Digital welcome book for holiday rentals: what it must contain, and why a PDF is no longer enough

A good welcome book is measured by one thing only: the number of messages you get during the stay. If guests still ask you where the key box is, the book has failed, however nice it looks. Here is what we learned welcoming our own guests, and what we put in ours.

Why a PDF is no longer enough

The PDF welcome book, sent with the booking confirmation, has served hosts well. It also has four flaws you always end up paying for:

• It shows the codes in plain text. A PDF gets forwarded, saved, dropped into a group chat. The key box code keeps circulating long after the guest has left.
• It is the same for everyone. No name, no dates, no number of guests. The guest has to hunt for what applies to them.
• It goes out of date the moment you change something. A new code, a new parking spot, and every PDF already sent is now wrong.
• It sells nothing. A twenty-page PDF is not where anyone books an early check-in.

What it must contain

Arrival, step by step

This is the part that removes the most messages, and the one most often rushed. An address is not enough. Guests need the route: the building, the entrance, the key box and its exact location, the floor, the door of the flat. With a photo at each step and, for tricky access, a short video of the way in. A map with directions from the guest's own location saves the calls from the wrong side of the street.

Codes, on time

Access codes should only appear on the day of arrival, at the scheduled time. Not just hidden behind a button: absent from the page until the time comes. A link opened too early, or forwarded to someone else, then reveals nothing sensitive.

The property

Wifi, appliances and where to find them, heating or air conditioning, bins, house rules. These are the questions of the first few hours. If they already have an answer, they never reach you.

Check-out

The time, what you expect from the guest (dishes, bins, keys), and what you do not. A clear check-out means a faster clean afterwards.

Local tips

Restaurants, cafés, shops, places to visit, sorted by category, with directions from the property. This is the part guests read for pleasure, and the one that earns good reviews.

Extras

Early check-in, late check-out, breakfast, extra linen, transfers. Shown with their price, at the moment the guest is planning the stay. The request reaches you fully written, and the guest can pay online if you have a payment link.

Personal, not generic

The welcome book that works is one link per stay, not one link per property. The guest sees their name, their dates, the number of people. The link gives access to no other stay. And once the stay is over, it is no use to anyone.

In the guest's language

A guest who reads the arrival route in a language they barely know ends up at the wrong door. The book should exist in at least two languages, your own and English, and ideally in your guests' languages. And when you edit the original, the translations must follow: an outdated route in just one language is worse than a single language.

Guest registration in the same place

In France, for example, foreign guests must fill in an individual police registration form. The welcome book is the right place to collect it, before arrival, with the document archived automatically. You can even make the codes appear only once the form is completed.

Check it before the first guest

The last trap is the silliest: an incomplete welcome book you discover when a guest calls. Before opening a property, open its welcome book exactly as the guest will see it, and go through the list: route, codes, map, photos, translations. Whatever is missing should jump out at you before a guest finds it.

Frequently asked questions

What should a holiday rental welcome book contain?

Step-by-step arrival with photos and a map, access codes shown at the scheduled time, wifi and appliances, house rules, check-out instructions, local tips and extras offered with their price. Ideally in several languages.

Should access codes go in the welcome book?

Yes, but not in plain text in a PDF that gets forwarded. Codes should only appear on the day of arrival, at the scheduled time, in a link specific to the stay, and be absent from the page before then.

What is the difference between a PDF welcome book and a digital one?

A PDF is the same for everyone, shows the codes in plain text and becomes wrong as soon as something changes. A digital welcome book per stay is personal, always up to date, shows codes on time and can offer extras and guest registration.

How do you reduce guest messages during a stay?

Count the questions you receive over about ten stays, then add each answer to the welcome book, starting with a detailed arrival route with photos and codes shown at the right moment.