on vacation, not studying. If your transit section is two pages long, nobody is getting past the first paragraph. Cut it to the three closest stops, with walking times, and stop there.
Rule 2: walking times, not addresses
"Boulevard Helvetique 42" means nothing to a guest who just landed. "7 minute walk, turn right out the building, the bakery is on the corner" means everything. Every single recommendation in your welcome book should have a walking time on it.
Rule 3: answer the five questions that always come up
Every guest asks the same things: where's the nearest grocery store, best coffee nearby, how do I get to the main attraction, is tap water safe, do I tip taxis. Answer them once, in the welcome book, and watch your inbox go quiet.
Rule 4: the "what to do if X" section is the most re-read page
Wifi down, heating cold, washing machine locked, lockbox stuck, trash day. Write one paragraph per problem. Guests keep this page open the whole stay. It's the single biggest review-saving upgrade you can make.
Rule 5: refresh it every 90 days
Restaurants close, ride apps change, metro ticket prices go up. An outdated welcome book is worse than no welcome book, because it signals "the host doesn't care." Set a calendar reminder. Better yet, use a tool that refreshes the data for you automatically.
If you want to skip the Canva rebuild entirely, HostGuide generates a welcome book from your Airbnb listing URL in 60 seconds and keeps the data fresh for you.