I think it’s good to offer an option- both digital and paper. I can understand the advantages to a digital version, but I’m the sort of person who would thoroughly read through a binder in the place over coffee or breakfast, but wouldn’t be particularly drawn to read through a digital version.
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I have a very homespun typed version with “xeroxed” maps of my favorite local walks, San Francisco day trips, transit schedules and lots of menus of favorite eateries & local crafts shops within a 10-15 minute walk. I also have a digital version, which, even though a great number of my guests are young techies, they don’t use. I get a kick out of the many positive comments I get on it! The house is antiquey & bookish, so I think keeping the manual in tune with your vibe & style makes sense.
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Love it! What a neat book you’ve put together. It makes your place sound awesome 
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Very nice!!
2020020202020
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I just sent a QR code to my guest via the platform and it looked like airbnb blocked it. But I just sent to phone. FYI.
Of course, guests can access QR codes at the property itself. We use for connecting to the network, and are developing them – thanks to @PitonView – for appliances. We have the QR codes in the House Manual, but will also be putting them on the appliances.
The QR codes are really cool. We could even have an intro video by Host that’s accessed by QR code. Or ‘how to’ videos on stickers applied just where they apply.
Hello, do you mind saying a bit more about how this works? What application do you use to generate the codes, and how are you using them with appliances?
Thanks!
We use me-qr.com to generate the QR codes, though my computer consultant suggested https://www.qr-code-generator.com.
We put the appliance manuals in a free Google website, then create a QR code that links to the manual. The QR code is printed on a sticker [@PitonView told me about this] that’s applied to the appliance. So although we have the QR codes in the House Manual they’re also on the appliances (or soon will be) so the guest can view the QR code with their smart phone and then immediately view the appliance manual.
We have instructions for everything in our House Manual but provide QR-code links in the House Manual, and soon on the appliances themselves, to the manuals themselves.
I attached one here for a draft of our cleaning checklist: How Would You Suggest This Draft of an Airbnb Cleaning Checklist Be Improved?
Fantastic idea, thank you for the details!
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New User here. I can see AIRBNB recommends you to add a guidebook. Rather than start from scratch, is there some way of seeing other host’s AIRBNB guidebooks for the area?
Yes, I know of two ways.
First, you can look at Airbnb listings in your area and scroll down to see if they’ve created a guidebook.
Second, you can start creating your guidebook, pick just a few really obvious and popular restaurants or attractions. Then ‘preview’ you guidebook. Go to one of those attractions or restaurants. You’ll see other Hosts who have recommended those sites. Click on their picture and you’ll be led to their guidebook.
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Brilliant - thanks for the pointers.
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A thought here: You want to make the resulting guidebook ‘yours.’
So, for example, in my guidebook I recommend a popular seafood restaurant in Worcester MA. I’ve been there a number of times.
So, I write what I think of the ambience (it’s a bit noisy though upscale),
what I think of the bar (you can get freshly made blue cheese stuffed olives in your martini) and some of the entrees I like, and that it’s expensive, $$$.
I also point out that you can buy fresh seafood there to make at home, though it’s pricey and a toss-up to me whether it’s better to buy raw seafood there or [the two places I list for where I usually buy seafood to cook at home]
I use Google Maps to say it’s x miles from the listing, typically taking x minutes to get there. I might even say it’s typically a ten minute drive, from 290W, just x miles away.
If I hadn’t been there but gleaned that this is one of the best seafood restaurants in the area, I would look through Google and TripAdvisor reviews and summarize recurring comments or themes. And I say just that “Google reviews keep praising . . . .”
I look at Facebook and Reddit groups for Worcester restaurants and things to do, so the result is that I’ve been HOURS on the guidebook and hope the guests feel an insider’s view of the area.
For some entries a picture appears when you mention the restaurant or attraction. But for some it does not. When it does not I look for pictures, take a snapshot (command-shift-4 on a Mac) and then get that picture small by going to tinypng.com (if the picture is too large, like 2 MB, eventually the picture will not show up).
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Good example! Thank you for the detailed description. I recently work with Airbnb and have a lot of questions.
Yes you can easily see other hosts guidebooks on their listings. What you can’t do is copy chunks of their content ie words/images or you could be at risk of being sued for breaching their copyright. @lagunafairway
I would base your guidebook on your knowledge of key amenities and design it with those you have identified as your target guests firmly in mind.
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This is the house manual you’re referring to, right? Because the guidebook to the area wouldn’t have anything to do with the home’s amenities, or am I missing something?
I had been thinking that @lagunafairway was working on a guidebook to the area, not the house manual but maybe the interest is in both?
What on earth are you talking about. @HostAirbnbVRBO
The OP asked about visitor guides so what would lead you to think I was referring to ‘house manuals’ when my response clearly said guidebook and didn’t mention anything about features in the home.
Amenity = a desirable or useful feature or facility of a building or place, such as a swimming pool, tourist attraction or shopping centre that is intended to make life more pleasant or comfortable for people in a town, hotel or other place.
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Well, I was thinking of amenity in the sense of
I was unaware of amenity in the sense of:
Thank you.
But your comment
Seems unnecessary.
Sorry for my delay in replying. Thank you for taking the time to comment and I do appreciate this. I now feel a lot more comfortable finding my way around on AirBNB and have had a crack at the guidebook. I have also produced a fairly decent one-pager “house manual” with helpful details and rules for staying in the house and have sent this to my first tenant ahead of her stay as well as getting it laminated to leave in the house. It took me a while to get my first booking but I now have someone arriving tmr for a month and then someone else the week after.
Glad all is going well.
One thing we’ve done is print the Airbnb guidebook out. We’ve added a few pages for favorite Restautants. So just inserted a page into the guidebook to do that. So if someone wants to know where to call/go for best pizza or best breakfast there’s a short answer.
Thank you I like this idea. We now have a decent Guidebook up and running and printing this out and sticking in a file in plastic folders is a great idea, I have also done the house rules and essential info as a laminate. As our property is in Phuket I also need to get this translated into Chinese and Russian!
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