Not that I would put keys in a public mailbox but I can see how they would look for a ‘box’ with your wording. I think ‘letter slot in the front door’ is more accurate and less open to misunderstanding.
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Verbally is definitely better than just writing them in your house rules… but you might want to add a picture to your email or text of the door/mailbox with a big red circle around it and an arrow.
Consider people are brain dead and don’t read when they are on vacation you have to make it extremely explicit use images pictograms and photos!
And like others said here put a little sign on the wall or the letterbox - maybe with another pictogram showing a clipart of keys being dropped into a similar looking box.
I wouldn’t use the term ‘letter slot’ as that is used mainly (only?) in the USA (and Canada?)
Most people from other countries who learn the language use English and not American so would be familiar with ‘letterbox’ instead.
@lililou1’s idea of some sort of visual explanation might be better.
reminds of a 15yr old who was the Saturday boy at my old shop. Behind the front door was a long pole that used to hook the sun blind/awning/canopy down at the front of the shop on a sunny day. We hadn’t used it for years.
One Saturday, I unlocked the door, saw there was a couple of letters on the door mat, asked the Saturday boy to grab the post. Imagine my delight, when he presented me with the pole.
For reference, he couldn’t recite the months of the year in order.
In his defence, someone said ‘perhaps he only knows letters as mail’, but we were next door to a POST office, and 13 yards from a POST box.
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Oh dear! Communication can be complex can’t it! I agree with other replies - make sure everything is crystal clear to your guests - and if that means labelling things with photographs etc then go label crazy! I would certainly consider a label stating “Please place house keys here on departure” or something along those lines.
Alternatively you could consider a smart lock so you don’t have to worry about keys at all?
Maybe he was American 
.
OK, I’m American, and I don’t know what a “Saturday boy” is. My guess is an unskilled kid that works part-time doing menial work?
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