A digital guest manual is a mobile-friendly place for guests to find the information they need before and during a short-term rental stay. It usually includes arrival instructions, Wi-Fi, parking, house rules, appliance notes, safety details, local recommendations, and support contacts.
Who this is for
- Hosts who answer the same guest questions over and over.
- Property managers who need consistent information across multiple homes.
- Service providers who want their offers to appear in the right stay context.
- Guests who want one reliable place for property details instead of searching old messages.
Quick answer
A digital guest manual is an online stay guide. A strong version is easy to open on a phone, clear enough to answer common questions, careful with private details, and connected to services only when those services are actually available.
What a digital guest manual usually includes
- Arrival basics: address context, parking, check-in steps, and what to do if plans change.
- Property basics: Wi-Fi, heating and cooling, appliance notes, trash, recycling, and quiet hours.
- Safety basics: emergency contacts, local emergency numbers, property-specific cautions, and support paths.
- Local context: practical recommendations that are current and useful, not copied city content.
- Guest services: optional add-ons or local services shown with clear ownership and availability.
View sample manual
See how a guest manual can combine stay details, service context, and mobile-first access.
Where StayPerk fits
StayPerk positions the manual as the front door for the guest stay. The manual should answer normal stay questions, but it should also make the next useful action clear: request a service, view an add-on, contact the host, or understand what is available at that property.
That positioning matters because a guest service shown at the right moment can feel helpful. The same offer shown without context can feel like noise. StayPerk is designed to keep manuals, add-ons, providers, and property manager workflows connected around the stay instead of scattered across separate tools.
For hosts
Explore StayPerk's host workflow for manuals, add-ons, guest services, and payouts.
What to keep private
A digital manual should not expose everything to the public web. Access codes, lockbox details, private owner notes, internal vendor instructions, and sensitive guest data should be protected. Public content can explain the shape of the stay. Private content should be limited to confirmed guests and authorized operators.
When this may not be right for you
A separate digital manual may be unnecessary if you host one simple space, use only one booking channel, and already answer guest questions easily. It can also be the wrong move if nobody will keep it updated. A stale digital manual is just a newer version of an old binder.
How to start simply
- Write the arrival section first.
- Add the five questions guests ask most often.
- Separate public content from private content.
- Add photos only where they reduce confusion.
- Add services only when fulfillment and availability are clear.
Contact StayPerk
Reach the StayPerk team with launch, partnership, or product questions.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers related to this resource.
Is a digital guest manual the same as a digital guidebook?
They overlap. Many people use both terms for a mobile-friendly guide with stay instructions, house details, and local recommendations. StayPerk uses digital guest manual because the manual also connects to guest services and add-ons around the stay.
Does a digital guest manual replace guest messaging?
No. Messaging is still useful for timing, exceptions, and personal support. The manual should hold reusable information so messages can stay shorter and easier to act on.
Can a guest manual include paid add-ons?
Yes, but only when the add-on is clear, available, and relevant to the stay. Guests should understand who fulfills it, whether approval is needed, and where to confirm current pricing.
Should access codes be in a public manual?
No. Sensitive access details should be protected and shown only to the right guest at the right time.
Useful StayPerk pages
Continue with the role page, sample manual, pricing, or contact path that matches your next step.
Sources
- Write a house manual to share info about your space - Airbnb Resource Center
- Make check-in and checkout easy - Airbnb Resource Center
- Digital guidebooks - Touch Stay
- Digital Guidebooks - Hostfully
- StayPerk sample manual - StayPerk
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