Crafting a Short-Term Rental Welcome Book: 6 Pages You MUST Include

Every short-term rental owner should have a pre-made welcome book ready for every property they’re currently renting out. Why? For one, a welcome book is, well…welcoming! Tenants will feel a lot more at home within a property if they open the door, come inside, and find a greeting just for them.

Additionally, welcome books contain a lot of information that is important for tenants to keep in mind while staying in your property. What information would that be? CuddlyNest has developed a list of six pages your welcome book should have for your tenants to be as informed as possible.

An Introduction

One of your first pages — if not THE first page — in your welcome book should be a personal greeting from you to your tenants. You don’t have to go out of the way to type up a new message for every tenant, but this should be a letter of sorts from you to any tenant that comes through your door.

Arrival and Departure

While you’ve likely already discussed what time they can arrive and leave, it’s always good to give guests a tangible copy of their arrival and departure information. This allows them to quickly reference for their own scheduling needs, and it also gives you concrete proof that you’ve supplied this time to them in case they are late arriving or leaving.

Activities and Attractions

Don’t just be a property owner — be a tour guide! If someone is utilizing your property as a vacation rental, help them out and give them your own little guide to the area around your property. The best way to utilize this page is to give them a “Day in the Life of…” type list.

For instance: if you live in Orlando, they already know about Disney World. Where’s the best park for dog walking? Where’s the best place to go if you want to buy nice clothing? Give them recommendations that aren’t on the front page of a quick Google search. CuddlyNest offers a detailed map of the most popular attractions in the surrounding area of the vacation property to make it easy for your guests to get familiar with the area and reach their points of interest easily.

Food and Drink

Continue your travel guide onto the next page. Going out to eat is something everyone does on vacation, so let your tenants know about the best restaurants in town. Give them options for a variety of styles of food, as well as bars and clubs. Again, don’t give them the obvious. Give them the true local experience!

Property Information

This is where you place any additional information about the property itself OR the area you’re in. What day is trash picked up? Does the city have any ordinances pertaining to noise? What are some common pet policies, like leash laws? Also, go into detail about any quirks you can find in and around your home — “the fireplace door likes to stick a little, so make sure to give it an extra push to close it.” Things like that are extremely helpful for your tenants.

Useful Area Info

Finally, don’t forget the practical things. This page can include important numbers, like a non-emergency police line or the number of a hospital directory. Also consider things like gas stations, ATMs, and pharmacies.

Does it take some effort to create a tenant-friendly welcome book? Yes. Will your tenants thank you for it (and potentially give you a higher rating)? Absolutely.

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