Airbnb Digital House Manual

It's 11:47 PM. Your guests just landed, the rideshare dropped them at the wrong end of the driveway, and the only thing standing between them and bed is a 14-page PDF you spent a weekend writing. They will not read it. They will text you. You know this because every host has lived it.

The fix isn't a longer manual — it's a smarter, shorter, searchable Airbnb digital house manual that loads on a phone, answers the four questions guests actually ask, and gets out of the way. This guide gives you the structure, the wording, and the placement that makes guests use it instead of texting at midnight. If you want the printable PDF-and-binder counterpart, our Airbnb house manual template is the parallel build.

Below you'll find the version I'd build today if I were starting from scratch on a new short-term rental, plus the trimmed and tone-shifted variants for different listing styles. Steal it, paste it, change the names, and you're done.

Who this is for and when to use it

This works best if you host remotely, run more than one property, or just got tired of repeating the same Wi-Fi instructions in chat. If your listing has any smart devices — a Schlage Encode lock, an Ecobee Premium, a Govee strip behind the TV, an Echo Dot 5 in the kitchen — a digital manual stops being optional. Guests need to know which buttons not to press, and you need a way to tell them once.

Use this template when you're rolling out a new listing, switching guidebook platforms (Hospitable, Touch Stay, Hostfully, or a plain Google Doc), or finally cleaning up the document you've been duct-taping together for two years.

The copy-and-paste digital house manual

Here is the full version. Replace the bracketed bits with your specifics. Keep the order — arrival info first, because that's what guests open the document for.

Welcome and the basics

Welcome to [PROPERTY NAME]. Here's everything you need in one place. Tap the section you need — you don't have to read top to bottom.

Address: [FULL STREET ADDRESS]
Door code: [4–6 DIGIT CODE] — press the Schlage logo, then the code, then the lock icon to lock again.
Wi-Fi network: [SSID] Password: [PASSWORD]
Check-out: [TIME] — just close the door behind you, the lock is automatic.
Emergency: 911 first, then text me at [PHONE].

Getting in

Pull into the driveway on the [LEFT/RIGHT]. Park anywhere except in front of the garage.
The front door is the [BLUE/BLACK] one. Wake the keypad by touching it, then enter your code.
If the keypad doesn't light up, push hard once on the Schlage logo — the batteries are fine, it just sleeps deep. The full smart lock instructions template covers brand-by-brand wording you can drop in.
Lights inside the entry come on automatically when you walk in. You don't need to flip switches.

Wi-Fi and TV

Network is [SSID], password is [PASSWORD]. The eero 6 mesh covers the whole house, so you don't need to switch networks between rooms. Our Wi-Fi instructions template has the longer reset wording if you want it.

The TV in the living room is a Roku TV. Use the black Roku Voice Remote — the silver one is for the Sonos Beam soundbar. Sign into your own Netflix or Hulu, then sign out before you leave (or don't, we reset it on turnover). The TV instructions template has more remote-by-remote wording.

Heating and cooling

The thermostat is an Ecobee Premium on the hallway wall. You can set it anywhere between 65 and 76 degrees. The hold ends automatically when you check out, so don't worry about resetting it. If you want a deeper-detail version of this section, our thermostat instructions template drops in cleanly.

Smart speaker (Echo Dot 5 in the kitchen)

Say "Alexa, house manual" to hear arrival info read aloud. Microphone is muted between stays — the orange ring means it's listening, and you can mute it any time by pressing the mic button on top. The Alexa instructions template has the full voice-command list you can paste into the manual.

Trash, recycling, and check-out

Bag the kitchen trash and leave it by the back door — the cleaner takes it out.
Start the dishwasher if there are dishes in it. Cascade pods are under the sink.
Leave the thermostat alone. Leave used towels on the bathroom floor. Close the door behind you.

The short version (for the message thread)

Some guests will only read your check-in message. For them, paste this into your scheduled arrival message.

"Hi [NAME], you're all set for tonight. Address: [ADDRESS]. Door code: [CODE] — press the Schlage logo first, then the numbers. Wi-Fi: [SSID] / [PASSWORD]. Check-out is [TIME]; just close the door, it locks itself. Full house guide here: [LINK]. Text me if anything's off."

The warm version

For family-style listings or anywhere a personal tone wins five-star reviews, soften the openings. Replace "Welcome to [PROPERTY NAME]" with "So glad you made it — the coffee in the cabinet above the kettle is yours, help yourself." Keep the bullet lists. Warmth lives in the intro and the closing line, not in the operational instructions. Guests still want the door code in plain text.

The luxury version

If you're hosting a $900-a-night beach house, the manual should feel curated. Add a single hero photo at the top, drop the bullet density, and use full sentences. Replace "Trash goes by the back door" with "Our cleaner handles all waste removal — please leave bagged trash inside the kitchen." Same content, different tailoring. The structure underneath stays identical because the guest still needs the same five answers.

How to customize it for your property

Three rules I never break:

Door code in the first 200 words. Always. If a guest has to scroll, you've already lost them.
Wi-Fi password as plain text, not an image. Guests copy-paste from their phones. Don't make them squint.
Name the device by what it looks like, not the model. "The black thermostat by the hallway closet" beats "Ecobee Premium with Voice Control" every time inside the manual itself — even though you used the model name above for SEO and host clarity.

If you're using AI to adapt this template to your tone, prompt it like this: "Rewrite this Airbnb digital house manual for a 3-bedroom mountain cabin that hosts ski-trip families. Keep all device instructions exactly as written. Make the welcome warmer and add a sentence about firewood under each hearth-related section." The model will keep the bones intact and just dress it up.

Where to put the manual so guests actually find it

In your check-in message as a single tappable link, sent the morning of arrival.
On the fridge as a printed QR code that opens the same digital page. Two-line caption: "House guide. Wi-Fi, TV, thermostat."
Inside the Airbnb guidebook as a backup — the platform's own field. Guests forget the link but they remember the app.
Voice trigger on the Echo Dot 5: "Alexa, house manual" routine that reads the Wi-Fi and door code aloud. Lifesaver for guests with hands full of luggage.

For the smart-home-first variant of the same template, see our smart home house manual template — it leans on routines and unlock-triggered scenes more aggressively.

Privacy and safety notes worth keeping

Disclose every smart device that touches the property: outdoor Ring Video Doorbell, exterior floodlight cam, noise sensor like a Minut or NoiseAware, smart lock activity log. Put it in the manual under a single heading called "Devices in the home" and list each one in plain language.

No indoor cameras or microphones inside the living areas — guests notice, platforms enforce, and reviews suffer. Outdoor-only is the policy, and stating it openly turns a privacy concern into a trust signal. Our privacy-safe monitoring playbook covers the exact disclosure language we recommend in the listing and the manual.

FAQ

How long should an Airbnb digital house manual be?

Aim for one screen of essentials and three to five collapsible sections beneath. The full manual can run 800 to 1,200 words, but the top 150 words have to answer: where am I, how do I get in, what's the Wi-Fi, and when do I leave. Anything past that is reference material. Most guests will tap exactly two sections and close the page, and that's a win.

Should I include appliance instructions or just the basics?

Include only the appliances that confuse guests — usually the dishwasher pod location, the coffee maker model, and the TV remote situation. Skip the microwave. Skip the toaster. If you find yourself writing instructions for it, ask whether replacing the device with a simpler one would save you more time than documenting it. Often the answer is yes. The appliance instructions template has the wording for the appliances that do warrant a section.

What's the best app for hosting a digital manual?

Touch Stay, Hostfully, and Hospitable all work fine. So does a plain Google Doc with a shortened link. The platform matters far less than the structure. A messy manual on Touch Stay performs worse than a clean Google Doc. Pick whatever you'll actually update twice a year, and don't pay for features you won't use.

How do I keep guests from texting me at midnight?

Move the door code, Wi-Fi, and check-out time to the top of the message thread, not just the manual. Send a scheduled message at 4 PM on arrival day with the short version above. Pin the manual link in your reply template so you can answer any one-off question in two taps. Most midnight texts are about getting in — solve that one and the rest fade.

Next steps

Copy the version above, swap in your details, and ship it tonight. You can refine the tone next week. For deeper templates, see our main house manual template guide and the appliance instructions template when you're ready to expand the device sections.