Digital Guidebooks

[Lisa10178]

Hi , I am new to Air BnB and have listed one property. I am looking at Digital guidebooks and just wondered if anyone has any experience of using Digital Guidebooks and how they work?  Do I email a link to each guest before they stay? Thanks Everyone 

[Joan2709]

@Shelley159 

Many Hosts have been asking for a short code for the House Manual so they can use that to directly link to it in guest messages. So far, that has fallen on deaf ears with Airbnb. Seems very simple, as they have short codes for check-out instructions and Host Guidebook? I have also asked for a short code for number of pets (we like to confirm number of guests/pets in the Welcome message). Alas, nothing has changed.

It would also be great if they would add a link to the check-in instructions guests get 24-48 hours prior, as those include photos on how to park and get inside. Many guests dont even know these exist and hosts are manually sending photos attached to a Quick Reply. The reason they don't know they exist is the guests don't know they have to click the photo of the listing in their Trips tab to get to the check-in instructions/photos. I have suggested Airbnb add a callout on the photo that says "click here for further information including check-in instructions" but alas, nothing done so far.

The best solution I have seen is many Hosts create a PDF document (including their check-in instructions with photos) and put on DropBox or Google Docs. Then they send a link to the document in a Scheduled Message. What's nice about the DropBox doc is it's "searchable" - guests can type in a word like "cooktop" and it will take them to all the areas of the document with that word. Some also use House Manual Apps you can create and send to the guest. Been looking at those, but haven't found one I really like yet and of course there is a fee to use.

If you only have a few sentences in your House Manual, maybe send those with your check-in instructions? Most Hosts I work with have a pretty extensive House Manual on Airbnb, so that wouldn't work for them unless Airbnb created a short code they could add to a message.

I'll try to gather some actual guest messages when I can and post here.

[Lorina14]

@Shelley159 

1) For the house manual you can’t have pictures in it or turn it into a pdf.

2) There is no limitation on characters for the house manual so I type everything there. I have it arranged by room and most important. I have found many guests don’t click links when it is sent to them. Many ask questions that are in my guidebook that I sent with the booking confirmation. It’s a long list of location and general rules and I’ve had most guests thank me for the extensive information.

I put the house manual in scheduled messages as I know it can be hard to navigate in the app or platform to find things. Some things are not intuitive like clicking on a pic of a lockbox to find the pics and captions for arrival with parking and how to get in. 

With the scheduled messages short code for the house manual, it sends the entire house manual 48 hours prior to arrival. I actually get it in my messages. I’ve caught some things I needed to update sometimes just by re-reading the manual. It also gets auto translated if the guest has that feature on. I haven’t explored Canva or Dropbox links as this has worked for us for now (and making a long house manual with formatting and pics take a bit of time too).

[Shelley159]

Thanks so much for explaining in detail @Lorina14 !

[Joan2709]

@Lorina14 

When you send the scheduled message with the entire House Manual....how do you word it? When do you send it...1day prior? Do you just say something like: 

Hi (guest name)!

We are looking forward to seeing you on (date of check-in). Below is our House Manual that contains all the information you'll need about the amenities available. If you any questions, please feel free to reach out. We're happy to help!

See you soon!

We might start doing this as I like that the manual can be auto-translated as we have many non English speaking guests. Great idea!

[Shelley159]

@Joan2709 @Lorina14 

If you send it, the guests may receive it twice if this little line is true, but I don't think we have an easy way of checking (other than maybe asking whether they got it twice?).

[Lorina14]

@Shelley159 

We send it only once, the day before check in with scheduled messages, see the above post. You will see if they got it as it will show up in your messages in the app.

[Shelley159]

Yes @Lorina14 but Airbnb says they also auto-send the House Manual to the guest. The messages that they auto-send don't show up in the message thread.

[Lorina14]

@Shelley159 

I don’t have access to my guest’s email. So I don’t know what that looks like (if it’s just a link or the actual full house manual). I can try to find an old reservation but the platform keeps getting updated so it’s probably not relevant. 

Most of my guests all use the app. There was only one that used the website and got info only on their email and for some reason he said he didn’t receive the check in instructions. I called CS to ask about this as that is problematic.

Personally I would rather over communicate all the information then under communicate and then guests can choose to read what they need/want. If I get duplicate messages in the app and email (like when I get CC notifications on my app and an email notification as well) I just delete it.

There was one guest who said they had too many emails from Airbnb, but only one guest. I think it is because they didn’t check their email regularly from Airbnb about their booking so when they went looking for it - they found all the scheduled emails (Airbnb sends a bunch of emails as part of their protocol that were sent before I set up scheduled messages). 

@Rebecca @Quincy @Elisa Is there a way to have a summary help article created from a team that deals with scheduled messages and emails sent to guests after a booking? 

Hosts would like to know exactly what emails go out to a guest from Airbnb, when it is sent from Airbnb, and what it looks like? This way we could prevent duplication if we have the same info in our scheduled messages? Or we can troubleshoot as we know what our guests get and what we have scheduled?

[Joan2709]

@Lorina14 

Unfortunately, the House Manual short code puts the whole manual in the message...it's not a link like the Host Guidebook. I have requested they make a link for the House Manual via feedback, but no action so far?

I will try and get copies/screenshots of what messages guests receive and post here if I can.

[Lorina14]

@Joan2709 

I know it puts the whole manual in there. I went back and forth about it at first and opted to just send it so the entire manual is there in messages. I haven’t had any complaints from guests but rather how much they appreciated the detail and where to find things and how to use them if they needed it.

[Elisa]

Hi @Lorina14 😊, 

Thank you for asking this question!

Unfortunately, we don't have this, but please feel free to fill out the feedback form with this amazing proposal 👉 Share your feedback about Airbnb.

Warm regards 🌻,

[Lorina14]

@Joan2709 

Here is the scheduled message they receive the day before check in and how it appears in scheduled messages:

Hi ∕guest first name∕,

We look forward to your arrival on ∕check‑in date∕ anytime after ∕check‑in time∕ .

Here is our address: ∕address∕

Check-in instructions: ∕check‑in method∕

Wifi password: ∕wifi password∕

Here are some helpful things:
House rules: ∕house rules∕

House manual: ∕house manual∕

Guidebook to the area: ∕guidebook∕

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Warm regards,
Lorina and Michael

[Lorina14]

@Joan2709 

This is the scheduled message 3 days prior - so I’ve mentioned the house manual before but didn’t include the link there. The day before I send the entire manual in case they didn’t read the earlier message or did not check it out:

Hi ∕guest first name∕!

We are excited to host you on ∕check‑in date∕.

You can check in any time after ∕check‑in time∕ on ∕check‑in date∕.

The listing is at ∕address∕ and here are the directions: ∕directions∕

Please make sure to download the Airbnb app and turn on the notifications. All messages, the house manual, guidebook, check in/out instructions can be easily found on the app or desktop.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Kind regards,
Lorina and Michael

[Joan2709]

@Lisa10178 

That's a good point about how guests can get the House Manual automatically translated on Airbnb.

[Elisa]

Hi @Lisa10178   ‌😊‌, 
Thank you so much for asking this question here, it's really interesting!

I'm happy you’ve found many hosts to discuss this with! 😍
Would you mind marking the 'Top Answer' if you found one particularly useful?

Warm regards ‌🌻‌,