Most arrival messages come from one missing detail. This Airbnb check-in instructions template is written the way a guest performs it: one action per step, in order, with a photo wherever words are ambiguous.
The template
Address: [street, number, floor], [city]. Look for [blue door, left of the bakery]. Map link: [URL].
Check-in: from [4:00 pm]. If you arrive earlier, you can leave your bags [where].
- Step 1. At the street door, enter [#1234] and push.
- Step 2. Take the [lift / stairs] to floor [2]; our door is [on the right, marked 2B].
- Step 3. The lockbox is [to the right of the door, behind the shutter]. Code: [5678].
- Step 4. Two keys inside: the [long] one opens the flat, the [round] one is for the street door. Please close the lockbox and scramble the digits.
- Step 5. Inside, the light switch is [left of the door] and the Wi-Fi details are on the fridge.
If something does not work: call or WhatsApp [name] at [phone]. We answer until [11:00 pm] — no code failure is a problem, we can open the door remotely.
Details hosts forget
- How the door actually closes: many European doors need a key turn to lock.
- Lift access after hours, or a gate that closes at a certain time.
- Where to park, including height limits in garages.
- Luggage: stairs, no lift, narrow corridor — say it before arrival, not after.
Send it twice, then leave it in the flat
Send the instructions the morning of arrival, keep them in the guidebook, and print a QR poster at the door so the same steps are one scan away when a guest is standing in the street with no signal for their inbox.
Use the full Airbnb welcome book template to complete the rest — Wi-Fi, house rules, local tips and check-out — or read what to include in an Airbnb guidebook.