A great Welcome Booklet accomplishes many things. It helps minimize your risks as a homeowner and host, lessens the amount of time needed to provide guests with information, and improves the guest experience.
As a service to our homeowners, ProHost™ writes (and updates) the Welcome Booklet for each property. However, an effective Welcome Booklet should ensure that the homeowner has their voice, thoughts, and input included. If you are writing your own Welcome Booklet for your own property, then you can check that box off! However, you may not know where to start or what to include. We hope this article will help!
ProHost™ considers these items when writing a Welcome Booklet for a property and a homeowner…
The booklet should be formatted in an aesthetically pleasing way and have a font large enough for all to read. You can find some very nice templates online but many of these might be overkill. If you are ok using Word, PowerPoint, or Google Docs you should be fine. If not, that's ok! Shoot me a message and I can help you get started with a template we’ve used in the past.
Have a clean printed version of the Welcome Booklet at the home. Preferably in a nice binder and located in a spot that the guest cannot miss and invites them to read it.
ProHost™ provides guests with an electronic version of the Welcome Booklet before they arrive (for security, we omit the door code). You may consider this option also.
Keep the style and tone of your Welcome Booklet friendly and light. Even when you are discussing “rules” and “safety”, it's important to not make your book sound too demanding. Guests don’t want to feel like they are being yelled at. They want friendly hosts. Let them know that the rules are in place because you want to keep them and the property safe, not because you don’t trust them.
At the top of your booklet, consider including a "letter to the guest from the homeowner" thanking them for choosing your property. If you rent on the Cape, your guest likely had hundreds of homes to choose from and they chose yours! Make sure they know that you appreciate it. In this note, ask your guests to read over the important items in the rest of the booklet and let them know it will make their stay better.
Contents of the booklet may include all (or some) of these items:
About the home - Tell the guests your story about the home. Why you own the home and why you love it.
Wi-Fi details - Nowadays this is the first thing many guests will look for.
House rules - Remember to be light and friendly about these. Instead of saying “The trash must be taken out each Monday night”, you might consider saying, “Please bring the trash barrels to the street for Tuesday morning pick-up. We really appreciate your help here!”
Safety information - Just like with the rules, be friendly about these points. However, consider highlighting or bolding the text for the most important safety items.
House pointers - Here you can highlight cool things in the house that guests might enjoy. Additionally, you can point out some items that might frustrate guests before they discover it for themselves. EXAMPLE: Hot water in the shower may become cold water in the shower if you are running the washing machine simultaneously.
Restaurants and food - Most guests will be looking forward to dining out / in on vacation. Make sure they know where to go for the best! Include popular places but also your favorite places and why you love them.
Beaches and other things to do - Guests have come to the Cape to have a good time and go to the beach. Outline your favorite beaches as well as other popular ones. Include parking information or links to where to find that information. Additionally, personalize this further by telling the guest about your favorite excursions or things to do on non-beach days.
Emergency contact information - You likely communicate with guests via an app like Airbnb. However, guests should be able to reach you outside of the app if there is an emergency. Additionally, provide guests with police, fire, hospital, and poison control information.
Guestbook - Consider including a “guestbook” so you know a little more about who your guests are. It's fun to reflect on who has stayed at your place and where in the world they are from. Guests like it too! Additionally, you can collect contact information that may not be provided by Airbnb or VRBO. This is helpful if you want to keep in touch with your guests about future bookings or other things going on with the listing.
Ask a third party to review and edit your booklet before you print/publish/send it. A fresh set of eyes will likely catch errors you read past in your review. I often read things over multiple times until I think it’s good to go. However, my partner or someone else always catches some really obvious and maybe not-so-obvious items that need to be fixed. Additionally, you may consider using a free online grammar tool. These AI applications aren’t perfect but may be helpful.
Considering the points above will help you design a fantastic booklet. However, as stated at the top of this article it is important to ensure your (the homeowner’s) voice and ideas are represented in the booklet. Make it your own and your guests will appreciate it!
ProHost™ provides Cape Cod homeowners with boutique management and guest hosting services. We thoughtfully design and maintain your rental listings, calendar and pricing strategies, and guest literature as well. ProHost™ provides guests with fabulous vacation experiences by taking a helpful, proactive, and friendly approach. We suggest creative, custom and dynamic strategies to help homeowners maximize income and/or achieve goals. Our clients appreciate the careful consideration we apply to our work and the full transparency in our business model. Guests and homeowners come to know and trust Erin and Chuck (founders of ProHost™).
We have the capacity to take on additional properties for Summer 2023. Send us a message, or give us a call/text if you’d like to have a no-pressure chat about what we do.
chuck@prohostllc.com
617-901-0912
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