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Digital welcome book

What is a digital welcome book?

A digital welcome book is an online guest guide that replaces a printed binder or static PDF with mobile access to check-in instructions, Wi-Fi, house rules, local tips, services and experiences. Guests open it from a QR code or link, and hosts can update it anytime.

Last updated July 2026

Start free See Airbnb host use case

Replaces printed binders

Updated online

Guest-ready by QR code

Digital welcome book preview on the Helpy Travel platform

Includes stay info, local tips, services and experiences

Built to answer the first guest question before it is sent

Definition

What is a digital welcome book for Airbnb hosts?

A digital welcome book is an online guest guide that a short-term-rental host publishes at a web address and shares with guests by link or QR code. It holds everything a printed binder used to: check-in and key instructions, the Wi-Fi name and password, house rules, appliance and heating instructions, checkout steps, and local recommendations. Unlike a binder or a PDF, it is edited in place, so a corrected Wi-Fi password or a changed bin day reaches every current and future guest immediately, with nothing to reprint and nothing to resend.

What should a digital welcome book include?

The contents that remove the most guest messages are the ones a guest needs at a specific moment: arriving, settling in, and leaving. A practical welcome book is ordered by that timeline rather than by topic, so a guest standing at the door is not scrolling past restaurant recommendations to find the lockbox code. Anything a guest cannot work out for themselves — a hidden fuse box, a temperamental shower, a bin collection day — belongs in it.

Arrival: the address, parking, the exact key or lockbox procedure, and the check-in time.
In the property: Wi-Fi name and password, heating and air conditioning, appliances, rubbish and recycling, house rules.
Departure: checkout time, where to leave the keys, and what to switch off or take out.
Local context: transport, the nearest shop and pharmacy, and the recommendations you would give a friend.

Is a digital welcome book better than a PDF or a printed binder?

A PDF and a printed binder are both snapshots. Once sent or printed they are wrong the moment anything changes, and the guest is holding the outdated copy. A digital welcome book is a live page, so the host edits one source and every guest sees the correction. It also works where a binder cannot: a guest can open it on the train before arrival, search it at 2am without turning on a light, and reopen it from the same link after checking out.

Editable after sharing — no reprint, no resend, no confusion over which version is current.
Opens in a browser from a QR code or a link, so there is no app for the guest to install.
Readable and searchable on a phone, unlike a scanned or two-column PDF.

Do guests need to download an app to open it?

No. A digital welcome book should open in whatever browser the guest already has. Helpy Travel publishes each property's guide as a public web page on its own dedicated address, so a host can print the QR code for the door, paste the link into a booking message, or add it to the arrival confirmation, and all three lead to the same guide. Having nothing to install is not a convenience detail: the download step is where guests give up and message the host instead.

One link and one QR code per property, both pointing at the same live guide.
No guest account, no download, no login.
Works in any phone browser, before arrival and throughout the stay.

How much does a digital welcome book cost?

Prices in this category run from free tiers to per-property monthly fees. Helpy Travel is free forever for one published guide — no card, no trial clock — and €14.99 per month flat to publish more than one, however many properties that is. The AI concierge that answers guest questions and automatic translation into five languages are included on the free plan rather than sold as add-ons, and that packaging difference is where most of the price gap in this category actually comes from.

Free plan: one published property guide at €0, no card required.
€14.99 per month flat for more than one guide, not priced per property.
Bookable services and experiences carry a 0% platform fee on the paid plan and 5% on the free plan.

Definition and value

A better operating surface than a binder or PDF

Always current

Update arrival instructions, rules or recommendations online instead of reprinting a binder or resending a PDF.

Easy for guests to reopen

A QR code or link keeps the welcome book available before arrival, inside the property and during checkout.

Structured around real questions

Cover Wi-Fi, parking, appliances, house rules, checkout, local restaurants, services and nearby experiences.

Multilingual guest support

Digital guides can support travellers who do not speak the host's language fluently.

Revenue-friendly recommendations

Digital recommendations can connect guests to experiences, services and affiliate opportunities.

Measurable guest journey

Unlike paper, a web guide can become part of your conversion and guest-support funnel.

What it contains

From essential arrival info to local discovery

The strongest welcome books answer operational questions first, then help guests enjoy the destination.

1

Stay essentials

Check-in, Wi-Fi, parking, house rules, appliance instructions, emergency contacts and checkout.

2

Local context

Restaurants, transport, local tips and the host's trusted recommendations.

3

Bookable extras

Services and experiences that help guests personalize the stay and create revenue opportunities.

FAQ

Digital welcome book questions

It is an online guest guide with property instructions, local recommendations and stay information that guests open from a link or QR code.

A digital welcome book can be updated online, opened before arrival and reused across guest messages, QR codes and the property itself.

No. Helpy Travel guides open in the browser from a QR code or link.

Yes. Helpy Travel is built for multilingual guest information.

You can start free, then upgrade when you need paid host workflows and more scale.

Yes. Helpy Travel translates a published guide automatically into five languages — Italian, English, Spanish, German and French — and serves each guest the version matching their browser, so the host writes the welcome book once.

Yes. Bookable services, experiences and local recommendations sit inside the guide alongside the practical information, so a guest reading about the area can book from the same page. Helpy Travel applies a 0% platform fee on the paid plan and 5% on the free plan.

Create a digital welcome book guests can reopen anytime

Put stay details, tips and services behind one QR code instead of another binder or attachment.

Start free Pricing

Related guides

Keep comparing guest guide options and host workflows with these Helpy Travel resources.

Digital guest guide for Airbnb hostsBuild a QR guide that answers guest questions before they message you.Guest guide app for property managersManage multilingual guides across a growing vacation-rental portfolio.How to reduce guest questionsMove repeated Wi-Fi, check-in and checkout answers into a self-serve guide.Helpy Travel vs Touch StayCompare digital guidebook workflows, QR access, translations and monetization.Helpy Travel vs GuestIntroSee how Helpy's bookable services and flat pricing compare with GuestIntro.Free alternative to Touch StayEvaluate Helpy Travel when you want to start with a free digital guide.Touch Stay vs Hostfully vs Helpy TravelCompare guest guide and portfolio workflows across the three platforms.Free digital guidebookCreate a free QR guide for property information, services and local tips.Helpy Travel vs BetterSTRCompare Helpy Travel and BetterSTR digital guest guides. Both have a free tier — but Helpy Travel includes the AI concierge and automatic translations, while BetterSTR sells them as paid add-ons. An honest BetterSTR alternative.