Airbnb Local Guide Template: Copy-and-Paste Template for Hosts

Why your local guide is what wins five-star reviews

Guests come to your area for the area, not for your linens. The smart-home stuff makes them comfortable; the local guide is what gives them the trip story they tell when they get home. Hosts who do the local guide well are the ones who appear in the “so glad we found this place” reviews. Hosts who don’t end up with the “would have loved more recommendations” line.

The mechanics: a digital guide (Touch Stay, Hostfully Guidebooks, Notion, or a Google Doc) covers the basics — restaurants, coffee, groceries, walks. Layered on top of that, an Echo Show 8 in the kitchen can show photos of recommended spots when the guest says “Alexa, show me places to eat,” and an Alexa Routine on the Echo Dot 5th Gen can read off three suggestions when they ask “Alexa, what should we do today?” That voice layer makes the guide feel concierge-tier without you being on call.

Keep it personal. Generic Yelp scrapes feel hollow. Naming “Mae’s Bakery, get the cardamom bun” or “the second trail at Rock Park, not the main one which is always crowded” is what makes the guide feel like a friend’s recommendation rather than an algorithm’s.

The local guide sections that earn the review

Coffee, breakfast, casual. The first morning is the make-or-break. Recommend two coffee spots within walking distance — one for serious coffee, one for a quick takeaway. Name the order: “At Bean & Branch, the cold brew with oat milk is the one. They open at 6:30am.” Mention any drive-thru option for guests with kids.

Dinner, three tiers. A casual neighborhood spot ($), a nice date-night place ($$), and a special-occasion option ($$$). Three is the magic number — more is paralysis, fewer is missed coverage. Mention reservation recommendations: “Bridge Tavern fills up on weekends — OpenTable usually has space at 5pm or 8:30pm.”

Quick bites and takeout. Pizza, sandwich, taco. The guest who arrived at 11pm and didn’t pre-shop needs to know what’s open after 9pm. List one option for each. “Tony’s Pizza delivers via DoorDash until 11pm and is the local favorite for thin crust.”

Groceries and basics. The closest full grocery, the closest convenience-store-with-essentials, and any specialty shop (good wine, fresh bakery). “Trader Joe’s is 1.2 miles north on Maple. The 7-Eleven on the corner has milk and emergency snacks at 2am if needed.”

Things to do. Three rotating recommendations by category — outdoor (a hike, a park, a beach), indoor (museum, brewery tour, escape room), and “if it rains.” The last one is gold — rainy-day options separate good guides from great ones.

The Echo voice tour. Build an Alexa Routine on the Echo Dot 5th Gen or Echo Show 8 triggered by “Alexa, what should I do today?” The Routine plays a recording: “Today’s a great day for the Mountain View trail — about a 20-minute drive, easy 3-mile loop. If you’d rather stay close, Bean & Branch coffee plus the farmer’s market on Maple is a perfect morning. Ask me for restaurant ideas if you’re hungry.” Three options, one minute, refreshes guests who didn’t read the guide.

Drive-time tips. If your area is car-dependent, mention which roads avoid the worst traffic, where parking is free vs paid, and any toll-road quirks. The Echo Show can also display a static map of the immediate neighborhood with five pins, generated once and uploaded as a photo.

Setup gotchas with local guides

Gotcha one: recommending places that closed. The local-guide rot is real. A bakery you loved closes, a restaurant changes ownership, the trailhead gets washed out. Schedule a quarterly review where you actually call or check Google for each recommendation. Hostfully Guidebooks and Touch Stay both let you set review reminders.

Gotcha two: the recording on the Echo Dot that mentions a closed restaurant. Voice routines fail silently this way — you don’t notice until a guest mentions it. Re-record the Alexa announcement quarterly along with the rest of the guide.

Gotcha three: too many options. A local guide with 40 restaurants is functionally useless — the guest can’t pick. Ten total recommendations across all categories is the sweet spot. Save the deeper list for guests who specifically ask for more.

Gotcha four: assuming the guest is local. “Just hop on the parkway to exit 12” assumes they know where the parkway is. Use absolute addresses or directions from the property: “6 minutes west on Maple, then right at the gas station.”

Gotcha five: guides that don’t account for season. Your beach recommendation hits different in February. Build a winter version and a summer version of the guide and swap them in Hostfully or Touch Stay seasonally. Touch Stay’s seasonal sections handle this directly.

Sub-guides in this section

• Airbnb Local Guide Template — the master template covering restaurants, coffee, groceries, things to do.
• Alexa Local Recommendations Script — the Routine that plays three picks on voice trigger.
• Echo Local Guide for Guests — turning the Echo Show 8 into a visual concierge.
• Airbnb Restaurant Recommendations Template — the three-tier dinner template with reservation tips.
• Airbnb Things to Do Message Template — a short message version sent during the stay.
• Voice Assistant Local Guide — cross-platform script for Alexa and Google Home.
• Digital Guidebook Automation Airbnb — auto-sending the guide via Hospitable when the booking confirms.
• Airbnb Neighborhood Guide Template — walking-distance recommendations for urban properties.
• Short Term Rental Local Guide Automation — portfolio-level guide management across multiple properties.
• Alexa Tourist Guide Script — the longer-form voice content for vacation-style stays.

Frequently asked questions

Should I send the local guide before the guest arrives or after?

Both. Send the link in the pre-arrival message (24 hours before) so they can browse before driving in, then trigger the Echo voice version on first motion after check-in. Some guests are planners and want to look it over the night before; others are reactive and only think about it when they walk in. Two paths, same content.

How do I keep the guide current without spending hours on it?

Quarterly review of the 10 recommendations. Walk to (or call) each one. Confirm hours, check that the place still exists, update the description if anything changed. Total time: under an hour per quarter. Hostfully Guidebooks and Touch Stay let you push updates to all properties at once if you operate multiple units in the same area.

Is the Echo Show worth the cost just for the local guide?

If the Echo Show is doing other jobs (welcome announcement, thermostat control, voice control of lights), then the local-guide function is essentially free. If you’re considering an Echo Show 8 only for the local guide, the answer is no — a printed map and a Touch Stay link does almost the same job. The Echo Show shines when it’s a multi-purpose guest interface.

Should I include affiliate links to restaurants or activities?

Generally no. Affiliate links to restaurants, activities, or tours feel transactional and break the “trusted local friend” voice that makes the guide work. The exception: a single Resy or OpenTable reservation link is fine since it makes the booking easier for the guest. Don’t recommend places you wouldn’t go yourself just because there’s a kickback.

Where this connects

The local guide pairs with the welcome messages (the link gets embedded there) and the Alexa concierge work for the voice-trigger Routines. Full pillar at guest scripts and messaging.