Alexa Commands Cheat Sheet for Guests

Why a printed cheat sheet beats explaining

You have an Echo Dot 5th Gen on the kitchen counter. You’ve named your devices "Living Room Lamp" and "Front Porch." You’ve connected the Ecobee Lite and three Philips Hue White Ambiance bulbs. So why are guests still texting you "how do I turn on the porch light?" Because they don’t know the device names. They don’t know what you’ve connected. And they’re not going to experiment in your house at 9pm.

Solution: a 4×6 inch laminated card on the kitchen counter with the eight or ten Alexa commands that actually work in this property. Not generic Alexa tips. The literal commands tied to your literal device names. "Alexa, turn on the porch light." "Alexa, set the cabin to 70 degrees." "Alexa, what’s the Wi-Fi." Nothing else. Eight things, one card, posted where guests will see it.

This cluster covers the cheat sheet itself, the device naming conventions that make it work, and the Alexa Skill Blueprints (like Q&A) that turn "Alexa, ask Cabin Concierge for restaurants" into a real answer instead of a Wikipedia readback.

The cheat sheet, by device category

Use the commands that match your gear. Don’t print commands for devices you don’t have — nothing tanks confidence faster than "Alexa, the device is not responding" on a guest’s first try.

Lights: Philips Hue, TP-Link Kasa KP125, Govee LED.

• "Alexa, turn on the kitchen lights."
• "Alexa, dim the living room lamp to 50 percent."
• "Alexa, turn off all the lights."
• "Alexa, turn on the porch light."
• "Alexa, set the bedroom lamp to warm white" (Hue White Ambiance only).

Thermostat: Ecobee SmartThermostat Premium, Ecobee Lite, Nest Thermostat, Honeywell Home T6.

• "Alexa, set the thermostat to 72 degrees."
• "Alexa, what’s the temperature?"
• "Alexa, make it warmer." (raises by 2 degrees)
• "Alexa, make it cooler." (lowers by 2 degrees)

Smart plugs (lamps, fans, coffee maker): TP-Link Kasa KP125, Amazon Smart Plug, Wemo Mini.

• "Alexa, turn on the coffee maker."
• "Alexa, turn on the bedroom fan."
• "Alexa, turn off the Christmas lights."

Information: Wi-Fi, time, weather, music.

• "Alexa, what’s the Wi-Fi?"
• "Alexa, what’s the weather?"
• "Alexa, what time is sunset?"
• "Alexa, play some chill jazz."
• "Alexa, ask Cabin Concierge for restaurants." (requires a Skill Blueprint)

Echo device choice for the cheat-sheet workflow: Echo Dot 5th Gen vs Echo Pop vs Echo Show 5. Echo Dot 5th Gen is the right pick — clear pickup of guest commands from across the room and good audio for responses. The Echo Pop has weaker microphones and you’ll see more "sorry, I didn’t catch that." Echo Show 5 is a fine upgrade if you want to display the cheat sheet on the screen as a slow rotating slideshow.

Setup gotchas building a cheat sheet that actually works

The first one is device naming. If your Philips Hue bulbs are named "Hue color lamp 1," "Hue color lamp 2," the commands on your cheat sheet will be confusing and embarrassing. Rename everything in the Alexa app to the way a guest would describe it: "Living Room Lamp," "Bedroom Lamp," "Porch Light," "Kitchen Lights." Use the Alexa Groups feature to bundle "all the lights" so the "turn off all lights" command works.

The second is the Wi-Fi command. By default, "Alexa, what’s the Wi-Fi" doesn’t return anything useful — you need to set up an Alexa Routine with that exact spoken trigger and a custom response. Use the Alexa app, Routines, New Routine, and add the "Alexa Says" action with your Wi-Fi message (point at the QR code, don’t speak the password). Test it twice.

The third is the local-guide command. "Alexa, ask Cabin Concierge" only works if you’ve built a custom skill via Alexa Skill Blueprints (specifically the Q&A blueprint or the Local Guide blueprint). It takes about 20 minutes to set up the first time. Without the blueprint, the command will fail with "I don’t know that one." If you don’t want to build a skill, drop the Cabin Concierge command from the cheat sheet and use a Hostfully or Touch Stay digital guidebook URL instead.

The fourth is thermostat permissions. The Ecobee SmartThermostat Premium and Nest Thermostat both let you set min/max bounds via Alexa or their native apps. If a guest says "Alexa, set the thermostat to 60," the device should refuse if you’ve set a 65 minimum. If you haven’t set bounds, guests can crank the AC to 60 and freeze the place — expensive. Set bounds via the Ecobee app under Smart Home Disable.

And don’t list commands for things guests shouldn’t control. Don’t put "Alexa, unlock the front door" on the cheat sheet even though the Schlage Encode supports it — that’s a security risk and confuses cleanouts. Disable voice unlock in the Schlage app under Settings, Voice Assistant Permissions.

Sub-guides in this section

• Alexa Smart Home Commands — the universal command list across lights, plugs, thermostats.
• Alexa Commands for Airbnb Guests — the guest-friendly subset, with phrasing that’s harder to mess up.
• Alexa Commands for Lights — Philips Hue, Kasa, and Govee specifics including dimming and color.
• Alexa Commands for Thermostat — Ecobee and Nest specifics, plus how to set safe bounds.
• Alexa Commands for Smart Plugs — Kasa KP125 and Amazon Smart Plug naming and grouping tips.
• Useful Echo Commands for Guests — the curated list that fits on a 4×6 card.
• Alexa Voice Commands for Rentals — rental-specific commands like Wi-Fi and local-guide.
• Alexa Command Cheat Sheet — the printable PDF template hosts can adapt.
• Alexa Phrases for Smart Home — the natural-language variations that all work.
• Echo Commands Every Host Should Know — admin commands hosts use, separate from the guest list.

FAQ

How many commands should the cheat sheet have?

Eight to ten, max. Any more and guests skim and don’t try any. Pick the four most useful (Wi-Fi, lights off, thermostat, weather), the two that will impress (sunset time, music), and two specific to your property (porch light, hot tub jets). Print it 4×6 inches, laminate it, place it on the kitchen counter near the Echo Dot 5th Gen. Update once a year.

Should I include the Schlage Encode unlock command?

No. Even though Alexa can unlock the Schlage Encode by voice, putting that on the cheat sheet creates a security risk — a guest could tell Alexa to unlock the door at any time, including on the way out. Disable voice unlock in the Schlage app under Settings, Voice Assistant Permissions, and don’t mention it to guests.

What’s the most-used guest command in real properties?

"Alexa, what’s the Wi-Fi." By a wide margin. Set up the routine for that exact phrase first, even before you set up anything else. The second most common is the thermostat ("Alexa, set the thermostat to 70"). Music requests come third. Light controls come fourth and below — most guests just use the wall switches.

Will guests use voice commands at all?

About a third will, in the 2024-2026 mix. Younger guests and tech-comfortable travelers use voice naturally; older guests and families with kids tend to use the wall switches and the printed manual. The cheat sheet still pays for itself even at low usage rates because the guests who do use it ask zero text questions about Wi-Fi and lighting — which is the goal.

Where this connects

The wiring side — setting up the routines that respond to the commands — lives in Alexa routines for Airbnb guests. The wording for the Echo Dot welcome that tells guests the cheat sheet exists is in Echo welcome scripts. New to Echo for rentals? Start at the Echo device buying guide.