A Vrbo welcome guide is the practical information a guest needs to arrive, use the home, and leave without unnecessary messages. Vrbo emails the guide to confirmed guests three days before check-in and makes it available in My Trips on the app and web.
That makes the built-in guide important—but not infallible. Guests may miss an email, arrive with poor signal, or look for information somewhere else. The safest setup is one maintained source of truth, repeated through the channels your guests actually use.
What Vrbo's welcome guide includes
Vrbo's current help guidance lists:
- Host or property-manager contact information
- Directions to the property
- Parking instructions
- Access instructions
- Check-in and checkout instructions
- Amenity instructions, including Wi-Fi or laundry
Complete those platform fields first. They are tied to the reservation and appear where Vrbo guests expect them.
What to add for a genuinely useful guide
A one-screen essentials page
Put the address, check-in time, Wi-Fi, host contact, and emergency note together. A guest should not have to search six sections while standing outside or restarting the router.
Property quirks
Explain the one strange action for the lock, shower, water heater, thermostat, induction hob, television, or waste system. If you have ever explained it in a message, it belongs in the guide.
Specific local recommendations
Choose a few places and add a reason: the café that opens at six, the shop that carries baby supplies, or the beach entrance with easier parking. A generic directory is less useful than five recommendations you would send to a friend.
Safety and backup information
Include the property's full address, the appropriate local emergency number, the location of safety equipment, a backup host contact, and property-specific risks. Avoid giving medical or legal advice; point guests to official local services.
A copy-paste Vrbo welcome guide template
Welcome to [property name]
We're glad you're here. This guide covers the essentials, but you can reach [host/co-host name] at [contact method] if something comes up.
Start here
Address: [full address]
Check-in: [time]
Checkout: [time]
Wi-Fi: [network] / [password]
Parking: [short instruction]
Getting in
1. [Find the entrance.]
2. [Pass any gate or building access.]
3. [Locate and operate the lock.]
If it does not work: [backup contact/process].
How the home works
Hot water: [instruction]
Heating/AC: [instruction]
Kitchen: [one non-obvious detail]
Laundry: [instruction]
Rubbish/recycling: [instruction]
A few house rules
[3–8 short, disclosed rules]
Our local picks
Coffee: [place + why]
Dinner: [place + why]
Groceries: [place + hours/distance]
Do not miss: [one specific experience]
Checking out
Please leave by [time], [2–4 simple tasks], and return the key [location]. We'll handle the cleaning.
If you need help
Host: [contact]
Backup: [contact]
Emergency: [official local number and address information]
Welcome-guide access versus reservation-specific access
Vrbo notes that when both general welcome-guide access instructions and reservation-specific access instructions exist, only the reservation-specific access instructions are shared. Treat that field as the authoritative place for a guest's unique door code or handoff details.
Keep general directions, photos, parking, and lock-operation steps in the guide. Keep changing codes and sensitive reservation data in the secure reservation flow.
When guests receive the guide
Vrbo says the guide is emailed three days before check-in and remains available to confirmed guests through My Trips until checkout or cancellation. Because not every guest notices every notification, send a short platform message that points them to it:
Hi [first name]—your Vrbo welcome guide is now available in My Trips. It has the directions, parking, check-in steps, Wi-Fi, and home instructions. Your reservation-specific access details will appear [where/when]. If you have trouble finding anything, message me here.
Should you also provide a PDF?
A separate PDF or printed guide is useful when:
- The property has unreliable mobile service.
- Several guests need the information without sharing one login.
- Photos make arrival or appliance instructions much clearer.
- You want local recommendations and home details in one designed format.
Do not let two versions drift apart. When the Wi-Fi, lock, parking, contact, or checkout process changes, update every live copy during the same task. Our free welcome-book template works for Vrbo properties too.
Final quality check
- Preview the guide as a guest, not only in the owner dashboard.
- Ask someone unfamiliar with the property to follow the arrival steps.
- Check every phone number, link, opening hour, and access note.
- Remove anything that is no longer true.
- Keep the tone calm: clear instructions first, personality in small details.
Sources: Vrbo's welcome-guide overview, Vrbo's guide setup instructions, and Vrbo's host communication guidance.
Want the polished version without designing it? The Check-in Guide turns your Airbnb or Vrbo listing into a professional guest-ready welcome book in minutes.