WiFi. Parking. Check-out time. You've answered each of these 40 times this year — always at inconvenient moments, always for questions that were already answered somewhere in your listing. Here's how to answer them once, before check-in, so your phone stays quiet.
It's Saturday evening. You're at dinner. Your phone buzzes.
"Hey! Just arrived — where do we park?"
You answer it. Thirty minutes later, another buzz.
"Sorry one more thing — what's the WiFi password?"
You answer that too. By 10pm, three more messages. By Sunday morning, you've spent 45 minutes of your weekend as an on-call receptionist for a property you weren't even at.
Here's the thing: not one of those questions was unreasonable. Your guests weren't being difficult. The information just wasn't where they needed it, when they needed it.
The fix isn't better guests. It's a check-in guide that answers the questions before they're asked.
Here are the seven questions every Airbnb host gets — and exactly how to answer them once.
Question 1: "What's the WiFi password?"
This is the #1 inbound message for hosts globally. Guests want it within 30 seconds of walking in, and they'll message you the moment they can't find it — which is also the moment their mobile data runs out and they can't receive your reply.
Why they're asking:
- The password is buried in your listing, which they're not going to re-open
- They found a password written somewhere in the property but it doesn't work (maybe you changed it)
- The network name on their phone doesn't match what you wrote somewhere
How to answer it once: Make WiFi the first thing they see when they arrive. Not section 3 of your house manual — a single laminated card on the kitchen counter (or the first line of a digital guide they can open before they even get in the door).
Format it clearly:
WiFi Network: [Name exactly as it appears]
Password: [Exact password — watch for capital letters]
If connection drops: the router is the white box above the TV. Restart it and wait 60 seconds.
That last line pre-answers the follow-up message ("the WiFi is down") before it's sent.
Question 2: "Where do I park?"
This one arrives at two predictable moments: right after check-in confirmation, and while they're circling the block in an unfamiliar car.
Why they're asking: Your listing says "parking available" or "street parking nearby" but doesn't say where, which street, whether it's paid or free, or what to do if those spots are taken.
How to answer it once: Be specific enough that a stranger with no local knowledge can follow your instructions without further questions.
Bad: "Parking is available nearby."
Good: "Park in the marked bays directly behind the building — the entrance is on Nehru Street, not the main road. If those 4 spots are full (they rarely are on weekdays), street parking on MG Road is free after 8pm."
If your property has assigned parking: "Spot 12B in the underground garage. The access code is 4521. Your spot has a yellow post."
Include a screenshot from Google Maps with the parking spot pinned, if you're using a digital guide.
Question 3: "What time is check-out?"
You've listed this four times: in your listing, in your booking confirmation, in your pre-arrival message, and possibly in a printed note in the property. They're still asking.
Why they're asking: It's not stupidity. They've received so many messages from Airbnb, from you, from their travel companions, that specific details blur. Check-out time is high-stakes (they don't want to get it wrong), so they confirm it.
How to answer it once: Put it in the check-out section of your welcome guide in large, clear text. Then do one thing most hosts don't: tell them why.
Check-out: 11am
The cleaning team arrives at 11:30am for the next guests arriving same afternoon. Leaving by 11 gives us 30 minutes of buffer — we appreciate it.
When guests understand the reason, they're more likely to comply. And they stop asking "is 11:15 okay?" because they now understand that 11:15 is genuinely cutting it close.
Question 4: "How does the [appliance/thing] work?"
The coffee maker. The shower. The TV remote. The key. The air conditioning. The hob. Guests will encounter your property's quirks and ask you about them in real time.
Why they're asking: Every property has things that aren't self-explanatory — and things that look standard but work differently. The shower that takes two minutes to get hot. The AC that makes a sound like something's wrong (it's fine). The key that needs a specific technique.
How to answer it once: Write down every time you've ever explained something to a guest over message or in person. Every single time. That list is your house instructions section.
For each item, write instructions the way you'd explain it to someone who's never seen it:
The shower: Turn the hot tap fully before adding cold. Takes about 90 seconds to warm up — longer in winter.
The front door key: Push the door firmly before turning — it swells slightly in humid weather. It's not stuck, it just needs a small push.
The left hob: Runs about 20% hotter than the dial shows. If you're sautéing, start lower than you normally would.
You only have to write these once. Then guests never have to ask.
Question 5: "Where should I eat nearby?"
This one's optional — guests don't need restaurant recommendations to survive. But the hosts who answer this question well are the ones who get "felt like a local" in their reviews.
Why they're asking: They're in an unfamiliar place and want a shortcut to a good meal. Google gives them 200 options. They want one or two they can trust.
How to answer it once: Don't list every restaurant within 2km. List three to five places you'd actually take a friend, with a one-line reason for each.
Raju's (5-min walk) — The best south Indian breakfast in the area. Get there before 9am on weekends or there's a queue.
The rooftop at Hotel Monarch (10-min walk) — Not worth it for food, but the 6pm sunset view is genuinely good. Order something cold and stay for an hour.
Daily Mart (3-min walk, open until midnight) — For anything you've forgotten. Better than the one on the main road.
Three targeted recommendations beat twelve generic ones every time.
Question 6: "What do I do with the trash?"
Sounds minor. It generates more passive-aggressive reviews ("I wasn't sure what to do with the bins so I left bags in the hall") than you'd expect.
Why they're asking: Bin systems vary enormously — by building, by city, by country. Guests genuinely don't know your system, and they care enough not to get it wrong.
How to answer it once: Be specific and charitable — assume they know nothing about your local system.
Rubbish & recycling: Two bins under the kitchen sink — grey lid (general waste) and blue lid (recycling — tins, plastic, cardboard). The communal bins are in the courtyard, through the glass door on your left as you leave the building.
Collection day: Wednesday mornings. If you're staying through Tuesday night, please put the grey bin bag in the courtyard before midnight.
Done. One paragraph. Never asked again.
Question 7: "What should we do before we leave?"
Check-out instructions might be the most underestimated section of any welcome guide. Vague check-out expectations cause friction, bad reviews, and damage claims that are entirely avoidable.
Why they're asking: They want to leave things right but don't know your standard. "Leave it as you found it" means something different to everyone.
How to answer it once: Write a specific, short list. Not 14 bullet points — four or five clear actions.
Before you go:Leave keys on the kitchen counter (or in the lockbox — code 4521)Rinse dishes and leave them in the sink (no need to wash)Thermostat to 24°CClose and lock all windowsThat's it — we'll take care of the rest
The last line matters. "That's it" gives guests permission to leave without guilt. It reduces the lingering, the anxiety, and the apologetic texts that slow down your turnover.
The pattern across all seven questions
Look at what they have in common: every one of these questions gets asked because information exists somewhere but not where the guest is when they need it.
Your listing answers some of them. Your booking confirmation repeats some of them. Your pre-arrival message covers others. But when a guest is standing in your kitchen at 9pm having just arrived from a long journey, they are not opening the Airbnb app and scrolling through messages to find a WiFi password.
They need one document that has everything, in the order they need it, that they can open in 15 seconds.
That's all a welcome guide is. Not a brochure, not a manual — just the answers to the seven questions, written once, somewhere obvious. If you want the full list of what belongs in one, here's our complete welcome book checklist.
See a real example — then build yours free
Take a remote Spiti Valley homestay: a high-altitude property where guests arrive after a 6-hour mountain drive with no mobile signal for the last 2 hours. There's no texting the host mid-journey — the guide has to carry everything on its own.
Every section is there — arrival, WiFi, house instructions, local picks, emergency contacts, check-out. Specific to that property. Total length: 4 pages.
If you want one for yours: paste your Airbnb or VRBO link and we'll generate a property-specific guide in about 2 minutes. Free to preview before you pay anything.
→ Preview my welcome guide free
₹3,999 / $49 one-time. No subscription.
Aryan built The Check-in Guide after spending too many Saturday evenings answering the same five guest questions for the same property. It turns any Airbnb or VRBO listing into a guest welcome guide — WiFi, check-in, house quirks, local tips — as a clean PDF sent before check-in.