A VRBO welcome guide is one of the first things your guests interact with after booking. Done right, it answers every question before they have to ask, sets the tone for the stay, and quietly signals that you are a host who cares about the details.
Done poorly, or not at all, it leads to a flood of messages, confused check-ins, and reviews that say things like “the host was responsive” but never mention how seamless the stay felt.
Here is exactly what to put in yours, what VRBO’s built-in tool covers (and where it falls short), and how to create a guide that actually gets read.
What Is a VRBO Welcome Guide?
VRBO has a built-in welcome guide feature that lets hosts document key property details: WiFi info, check-in instructions, parking, directions, and contact information. Guests receive this automatically via email three days before arrival.
It is a useful starting point. But it is also fairly limited, mostly structured around logistics, with no space for house personality, local recommendations, or the kind of warm, personalized touches that turn a fine stay into a memorable one.
A physical or downloadable welcome guide, left in the property itself, fills those gaps.
What to Include in Your VRBO Welcome Guide
1. A Personal Welcome Note
Start with something brief and warm. Who are you? Why do you host? What do you love about the property or the area? A short paragraph here sets the tone for the entire stay and makes guests feel like they are in someone’s home, not a hotel.
2. Check-In and Check-Out Details
Even if VRBO has sent this information, include it again. Guests lose emails. They arrive tired. Put the access code, lockbox location, and check-out time somewhere they can find it without searching their inbox at 10pm.
3. WiFi Information
Make this impossible to miss. Put it on the first page, in large print. Guests ask for WiFi more than anything else in the first five minutes of arrival.
4. How Everything Works
Each property is different. The thermostat that confuses every guest. The shower that takes 90 seconds to get hot. The trash cans that need to be dragged to a specific spot on Tuesdays.
Write these down. A short “how to use” section for appliances, utilities, and any quirks in the space saves you messages and saves guests frustration.
5. House Rules, Written Warmly
You have rules. Every host does. But there is a big difference between a bulleted list of prohibitions and a set of guidelines that feel respectful and reasonable.
Write your rules the way you would explain them to a friend. No pets in the bedroom because of allergies, not just no pets. Quiet hours after 10pm because the neighbors are wonderful people who work early, not just quiet after 10.
6. Emergency Contacts and Local Numbers
Include the nearest urgent care, a 24-hour pharmacy, the local non-emergency police line, and your contact number. Guests rarely need these, but when they do, they need them quickly.
7. Local Recommendations
This section is where a generic welcome guide becomes an exceptional one. Your guests chose your property partly because of where it is. Give them the spots that do not show up on the first page of Google.
Include:
- Your favorite coffee shop or breakfast spot
- A restaurant you would take out-of-town friends to
- The best grocery store for a quick stock-up
- A local hidden gem most tourists miss
- Any seasonal events or farmers markets worth knowing about
8. Check-Out Instructions
Clear checkout instructions reduce damage, forgotten items, and conflicts over deposits. List exactly what you expect: dishes in the dishwasher, towels in the bathroom, trash taken out. Keep it short and reasonable.
Where VRBO’s Built-In Guide Falls Short
The VRBO welcome guide is digital-only, sent via email before arrival, and not accessible once guests check out. It covers logistics well but has no room for:
- Personalized local recommendations
- Appliance instructions
- Photos or visual guides
- The warmth and personality that makes a host memorable
A printed guidebook left in the property, or a downloadable PDF linked in your welcome message, fills all of these gaps. It is also the format guests can actually flip through when they arrive without hunting through their inbox.
How to Create a VRBO Welcome Guide That Gets Noticed
The easiest path is a Canva-based template you can customize once and print or share as a PDF. A well-designed template takes about an hour to fill out and produces something that looks intentional, not cobbled together in Word.
The Complete Airbnb Guidebook is designed for exactly this: VRBO and Airbnb hosts who want a professional, polished welcome guide without spending a weekend building one from scratch. It includes every section above, laid out in a format guests will actually engage with.
The Bottom Line
VRBO’s built-in welcome guide handles the essentials. Your property deserves more than the essentials.
A thoughtful, well-organized welcome guide is one of the easiest upgrades any host can make. It reduces repetitive messages, improves the guest experience from the first moment of arrival, and shows up in reviews in ways you might not expect.
Guests notice when they have everything they need. They also notice when they do not.