First impressions count. Whether you’re meeting a new boss, on a first date, or…welcoming new guests to your Airbnb. The first impression sets the tone for the whole experience. A welcome letter is a simple way to make sure your Airbnb guests feel welcomed from the moment they step through the front door.
A good Airbnb welcome letter lets guests know that they’re not just renting four walls and some furniture, they’re renting a home for the next few days. And Airbnb hosts (and superhosts!) who set their guests up for a wonderful experience see:
- better reviews
- word-of-mouth recommendations
- repeat bookings
If you’re on the hunt for any of those assets, this article is for you. We’re going to outline:
- What an Airbnb welcome letter looks like
- Why it’s important to write a welcome note for Airbnb guests
- What to include in your welcome letter
- Top tips for writing your Airbnb welcome note
- Airbnb guest welcome letter templates
So, let’s get cracking!
What is an Airbnb welcome letter?
No trick questions here! An Airbnb welcome letter is just that: it’s a letter or card that welcomes guests to your Airbnb property. It doesn’t need to be lengthy, or elaborately formatted. It just needs to provide a warm welcome to your rental home, and direct guests towards the more in-depth information that you might keep in a house manual or digital guest welcome book.
If you don’t meet your guests in-person – an option which has grown in popularity for guests, hosts, and managers in recent years – a welcome letter shows guests that you’re still present and invested in their stay. It’s basically you saying hello to your visitors, but in paper format!
Why it’s important to write an Airbnb welcome letter for guests
It’s easy to see a short welcome message as an added extra – something that’s nice, but not strictly necessary. We’re here to dispel that myth. Your Airbnb welcome note is essential to your guests’ experience.
It creates a sense of human connection, and helps guests to truly feel at home at your property. It can also:
- Make your Airbnb guests feel special from the moment they step through the door.
- Create a sense of excitement around the guest experience, and how it’ll get even better throughout their stay.
- Point guests towards a resource for finding the crucial information you need them to know, such as your guest manual or digital guidebook.
- Prime guests for a wonderful experience at your property, which equals a 5-star review for you after they leave (and more bookings!)
Your welcome note is a crucial aspect of your Airbnb guest experience – it adds the personal touch that lets your visitors know you really care about their stay. In turn, providing a great guest experience helps you to build a reputation as an outstanding Airbnb host, which is your first step towards a reliable stream of bookings.
READ: what, how, and when to communicate with vacation rental guests
Welcome guests to your Airbnb with a digital guest welcome book
A Touch Stay digital guidebook enhances your guest experience by communicating the crucial property information that would clutter up a welcome note. It intuitively presents all the practical details your guests need – from driving directions to which kitchen equipment you provide – plus your personal local recommendations.
Start sharing your digital welcome book with guests as soon as they book. Simply paste your guidebook link into existing communications, or set up scheduled alerts in our guest notification system. Prepared guests are happy guests, and your guests will have all the info they need at their fingertips before they even pack their bags.
READ: about how you can restore hours to your day with an Airbnb house manual template
What to include in your Airbnb welcome message
As the digital guest welcome book experts, we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how short term rental owners and managers can welcome guests to a property. Here are our tips and ideas for the key things you might like to cover in your Airbnb guest welcome note.
1. A warm welcome to your Airbnb
This is the most important aspect of your welcome message. You need to openly tell your guests how glad you are that they’ve chosen to stay with you. It might feel like a really obvious thing, but it’s important that you make it explicit.
Think of how you want your guests to feel when they arrive with you:
- relaxed
- excited
- informed
- welcomed
- special
Writing something that feels friendly and human will go a long way to achieving this. Ditch anything formal and express – in your own voice – how excited you are to be hosting visitors, and what a wonderful time you hope they’ll have.
Your note will feel even more welcoming if guests can sense that it was written by you. So, insert a few personal touches such as:
- how you came to own this property
- why you love this particular area
- why you enjoy renting to holiday guests
These details will help guests to feel that they know you a little better, and reinforce the personal connection you’ve started to build through pre-arrival communications. If you’ve chosen to leave a welcome basket, this is the moment to point guests towards it and explain the story behind any of the more whimsical items you’ve included.
2. Personal recommendations to help guests enjoy your property
Help your guests settle in by providing some insights into the quirks that give your property character. These small details will help them to feel as though they’re being given an exclusive look into your Airbnb.
You’ll make them feel like A-list visitors if, for example, you highlight:
- the sunny spot that’s perfect for a cup of tea in the afternoon
- the cosy reading nook on the upstairs landing
- the perfect amount of wood to put on the fire in the evening
- which tree provides enough shade to sit and read
- a secret route from the property down to the local beach
If you can intertwine these recommendations with particularly special memories you have in the property, your guests will feel as though you’re letting them into your home.
3. Details personal to your Airbnb guests
You probably don’t have the time to craft a brand new welcome letter from scratch for each new set of guests. But this doesn’t mean you should print off the same generic message for every visitor who arrives at your Airbnb.
A message template allows you to pre-write the majority of your welcome note, whilst leaving gaps for a few details personal to each guest. At the bare minimum it should include guests’ names – there’s nothing worse than being met with a note that starts ‘Dear valued guest…’!
To really ace the guest experience your personalisation should go above and beyond. Use your pre-arrival communications to harvest some details about your guests’ stay. Keep an eye out for clues about:
- any special occasions occurring during their visit – birthdays, anniversaries, celebrations
- the reason they decided to visit your specific region
- any activities they’re particularly excited to try
- any landmarks they want to see
Leave space to congratulate them on their anniversary, wish them a happy birthday, or recommend a local site you think they’d enjoy. You’ll signal that you were really paying attention to what they had to say.
4. Clarify your contact information
Your Airbnb welcome note needs to encourage guests to get in touch if they have any issues. Hopefully, their stay will run smoothly, but if they do run into any problems, you want to be able to fix them immediately.
If guests tell you straight away that they can’t figure out how to turn the shower on, or that the sound system doesn’t seem to be working, the likelihood is that you can address these problems fairly easily. They’ll be back to hot showers with blaring music in no time!
However, if they don’t let you know, their lasting impression of your property will be of frustrating technology and lukewarm showers. They might choose to mention this in a review, which then makes it the first impression for prospective guests.
So, it’s essential that guests know they can contact you with any questions or problems, and that they know how to do so. Make sure your contact details – email and telephone number – are front and centre in your welcome note.
5. Directions to more detailed information
You don’t want to overcrowd your welcome letter with too much practical info about your Airbnb. Your guests need to know how to turn on the dishwasher, when to put the rubbish out, and how to access the garden, but trying to condense all of that in here will make your note more overwhelming than welcoming!
Your Airbnb welcome message should:
- introduce you and your property
- point guests towards more detailed information in your house manual
- provide basic details for easy reference, such as:
- the WiFi password
- the nearest grocery store
- the basics you’ve provided in your Airbnb welcome packet
This way, the focus of your letter remains on providing a bright, warm welcome to your home, rather than immediately jumping into the importance of putting the recycling out on the right day.
Complement your welcome letter with a digital guidebook
Your Touch Stay digital guidebook perfectly complements your Airbnb welcome message by allowing guests to quickly jump to the more practical details. Simply:
- write your warm, personable welcome note
- link to your guidebook via a QR code at the bottom of your note
- explain to guests that they can scan it to access more info
Give your visitors a warm welcome, provide a flavour of your property, and then direct them to a sleek guest app that they can use to explore your Airbnb even further.
Top tips for writing your Airbnb welcome note
Now that we’ve got the basics down, here are a couple of final hints to help you craft an exceptional welcome letter for your Airbnb guests.
Align the tone of your welcome letter with your Airbnb listing
This is a great chance to solidify your brand in your guests’ minds. Airbnb is a brilliant platform for sourcing new guests, but your property can sometimes be obscured beneath guests’ idea that they’re staying in “an Airbnb”.
Your listing will work hard for you if you can use it to express your property’s personality:
- Dream up a catchy listing title – if it features your property’s distinctive name, all the better!
- Write your listing in your own voice
- Use photos to showcase anything about your property that’s especially quirky or unique
Then, carry this brand personality into your welcome note. Don’t worry about adopting a formal tone, write in a way that feels natural to you, and which reflects the character you’ve already infused throughout your listing.
Establishing a consistent tone of voice will solidify your property in guests’ minds, and leave them in no doubt about who they should be recommending to family and friends.
Balance efficiency with personality
We touched on templates above: creating a template for your welcome letter helps you to personalise each letter to the recipients, without draining more time from your day. All you have to do is:
- Start by writing a standard guest welcome letter. This should include the little things that’ll make your letter seem personal, written in your friendly tone of voice.
- Once you have the body text, leave room for a few sentences that speak directly to the guest you’re writing to.
- Once you have your template perfected, use what you learn in booking communications to customise each letter for individual guests.
Make your guest communications work for you with Memo
Your Airbnb welcome letter is only one aspect of your guest communications. You might also send:
- a booking confirmation
- a pre-arrival text with access instructions
- a mid-stay check-in
- a post-departure email to say thanks
The same rule applies to each of these messages: they need to feel personable and specific to the guest, without taking a huge chunk of time out of your day.
That’s where Memo – our guest notification system – comes in. We’ve drafted email and SMS templates for you to share your guidebook (plus other crucial information) with guests at seven different moments throughout their stay. Memo pulls in information specific to each guest so that they always receive messages which sound like you, and which are personal to them.
Customise each template as extensively as you like, or simply enable them all and head off to more important stuff. Memo allows you to add the personal touch to all your guest communications, whilst helping you to reclaim time in your day.
DISCOVER: four alternatives to the Airbnb welcome book template
Example Airbnb welcome letters for guests
In case you’re still in search of ideas, we’ve crafted some (free!) guest welcome letter templates that will put a smile on the face of any Airbnb guest.
Want a glossy version of them to edit for your own holiday rental property? Just fill in the form below and we’ll send you your own printable Airbnb welcome letter template. We’ve already made them pretty in Canva – just tweak the details and you’re good to go!
Sample Airbnb welcome letter for a first-time guest
Welcome to the Beach Retreat, *GUEST NAME*!
We’re so glad you’ve made it all the way from Pennsylvania. Now let’s get down to business: kick off your shoes, grab a cold drink from the fridge and relax. (We’ve stocked some waters, juice for the kids and beers for you.)
The Beach Retreat has been in our family for three generations – and it’s been through a lot. Countless board game nights, seafood feasts on the picnic table, s’mores at the fire pit, barefoot walks along the beach, and firefly chases have happened here.
We love to see all of the folks from around the world calling this house “home,” even if only for a few nights. We hope you and your extended family have a wonderful reunion.
And don’t forget to look at our digital welcome book, created by Touch Stay. Use the QR link below to access the digital guidebook – you won’t have to download anything and you’ll have access right away. Inside you’ll find:
- latest information about the nearest grocery stores and other facilities
- a list of our favourite restaurants and bars
- activities to do locally
- up-to-date information about the local area
- our general house rules
- instructions for the hot tub/TV/air conditioning/pool
- info about the check out process (not that you want to think about that yet!)
And, of course, feel free to reach out to us by cell at (555) 234-5678 if you have questions or concerns.
Most importantly, enjoy your stay!
Jane Cartwright
If your guests are coming back then you’re definitely doing something right! They clearly felt welcomed and relaxed during their first stay with you, and now they can’t wait to do it again.
By drafting an Airbnb welcome letter template specifically for returning guests, you continue to develop your relationship with them, and show them what it means to you that they chose to come back.
Welcome back to The Beach Retreat, *GUEST NAME*!
We’re delighted to welcome you back!You know the drill – kick off your shoes, grab a cold drink from the fridge and relax. (Like before, we’ve stocked some waters, juice for the kids and beers for you.)
Although you’re already familiar with The Beach Retreat, we want to make sure you enjoy it as much as last time. We hope you feel at home here.
Remember, we have a digital welcome book, hosted by Touch Stay. Use the QR link below to access the digital guidebook – you won’t have to download anything and you’ll have access right away. Inside you’ll find:
- latest information about the nearest grocery stores and other facilities
- a list of our favourite restaurants and bars
- activities to do locally
- up-to-date information about the local area
- our general house rules
- instructions for the hot tub/TV/air conditioning/pool
- info about the check out process (not that you want to think about that yet!
And, of course, feel free to reach out to us by cell at (555) 234-5678 if you have questions or concerns.
Thanks for coming back – I hope you have another wonderful stay.
Jane Cartwright
Welcome Airbnb guests with a digital guidebook
Your welcome starts well before guests walk through your front door of your Airbnb – it starts from the moment they book. Every communication you send shapes their initial impression of your property.
With a Touch Stay digital guidebook, your guests will know immediately that they’re in safe hands. Deposit all of your practical property information, along with personal local recommendations, into a sleek guest app.
All your guests have to do is click on the link you share with them and they’ve got instant access to everything from access codes and appliance instructions, to your recommendations of what to pack.
And with Memo, you don’t even have to remember to share your digital welcome book. Simply:
- select your message templates
- establish your notification schedule
- let Touch Stay do the work for you
Want to provide a warm, welcoming guest experience whilst still having time to handle work stuff, home stuff, and fun stuff? Click below to give Touch Stay a try with a 14-day free trial - no card details needed!
