To House Manual or Not

Great ideas! Lots of time invested in preparing it but I bet it pays off in the long run and I’m sure the guests appreciate you being so organized.

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@Mike_L Yes. You are right;) The beauty is, this was more or less a one-time effort. Though the rewards keep coming every day. Guests tell me how pleasantly surprised they were in their private notes/feedback. And, they almost never fail to mention my guidebook and my attention to details publicly in their review. Long story short: it does pay off to invest time and effort to preparing awesome material for your guests. Guest do notice and they very much appreciate it.

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My handbooks are in Google Drive and I have a publicly accessible PDF of it, the link to which I send to guests who book directly and on HomeAway. Airbnb, of course, strips out links in messages, so I don’t bother, but the same guidebook is in a three ring binder with plastic page protectors and prominently displayed on the desk or end table in the living room

For my two properties, it would be a big mistake to assume all my guests want everything digital. My guests range from early 20s to early 70s and many come to the Catskills to get away from staring at a screen.

As for evolving content, I simply re-print when significant content changes. Again, this is not a local guidebook, it is a property handbook.

I am, however, experimenting with an Amazon Echo and the virtual property manager “skill” for Alexa. I don’t have it all set up yet, so I will report back. Amazon.com

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I’m definitely interested in how this works out. I use an Echo dot in my flat and the folks that use it seem to love it.

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We have an extremely comprehensive house manual. We share the link via Google Drive through email once the Guest has booked. I also keep a hard copy in the rental.

I find that a good, detailed House Manual helps guests feel more comfortable as they don’t have to call us with questions. I’ve received quite a few compliments on it, as it shows attention to detail and makes it easy for guests to navigate the house.

Some elements I include are things like basic contact info, house rules, transit info, FAQs, charts that list the location of almost everything in the house (these are also hung in each room), recommendations and how to’s.

It was quite a lot of work to build and I still tweak it periodically but I think it’s a great time investment. I’m actually toying with the idea of selling it as a template as it’s so popular with my guests but I haven’t decided yet.

For something more streamlined you may want to check out the Coral app.

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@Ceejay great! I share your experiences. Great guidebook & house manual is a way to go.

I made a PDF manual (Go paperless!). It helps with the headache of having to explain every little thing over and over. Yes, I still get that one guest who hates reading and prefers texting (or worse…calling). But I’d say, it works 90% of the time.

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Just remember for folks that aren’t tech savvy or whose battery is DOA, or who doesn’t have data in your country or any of a number of things…it depends on what kind of guest you attract but it seems like a good idea to have a paper backup.

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Our guests are sent a house manual after they book, and the information is also in a binder at the house. An email sent out a couple of days prior, which includes instructions on 2 specific items, which are also listed in our info package.

Our last guests told me (without prompt) that they had read all of the information I sent them. But after they left they sent me a list of pros and cons. The cons noted they couldn’t figure out how to use both of the devices I targeted in my email. So I wrote back with the wording used in our manual and asked what they found confusing about it, so I could change it for future guests.

He wrote back and apologized that they hadn’t read the instructions (4 chances to read them on one item, mind you) and had he seen them the wording would have been fine. (Why didn’t he contact me to ask when they were THERE instead of after they LEFT??) Moral of the story… you can be a thorough as possible, but you can’t force them to read it.

But there are other people that do read and appreciate it.

I’ve started developing an app for the house that people can go to with questions. I REALLY like the suggestion for the walk-through video. And that “echo” device sounds interesting (thanks for those suggestions!)

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Hey CH! Missed you, how are you??

Ah! Thanks! It’s been one flurry of activity after another for about a month. Finally I have a day off… so I’m doing my most favourite relaxing thing to do… catching up here! :kissing_heart:

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Have you set up and been using your echo with the app you mentioned yet? I am really intrigued by this and am thinking about purchasing one.

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@CatskillsGrrl I’m interested how your experiment with Alexa played out. Can you update us?

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