Do you provide guidance on travel information?

[Stephanie]

Hey there,

These days, many of us are very reliant on smartphones, particular if you are like me and you use it to find locations. More often than not though, it can be trickier than planned, to find the specific home or address. Perhaps the address code is actually in a slightly different location, or you live in a remote area with poor internet signal .

Do you provide detailed instructions on the best way to reach your home? Do you put signs out perhaps? 

Don't get lost on the way to hitting Reply! 😉

Thanks,

Stephanie

[Susan1188]

I have lots of hacks for helping people get to my place!

Sending the localisation on Google Maps is fantastic.  They can click it into Ways or whatever gps they use on their phone.

They can even share their position with me on arrival day, so I can follow their drive and be in the street when they arrive!

I also put pictures of the outside of the building in my listing and welcome pack.

It is however more difficult with guests who don't have 4G service.  For them I send the google localisation ahead of time, up to them to download the map.

I also give the name of next door restaurants and hotels as landmarks, sometimes it's easier for them to have a reference point they can put in their car gps.

I do state the different ways you can get to my apartment, rental car, bus, taxi.

I have had some problems though when I recommend a service that I think is the best bet:  if anything is wrong with the service then the guest might blame me and make it my problem.  So I'm still working through how to handle that.

[Sarah977]

I email my guests a map along with written instructions. I tell them I advise printing out the map and having it with them in case there is no Wifi or their phone is out of juice. and some guests don't even have their phone set up to use here when they come on holiday. 

My place is not findable on Google maps.

[Susan1188]

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@Sarah977 wrote:

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My place is not findable on Google maps.

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OK after reading further I get it:  your place is localisable on google maps but the map application sends people the wrong way.

Yes that is a problem.  At the same time I see why people would want to see it on google maps so they can get their bearings;

Have you tried communicating some waypoints they can put into google maps for the correct itinerary?

Make them pass by a certain gas station, intersection, or town etc.  to get them not the right track?

In this day and age I would not expect many people to accept to rely on written instructions and paper maps, they need to have some way to click it into their gps.

For anybody wondering how to find your location and share it on google maps:

You go on the map in your phone and drop a pin at the geolocalisation of your place.  And then you share the pin.

OR you go to your place and share your location.

A third and even better option is to enrol your airbnb in google business site, it's free, and then it will show up as a pin on the map no matter where on earth is is.  If you can get a post card in the mail, you can be on google earth with a google business site.  When people are using google maps or searching the itinerary to your place they will see it mentioned as a pin on the map.  Then you can very easily send the link to It each time.

[Sarah977]

@Susan1188  Thanks for all that. But as I said, all my guests have all found it without a hassle, and many told me they would never have found it with GPS or Google maps. None have minded printing out the map I send, or saving it in their phone. They've all been literate people who can understand written directions. Honestly, not everyone is hooked to and dependent on all this technology.

[Sarah977]

@Susan1188  Also, and this may be hard for you to wrap your head around,  not everyone who comes here on holiday has their phones set up to use while on vacation in this country. Some are looking forward to an "unplugged" holiday. So they would not be able to access Google maps or anything like that, because they won't be connected to a cell signal, Wifi, or anything.

[Gordon0]

My auto email/itinerary provides step-by-step directions from the Tube station. But some guests think they (or at least Google) know better. Problem is my post code on Google takes people to the wrong street (very close, but wrong). 

[Sarah977]

@Gordon0 I once arranged to caravan down to Mexico with another woman.  I was coming from British Columbia and she from Seattle, and as I had friends to visit on the way, we planned to meet on the US side of the border on a certain day. As I had made the drive many times before, I told her the easiest, fastest route to take. However, she insisted on following Google maps recommendations, which took her through almost a day of twisty-turny 2 lane road through a mountainous area, with her cat projectile vomiting the whole way, instead of the flat super highway she should have taken. And she was a day and a half late to meet me.

[Dimitar27]

I also use Gmaps. Works fine. But...situations are different. Last week a guest sent me a message. My instructions was clear- the door, next to the pharmacy on the corner. And when the guest asked me where is the pharmacy, I realized, that in fact, there is no inscription "Pharmacy" there .

[Helen427]

@Stephanie  are you trying to steal my readers 😉 ??

Enjoy this one

@Dimitar27 @Sarah977 @Gordon0 @Susan1188 @Stephanie  and fellow ABB community

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/What-Landmark-Trees-do-you-use-to-highlight-how-to-navigate...

[Helen427]

I'm going to piggy back on this  @Stephanie !

[J-Renato0]

Although it is very easy to get to my listing addresses, I usually send tips on how to get to the district where the accommodation is located recommending the best way and type of transport to get there. Better say, when the guest ask or accept advice and are open to hear it. Some guests guests are very reserved or self-sufficient and get easily to the listing address without any advice, without any problem.

However there are the "smart ones". Once in a while it appears some guests that think they are very smart and completely self-sufficient! It is no use to say that taking a bus is not a good option! Uber is the faster and worthwhile option to come from the International Airport (30-40 minutes).  To save few pennies, once in while few guests take the bus and spend about 2 and half hours in a bus! Their ordeal begans when going through a traffic jam near the city center, then they stop by the bus station terminal, next stop is the SDU airport for domestic flights, then more 30 minutes to get to the listing address. Although the bus is aircondioned, imagine to be sitting more 2 and half hours in a bus after a long flight and in most of cases with 2 flight connections! When it happens I notice that they are very tired, almost staggering. Unfortunatelly it is useless to advice the "smart ones"! There will be always the next "smart traveller" that will take the bus when they offered them the bus ticket and say that the journey duration is only 40 minutes!

[Mike-And-Helen0]

We provide directions (from the most commonly used approach road and a correction to google maps that stops short of us.

We also provide exterior photos and "if you are at house x you need to drive on a bit".

Still we have to go out and wave, a d some guests choose to come without map, phone, satnav or directions. Then they ding us on location because they couldn't find us!

[Kath9]

I send detailed instructions of getting to my house and how to get down the driveway (which is a bit like the going down bit of a rollercoaster ride) once they've arrived. But I like the idea of this google maps stuff @Susan1188, especially them sharing their position with you! That would help with knowing when they're arriving. I might try this - thanks for the tips. 

[Susan1188]

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@Kath9 wrote:

. But I like the idea of this google maps stuff @Susan1188, especially them sharing their position with you! 

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Thanks Kath!  

If you set up your google business site, you can put photos of the outside the driveway etc. And use pictograms like include arrows to show where to turn or if there is a pothole to avoid etc!

i loooove sharing the location on their drive so I can totally plan my day and see exactly where they are,

be at the street entrance to the garage when they pull up.  No need to keep texting their eta!  Fantastic! 

Sharing the drive on Ways is even better you see the traffic and ETA.

You can also share your position with them simultaneously if you have to run an errand or are stuck in traffic.

its fabulous, but of course they need 4g and they have to accept to do it, some may find this invasive.

good luck trying it out let me know if you need help!