Free tool

Airbnb check-in instructions generator free

Fill in the fields and the preview updates as you type. Copy the message into the platform inbox, or print it and leave it in the property. The message language is independent from the site language.

How it works

What a guest should read in thirty seconds

1

Getting in, from the street

Door color, street number, code, floor. This is the one point where a guest can end up locked out.

2

Keys and WiFi

Where the keys are and how to reach them, then the network and password. These are the first two questions you get.

3

Copy or print

Paste the message into the platform inbox, or print it and leave it on the entry table.

Check-in instructions guests actually read

A check-in message is not a welcome note. It has one job: letting a tired person with a suitcase, sometimes without a signal, get inside without calling you. Anything that does not serve that makes it longer and harder to read. Restaurant tips, neighborhood history and house rules belong somewhere else, in the guidebook. Our article on why guests do not read instructions covers what makes them tune out.

Order matters as much as content. Address, street-level access, keys, WiFi: the first four lines should be enough to get in and get online. Everything else follows. Send the message the day before rather than on the day itself, while the guest is planning the trip and can still ask a question. Scheduling the message automatically keeps it from slipping on a busy evening.

Two useful extensions. If you host international guests, the bilingual mode outputs both versions back to back, which avoids the translation round trip described in our guide to hosting international guests. And if the property has a smart lock, the code changes with every stay: regenerate the message rather than editing the old one by hand. For the rest of the stay, the digital welcome guidebook takes over.

FAQ

Common questions about check-in instructions

When should check-in instructions go out?

The day before arrival, in the evening. Early enough for the guest to plan the trip and ask questions, late enough that the information is still fresh when they walk up to the door. A second send on the morning of arrival costs nothing and catches the ones who missed it.

Should the access code be in the message?

Yes, otherwise the message serves no purpose. The right practice is changing the code between stays, which a smart lock or a combination lockbox makes easy. If you cannot change it, send the code separately on the day of arrival rather than in a message kept after checkout.

How is this different from a guidebook?

Check-in instructions get the guest inside; the guidebook serves the rest of the stay. The first fits in fifteen lines and is read on a phone in the street; the second covers appliances, rules and recommendations. You can then turn these instructions into a welcome guidebook for the stay itself.

How do you handle self check-in?

By describing every step as if the guest knew nothing about the place, and by planning for failure: a number to call, a fallback if the code does not work. Our guide to setting up self check-in covers the full setup.

Do the instructions need a second language?

As soon as part of your guests come from abroad. Bilingual mode outputs one version after the other in a single message, so you only maintain one document. The broader topic is covered in our article on hosting international guests.

Can a WiFi QR code be attached?

Yes, and it saves more arrival time than anything else: the guest scans, the phone connects, no twenty-character password to type. The button in the form opens our WiFi QR code generator with the network and password already filled in.

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