Congratulations on setting up your Airbnb! Now you are thinking: Decors are up, essentials are stocked, listing is done! What can I do to make the guest experience better? The answer is: Create an Airbnb guidebook!
Check out our other blog posts on how to prepare your home for Airbnb! It contains a lot of helpful tips for new Airbnb hosts.
What to Include in Your Airbnb Guidebook
It is helpful to include important info such as the Wi-Fi password, instruction manual for some of your techy devices and amenities in your unit, house rules, helplines, check-in and check-out instructions etc. This information is essential to a guidebook and help your guests to navigate their stays.
Local Recommendations
Think of all of the things that make your area unique, and include those. Guests who stay at an Airbnb are looking for an experience, not just a trip. They want to live like a local and enjoy every little thing their neighbourhoods can offer. You can include some helpful information such as recommended restaurants, hangout spots, travel tips etc.
Recommended Restaurants
Not only can you include a few pictures of your food (before you eat them of course!!!), but it is also good to suggest what you usually order in the restaurants and what they are famous for. Include the travel time needed to get there as well! Suggest your guests to download apps such as Australian Good Food Guide.
Hangout Spots
If your Airbnb unit is in a prime location where all the happenings are, you can suggest a few community hot spots such as parks, pubs, bars, entertainment quarters, etc. This offers your guests a variety of choices to fill their evening when they are tired from their adventures.
Travel Tips
Travelling on the public transport system is always a daunting task, especially in big cities like Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast etc. Transport network is like a spider-web, before you know it, you might be on the wrong train line getting further away from your intended destination. Hence, it is very helpful as a host to include some of the common travel destinations and how to get there. If you have the budget to spare, provide your guests Opal Cards. Top up some dollars of course! Your guests will be extremely grateful to you!
You may also want to suggest your guests to check out services offered by Toursbylocals, Like a Local Guide, Showaround etc. They offer personalised travel experiences hand-picked by locals which help you to avoid “tourist traps”. This will surely help your guests to expand their travel itineraries and enhance their travel experience without drying their bank accounts.
Of course, you should also learn how to maximise occupancy on Airbnb during the slow season here!
Creating an Online Airbnb Guidebook
Depending on how you want to present your digital guidebook, you can opt for Airbnb’s personal guide books which are pre-built. All you need to do is recommend some places around your neighbourhood with a brief description. Airbnb will automatically present your recommendation in an appealing way. Airbnb platform supports the guidebook, so your guests will always have access to them with ease.
Another way to provide a digital guidebook is using online graphic design editors such as Lulu.com, Lucidpress, Visme etc. They have a range of Ebook templates that suit different types of audiences. You can choose some of the best templates combined with a few lines of creative writing, your perfect guidebook will then be ready. Send the electronic guidebook in PDF to guests before their check-in which can streamline their check-in process while at the same time putting great information all in their palm.
You can also publish your guidebook on electronic publishing platforms like Issuu. Then you can email your guests with a link to the guidebook which allows guests to access it whenever and wherever.
Becoming a Superhost
Learn how to become an Airbnb superhost and how to deal with Airbnb Difficult Guests from our other blog posts at blog.kozyguru.com.