Hello,
I am a new host in La Jolla, California, USA. So please take this with a pinch of newbie salt.
Airbnb Guidebooks must have been the right idea back in the day, but not a very good implementation (to be polite). Currently, if you create multiple guidebooks for the same property (I like to categorize by Essentials, Beaches, Eats & Drinks, Scenic Spots, Fun Things for Kids, etc.), Airbnb displays just one. If you try to stuff everything into one Guidebook, Airbnb does not print all the entries after a certain number of them.
The general consensus among the community appears to be that guests don't even read descriptions, much less an online guidebook so printing everything for guests to see when they arrive seems like the way to go. Leaving aside the size issues in printing Airbnb guidebooks, this ends up wasting a lot of paper, is hard to keep updated, etc. If guests do like something a host recommends in a printed guidebook, they have to enter the location manually into a mapping app like Google Maps. If they go through online guidebooks, Airbnb finally takes guests to Google Maps anyways.
So, I thought, why not create a guidebook in Google My Maps (part of Google Maps). My Maps allows up to 10 categories (called layers) and seemingly unlimited number of entries in each.
Check out my new-fangled guidebook by clicking on the link below:
Guests will get the link upon a confirmed booking and get a laminated QR code upon check-in (appended at the bottom, point your phone's camera at it), both with instructions below.
Once in the guidebook, please click on "Legend" to display (or hide) categories and places recommended. If you like or would like to go to a recommended place, click on it, followed by "View in Google Maps" and you will be on your way.
I would love feedback on this approach.
-Kanwalinder
