Sharing Important information for your guests

[Nicole2223]

Hello,

I'd like to hear from hosts that have been successful in communicating the most important information to their guests. I'm talking about the stuff beyond the 'house rules' that is still pretty darn important to ensure a safe and fun time for the guest plus good care of my property.  

I'm still pretty new/learning here and I've opted to keep my house rules as minimal as possible and have shared everything else in a printed manual that I leave in the house (but in the process of converting to a digital guest book). It's quite obvious to me that very few people read the book...which results in unfortunate but not serious circumstances, some of which COULD impact my reviews (but haven't yet). 

I've refrained from putting notes all over the house - that's not my style - but a few scares have now prompted me to consider it.  For example: safe septic practice.  We will soon be hosting families with infants for the first time and I'm seriously concerned about baby wipes!  It doesn't seem to matter that we specifically ask people to acknowledge our house rules...they can easily forget.  AND, I just learned, that ABNB doesn't always show the complete list of rules, so I'm now I'm thinking about writing them right into our listing description which seems ridiculous. 

I'm open to suggestions that you've found successful. I know I can't make every stay perfect, but I HOPE I can prevent bad reviews as a result of doing something that we warn against in the binder that nobody reads. 

Thanks!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Nicole2223 we leave an A4 single side sheet with the key details needed to stay with us safely. We include the wifi password so guests have to read it. It is hard to get everything onto one sheet but this approach does mean only those items most important to us are mentioned.

[Laura2592]

@Nicole2223 no matter how kind and conscientious you are about house rules 75% of your guests will not bother to read them or understand what you are asking.

We experimented with different things. We have detailed rules. We put an easter egg phrase at the end we ask guests to send prior to booking. We leave house rules in a book with other info on the space. We send a check in email reiterating important house rules (fire safety, etc) when we send the code. Still despite all this guests claim not to have gotten the info. Some do not understand how to expand the rules to see the entire list.

As per the septic issue, I would put a sign on the trash can for the baby wipes asking that they be disposed of there. Get a can with a lid and tape a hand written sign with smiley faces to it. That is the ONLY thing that seems to remind guests not to throw anything but toilet paper in the toilet. We don't have any other signs in our space and having a cute but obviously handmade sign seems not to annoy people or come across as aggressive. So far so good.

I would just expect that guests will not pay attention to most of what you ask and have the appropriate rates to deal with any issues that arise from that.

[Emilia42]

@Nicole2223 

I'm with you on the simple house rules. You don't want to overload people with too much text. And realisticly, the guest may read the rules/description when they book 6 months prior to their stay but when there on vacation it's unlikely that they will revisit the listing page at all. 

I don't mind notes and reminders as long as they blend into the space and are not intrusive. A small sign can be a saving grace when the guest has an immediate need and otherwise has to text or call the host. In my case, it's a confusing shower fixture that has to be positioned a certain way in order for water to come out of the showerhead. I have this little mouse that holds typed shower instructions sitting on the bathroom shelf in case a guest needs to remind themselves quickly.

I also have a cutesy sign similar to this one that I have in a frame hanging above the toilet (like bathroom art):

Finally, I write each guest a handwritten welcome note on a little pad of paper left on the kitchen table. Here I will write important info that might pertain to their stay. Like if they are standing for more than 3 nights I will remind them where they can put their bagged trash. Or when the humidity is really high I will remind them that the front door is sticking and to pull hard, etc.