What to Put in a Guest Quick Start Guide

A guest quick start guide holds five things: how to get in, the wifi, who to call in an emergency, checkout time, and where the full house manual lives. Print it on one page and tape it near the door so a tired guest sees it before opening a laptop.

Why a quick start guide differs from a full manual

A house manual answers every question a guest might ever have. A quick start guide answers only the questions they have in the first ten minutes.

Guests arriving after a long drive do not read pages. They scan for a code, a password, and a number to call if something goes wrong. Put those items on one sheet and let the rest of your manual run as long as it needs to. Guests find that longer manual later through the guide itself. See what signage to put up in a vacation rental for how this single page fits with the rest of your posted signs.

A property without this page tends to generate the same three questions on every arrival: what is the code, what is the wifi, and is anyone here. Each one lands as a text or a call within the first half hour. A one page guide answers all three before a guest has to type the question at all.

Access and wifi details first

Put the entry code or lockbox location at the very top, in large type. If guests use a keypad, write the code as plain digits and say whether the lock needs a pound key or a check mark to confirm. Guests type exactly what the sheet shows, so leave out anything they should not press.

The wifi network name and password go right under that. Format them so a guest can read the line without squinting. Bold text or a boxed line works better than a plain sentence.

If your lockbox placement causes confusion after dark, say so directly on the sheet. A line telling guests the box sits on the right post, not the porch rail, clears up more confusion than any diagram. Lockbox placement problems are a common source of late night check in messages. A clear line here saves both sides a text exchange at 11pm.

Wifi network: TheCedarHouse. Password: taped inside the pantry door. Front door code: 4471, no pound sign needed. Trouble getting in? Call the number below and we will walk you through it.

Emergency contact information

For fire, a gas smell, or a medical emergency, the sheet should say to call 911 first. Your number is for the house, so list one phone number for property problems: no heat, no water, a lockout. Do not bury it in a paragraph of other text. A guest calling at midnight needs to find it in three seconds without skimming a welcome letter first.

Note what counts as an emergency versus a question that can wait until morning. A leak under the sink is an emergency. A question about the nearest coffee shop is not. Separating the two keeps your phone from ringing over things a daytime text message could answer just as well.

Test the number before every new guest cycle. A card printed once and checked never again drifts out of date fast. A line that rings through to an old phone or a full voicemail box is worse than no number at all. It tells a guest with a real problem that help is not actually coming.

Checkout time and departure basics

Checkout time goes on the sheet even though guests will not need it for days. Departure mornings are rushed. A guest who saw the time posted on day one plans the morning around it instead of texting you at 9am to ask.

Add one line on what leaving looks like: where trash goes, and what happens with keys or whether the door locks itself. Keep it to a single line on this sheet. The full departure steps belong in the house manual and in the checkout message you send the night before. If those steps involve the lock, keep the sheet consistent with however your self check in setup actually works.

Where to find the full house manual

The quick start guide points to the longer manual rather than replacing it. One line, such as "full house manual and local guide at this link," tells guests where appliance instructions, trash day, and restaurant picks actually live. The Home Manual works well for that link, since it lives at one address you can hand a guest without printing pages of local tips onto the entry sheet.

Part of my work for years was walking properties before guests arrived to confirm they were ready, and the printed sheet was on that walk's list every time. Codes change. Wifi passwords get reset. A guide that states the wrong code sends a guest to a locked door with false confidence.

Treat the digital manual as the source of truth and the printed quick start sheet as a shortcut to it. When you change a code, update both, and check the sheet on your next turnover instead of trusting memory.

Formatting for a one page layout

Use large type, generous spacing, and a short list instead of paragraphs. A guest reading this by phone flashlight in a driveway needs headers they can spot at a glance rather than sentences to parse.

Place a copy where arriving guests actually look first. That is usually the door they were told to use. Few guests have found the kitchen counter yet. A second copy near a light switch or thermostat catches anyone who missed the first one entirely.

• Entry code or lockbox location, in large digits
• Wifi network name and password
• Emergency contact number
• Checkout time and one line on trash or keys
• Link or QR code to the full house manual

Five lines fit on one page with room to spare. Resist adding parking instructions, appliance notes, or restaurant picks here. That is what the full manual is for, and a crowded quick start guide defeats the point of having one. The quick start signs pack gives you a laid out version of this page to fill in. Print it, laminate it, and mount it near the entry. A laminated card holds up where a taped paper sheet curls in humidity and fades in sunlight within a season.